Movie Review

THE NUMBER 23 starring Jim Carrey

I checked out the movie "The Number 23" last night. After seeing that it was damned by critics across the globe, scoring a powerful 09% on rottentomatoes.com, I was sure that I was in for 95 minutes of pure suckage.

The truth is the movie didn't have a lot going for it. A February release nearly always means that it is a dump film. Some poor studio getting rid of its trash just before the summer season heats up. Plus Joel Schumacher behind the camera is never a sure thing. I have three words to prove my point. BATMAN AND ROBIN. Aside from that the 68 year old director is also responsible for 8 MM which I thought was a horribly pointless flick.

But, Mr. Schumacher and I do have a history. See, he directed The Lost Boys, one of my all time favorites. He also directed Flatliners, The Client, and A Time To Kill. So he has earned a few "passes" in my book. But nevertheless, him being the director was another reason for pause before heading off to see it.

The last cause of concern of course was Jim Carrey playing it straight. Now I am one of the folks in the camp of belief that Carrey should continue to stretch out and play a few more serious roles. Beyond Ace Venutra, Liar Liar, and Me Myself and Irene I have no use for the man's comedy. I know I am in the minority but The Cable Guy, Mask, and Dumb and Dumber were all a big waste of my time. (I hear frat boys groaning at me from all across the globe right now). The Truman Show was brilliant and I can't say enough about him as Andy in Man On The Moon. So I'm cool with Carrey giving the scary a try, even if I had my doubts about it.

So let's get into the movie. Carrey plays William Paul Sparrow, an everyday dog catcher with a sweet wife and a good son. His life is normal and boring until one day a series of unfortunate events lands a strange self-published book called The Number 23 in his hands.

As he reads through the book he discovers a string of erie events that seem to all revolve around the number. He delves deeper and deeper into the book until he becomes obsessed by the relevance of the number.

His wife, played by the always excellent Virginia Madsen, trys to get him back on track. When she can't do it she enlists the help of their son and then a family friend. As Carrey's character unravels we see a deeper mystery unfold between flashes of the novel and real life. Some of the book sequences are well done, but its noir tone and dialogue seemed to be a bit out of Carrey's league. In these breakaway scenes Carrey plays the book's main character Fingerling and Madsen plays his lover Fabrizia.

Honestly the movie had a good pace to it until the end. My interest was kept and my mind didn't seem to wander too much. Minus a few too many scenes with a strange dog I was right there in the mix.

The end managed to tie everything up into a nice little bow, which I appreciated. As an avid reader I hate when a mystery is left too open ended. What I didn't care for was how long it took to explain the mystery away. I think Schumacher assumed his audience was too dumb to draw a few conclusions on their own and he ended up over-explaining everything.

I know that I am and will continue to be in the minority when it comes to this movie, but I liked it. I didn't love it. I won't buy it. I won't put the poster up in my media room. I won't go shouting from the rooftops for you to see it. But I will tell you that I enjoyed it. And for a run of the mill February Tuesday it was a nice retreat from reality.

GRADE: C+