Back in 1991 or so, little-known comic actor Jim Carrey found the career niche that would soon make him one of the highest paid entertainers in the world.

The show was "In Living Color," and token white guy Carrey generated enormous laughs as Fire Marshall Bill. Bill was a bizarre accident-prone idiot with a weird fixed grin.

Fast forward ten years, and seemingly little has changed except his salary. Carrey's crazy alter ego this time around in Me, Myself & Irene is Hank, the repressed confrontation-loving side of wimpy police veteran Charlie Baileygates.

Charlie has gone over the edge because his lovely wife left him for a very feisty limo driver. But not before she gave birth to triplets, with Charlie as the unwitting (but not unwilling) stepfather.

The three children grow up to be trash-talking geniuses. Meanwhile, Charlie suffers a mental breakdown, and lives a split existence between himself and Hank, a fearless (but foolish) Clint Eastwood wannabe.

Somehow, Hank/Charlie ends up on the run with Irene (Renee Zellweger), a pretty woman whose gangster husband wants her dead. Events flow agreeable if somewhat predictably. Irene begins a romance with her double-identity protector, who does a much better job of protecting her than his own selves.

It's not such a bad movie. Hank has his moments of humorous glory, while poor Charlie wakes up time and again to a painful situation created by his Mask-like evil twin. Hank actually means well but is clueless, even giving Charlie plastic surgery on his chin that makes him a "Spartacus looking dude."

And if you're a few years over the hill such as myself, you can play "name that Steely Dan tune" with the soundtrack. Whether this game adequately fills the periods between Carrey's silly character turns is your own call.

Me, Myself & Irene does have one great moment: a sight gag that involves a Coke machine. It also has a tremendous groaner, when Charlie realizes what Hank has done with a sex toy. I know the Farrelly Brothers are behind this film, but this (fortunately off-camera) incident seems much lower than the infamous "franks and beans" skit from There's Something About Mary.

While Me, Myself & Irene isn't up to the best work by either Carrey, Zellweger, or the Farrelly Brothers, the comedy is passable enough, especially for younger audiences.

At imdb.com, the under 18 set has given the film a decent 6.8/10 rating. This mark steadily declines with age until the over 45 crowd awards a dismal 5.1/10 score.

Carrey's career is at a crossroads. He has yet to make a successful transition to dramatic roles, a la Tom Hanks. Re-creating Fire Marshall Bill offers diminished returns. We should all have such problems, however. (49/100)

k@filmsgraded.com, filmsgraded.com


Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older