‘The Mask’: Reignite your Jim Carrey addiction with these iconic movies
For most millennials, true gut-busting comedy was only first known through the magic work of Jim Carrey. Carrey was one of the biggest movie stars of the 1990s, playing a leading man in some of the decade’s greatest comedies, and many would argue, some of the greatest comedies of all time.
Since the days of Ace Ventura, Carrey went on to double-down on Hollywood, venturing into fully dramatic roles showing the world he wasn’t simply a one-note celeb. Now, Carrey’s Twitter shows off his prolific painting skills, and bookstores across the country carry Jim’s semi-fictitious sci-fi memoir as the actor proves his value continues to evolve.
Whatever hurdles Carrey jumps these days, fans who grew up with the actor will always hold the roles during his heyday as the epitome of Carrey’s greatness. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane with Carrey’s most smokin’ (sorry, we had to) roles.
The Mask
Before comic book movies were comic book movies, 1994’s The Mask gave audiences a kitschy thrill ride not requiring the epically serious air of the MCU.
With Ace Venture: Pet Detective & The Mask in 1994, audiences were introduced to the Jim Carrey movie; a movie which simply couldn’t have succeeded, let alone been made, without Carrey as the starring role.
Carrey wasn’t necessarily a supernova in the time of The Mask, so the film leans slightly on Cameron Diaz at her absolute baddest, along with some explosive action, because at the end of the day, The Mask is a comic book movie.
However, Carrey goes hog wild in The Mask, jumping from impression to reference, stealing every scene, and making every line into a trailer catchphrase for the film. The Mask holds up as one of Carrey’s most demanding roles in which he’s simply wound up and let loose in every scene. However, The Mask wasn’t even the best Jim Carrey movie of 1994.
Dumb and Dumber
1994 was the year of Carrey. Not only did Ace Ventura & The Mask drop in 1994, but also Carrey’s role in one of the greatest comedies of all time was shown to the world the same year when Dumb and Dumber dropped in December 1994.
Where do we even begin with Dumb and Dumber? Directors the Farrely brothers never hit the nail on the head with more precision, in the ultimate road trip buddy comedy that has a generation still quoting every line to this day.
People quote Dumb and Dumber on the daily because nearly every line of the script is a solid joke. Jeff Daniels holds his own alongside Carrey, and the two make for seriously knee-slapping laughs which only ripen with age.
The soundtrack rides, there are some truly touching moments, and Dumb and Dumber leaves audiences with one of the best endings of any comedy film to date. From start to finish, it’s clear there was some magic happening when Dumb and Dumber came into this world, and orange & blue tuxedos will forever make people smile for one reason only.
The Truman Show
Nearly every Jim Carrey role of the 1990s is iconic, and The Truman Show changed the game when Carrey shocked audiences with his first major dramatic role in 1998. Fans may have been skeptical, but after The Truman Show hit theaters, Jim Carrey was no longer simply known as a funnyman.
The Truman Show was wildly prophetic, and challenged audiences with the idea of life simulation which was only further developed in subsequent years with films like The Matrix, all leading up to our current time of constant voyeurism on the web.
Carrey tugs at the heartstrings in The Truman Show, and when the film dropped, Truman presented audiences with another film only Carrey could pull off, but this time it wasn’t for his antics.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
For dramatic Jim Carrey roles, Eternal Sunshine made us say, “Truman, who?” Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a catalyst for every romantic’s angst & melancholy to pump with a ferocity that starts flowing with each re-viewing.
Not only did Eternal Sunshine’s mastery develop a cult following, but Carrey also made the film hit close to every wallflower shiftlessly searching for love in the new millennia. Eternal Sunshine may have a cringey fanbase, but it’s a masterpiece which along with presenting one of the early 2000’s greatest love stories, cemented Jim Carrey as being far more than Hollywood’s clown.
