Fun with Dick and Jane

Dick and Jane is a comedy I didn't expect to do very well. I wasn't sold by the trailers, and another remake is something the world can live happily without. Dick and Jane is an underrated hit though, and Carrey and Leoni are remarkably not as annoying as they sometimes can be. Carrey is, thankfully, as hyperbolic as the character of Dick will let him be and Jane isn't as complicated a role for Leoni to fall on. The movie excellently thanks corporations for its inspiration in the final credits.

Dick has a happy, healthy upper-middle class family. A promotion to the upper echelon believes him to convince his wife Jane to quit her job and get that hot tub they always wanted. A sudden change in corporate direction however, changes their future as they must resort to drastic measures when the bills aren't getting paid.

I didn't find myself laughing as much as I wanted to for a movie. In a year dominated by comedy-remake stinkers like the Honeymooners and Bewitched, Dick and Jane is one of the better movies of the year to watch. If you want a good movie to watch and understand a little bit of corporate history, I recommend Dick and Jane for you.

I have never seen the original FUN WITH DICK AND JANE (with George Segal and Jane Fonda) so I can't do many comparisons with this remake. However I saw it since Jim Carrey always had been one of my favourite actors of all time (both in comedy and drama) and I was also shocked at the score of 6,1 since I had a fine time watching it.

Dick Harper (Jim Carrey) and his wife Jane (Tea Leoni) are married, with a child and they seem to have a perfect life. However, after a series of scams they lose their own jobs, their lives change drastically. At first they are in crisis and desperate in their search for new jobs. But after a while they discover that stealing things from the richer ones is kinda funny and they turn into a life of crime without ever being captured.

Having never seen the original I can't understand why many people are negative towards this movie. Perhaps is because this remake at times is a bit heavy handed (and I can understand that) but I am sure that also the original was a bit depressing especially when Dick and Jane lost their jobs. The leads (Carrey and Leoni) are in top form and they have lots of chemistry together. Also Alec Baldwin is very hilarious at times in his supporting role.

However what I should say more? Just turn off your brain and enjoy this comedy for what it is even if you, like me, never saw the 1977 original.

"Fun with Dick and Jane" reflects, in many ways, what's wrong with our society. We watch in disbelief as more and more CEOs are hauled up to jail and how these unscrupulous people leave their once valued employees to fend for themselves, as best they can.

Dan Perisot directs this remake of the 1977 Jane Fonda-George Segal vehicle and brings it up to date. He counts with two actors that are popular to present this new installment in a funny way, Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni in the main roles.

Poor Dick finds out in the worst way the job he held has just disappeared and must face reality. Dick and Jane must deal with their sudden status as they see their electricity cut, their housekeeper deserts them and Dick suffers the indignity of having to compete with other unemployed, former colleagues, for jobs that aren't half as glamorous as the vice-presidency he almost had.

What's a desperate man to do? Well, being a resourceful man, he must do what he has to. Jane and Dick start a path into taking the law into their own hands.

In a way, Mr. Carrey, one of the producers, mixes a serious problem with his kind of comedy. Jim Carrey is one of the best comedians working in movies today, but he also has an enormous talent for doing some serious dramatic work, as he has already proved. He is a dynamo in the film and turns the situation Dick is facing into fun, in his own way.

Tea Leoni, is equally suited to play Jane, the travel agent who suddenly sees all those comforts she was used to, disappear, and must adapt to her new circumstances. Ms. Leoni and Mr. Carrey do some funny things together, making the film look much better than what could have been. The supporting players, mainly Alec Baldwin and Richard Jenkins make good contributions to the film.

"Fun with Dick and Jane" is a typical example of those holiday themed films the studios love to unload at the end of the year.

In previews and early reviews this movie was called "one of the funniest movies ever" and I was eager to see it. But after a while it began to get called "the worst Jim Carrey movie ever". I still thought I should see it, being a big Jim Carrey fan, plus I haven't always agreed with the critics. After seeing it I can't say it's the funniest movie ever, but it definitely isn't the worst.

I have not seen the original version, but I'm sure there are some modern plot twists and of course original jokes. There are plenty of gags and funny situations that kept me entertained throughout and some really good ones that made me laugh hysterically. Many comedies are very silly which makes them so funny, but people have said that this movie is just silly and not funny at all, I can't agree. While there are some small parts that are just silly, the rest are not.

Acting wise it is quite good. Jim Carrey does his trademark craziness well in this one. The rest of the cast do well too.

Overall it's a funny, entertaining movie. If you feel like a light comedy with some good laughs, ignore the harsh critics and go and see it.

This is the story of Dick, an ambitious marketing executive which is promoted to the top just on the day his corporation implodes due to some embezzlement scheme. The first 15 minutes (Dick's ascent) are really very, very funny - that's Jim Carrey at his best.

The movie's best part is when you see Dick and his wife falling all the way to level where survival is really a struggle - this is actually very moving. Their ensuing blotched criminal career is on the other hand not so funny as you might expect -- you have the feeling that this is a very good serious movie trying to be funny just to meet the public's expectations.