In honour of the great Jim Carrey’s 60th birthday, we’re taking a look at one of his most iconic roles.
I don’t want to get into a debate about whether Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is better than Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, all I’m gonna say is that the latter is one of my favourite films, which is why we’re making an ‘Executive Decision’ and sharing five reasons why it’s worthy of a rewatch.
The premise is about as ridiculous as the first film: Ace (Jim Carrey) is sent to Africa to find a sacred albino bat and avoid war between two tribes, the Wachootoo and Wachati. Is that enough to get you hooked? What more do you want? Five more (semi) convincing arguments below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1e1X9ij40Q
The Cliffhanger intro.
How do you completely immerse an audience and make any lingering question from the first film disappear (like what happened to Courtney Cox’s character)? You take the piss out of one of the most iconic action movies of the 90s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rt8qB5yOPI
Was anyone else keen on getting a Slinky after watching?
Just about every kid in my street wanted a Slinky purely for the sake of singing the song and mimicking Jimbo. It was a strange time, given Slinkys were about 50 years old by then and have no real function other than “slinking”; in hindsight, they’re kinda stupid, which goes to show how powerful this scene was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltwxC19s5u8
Carrey’s physical comedy skills.
I mean, who’s getting ready to watch something with Jim Carrey and not expecting some ridiculous facial contortions and physical comedy? For me, the scene below is up there with the reverse slow-motion scene in the first film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfSoUYr4lmQ
The soundtrack is extremely weird…
A mix of genres from different eras, the soundtrack embodies the chaos of the film and Carrey’s performance. Throw in some throat singing and generic “African-sounding” sound bites to join scenes and you’ve got one hell of a ride.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiLGU8qU0gk
How could we forget the elephant birth scene.
The reactions of the family say it all.
