Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) Reviews

• Aaaaaaaaaaalriiiiiiiighty Then!!!!!!

  davich862005-05-20

  I'm guessing that everybody knows the story of this movie by now, but for those who might not have had the opportunity to see this great movie, it's quite a simple formula. The Miami Dolphins mascot is stolen and by word-of-mouth advertising Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey) is called into manic action. His job is to find the dolphin and return it before The Miami Dolphins' crucial game. Jim Carrey is quite simply amazing, I never stopped laughing the whole way through the movie. This is surely Carrey's best work, even now. OK, Dumb and Dumber and The Mask are very funny movies too, but this takes the biscuit. Everything Ace does made me laugh, from whipping football player's with a towel to get a ring imprint to showing up at a mansion party and being his usual manic self. 100 laughs per hour, if you have a sense of humour, then this movie is for you!!!

• "Take care, now. Bye bye, then."

  ElijahCSkuggs2007-12-18

  In 1994, a year that gave us Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption, Morgan Creek Productions and Warner Bros. Pictures came out with the funniest film of the decade, err, 1994, with the Jim Carrey super-vehicle, ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE. Right off the bat, it is a Jim Carrey showcase: chasing missing albino pigeons, rescuing a pampered shiatsu, and making high speed getaways, this all works because it is Ace Ventura, a hilarious, live-action cartoon character who spouts one-liners like an M-16. The premise of the film is that the Miami Dolphin's team mascot, Snowflake the dolphin, has been captured and needs to be found in time for the Super Bowl. Ace is hired and the sexy Courtney Cox is made his partner until the dolphin is recovered. With an assortment of funny situations like Ace falling into a great white shark tank (!), a montage of Ace searching for a missing jewel, Ace head banging in a CANNIBAL CORPSE concert, it's all gold, and as you have read, Ace is what drives this film into comedy genius! It was a busy and successful year for Jim Carrey, as he came out with another pair of comedy blockbusters, the LOOSELY translated Dark Horse comic THE MASK, and his hilarious buddy comedy with Jeff Daniels, DUMB and DUMBER. Thanks to Tom Shadyac for letting Carrey out of the bag and letting this damn funny Canadian strut his lanky stuff. It has some offensive, adult-oriented material, but if caught on television, this is nearly perfect family entertainment: as long as you don't mind your kids talking from their a$$es for the next couple months.

• star-making performance for Carrey

  Special-K882002-02-12

  Undeniably juvenile, but funny and entertaining comedy stars Carrey—in his breakthrough role—as a goofy, wildly eccentric pet detective hired to find the missing Miami Dolphins mascot. He's the right man for the job but his childish idiosyncrasies, uncanny bond with animals, and aberrant investigative techniques cause outsiders to question whether or not he can actually make good on his word. Aimed mostly at fans who really enjoy silly humor, others will quickly find it tiresome. There are some amusing cameos by real Dolphin football players (including an engaging Dan Marino) but this film belongs to Carrey and his constant outrageousness. Sure-fire entertainment for fans of this genre. **½

• Sure, this is cheeseball comedy, but Jim Carrey makes it memorable.

  Anonymous_Maxine2001-07-17

  Ace Ventura is the kind of comedy that stems directly from a TV show, and in this case, that show was probably In Living Color, where Carrey got most of his publicity before he became famous as a movie actor. A quick look through Carrey's filmography will prove that Ace Ventura is the film that really acted as a springboard for his career. He had a few small roles in films previous to Ace Ventura, the largest of which was probably his role as one of the aliens in the awful film Earth Girls Are Easy, but after Ace Ventura, his career skyrocketed. The Mask (hey, he's still new, give the guy a break), Dumb & Dumber, a sequel to Ace Ventura, Liar Liar, The Cable Guy (oops), The Truman Show (ah, better), Man On The Moon, Me, Myself & Irene, The Grinch, and there's no end in sight. Sure, Ace Ventura does not compare to half of these movies, and is clearly more on the side of the bone-headed comedy that he was doing on In Living Color, but his talent is unmistakable. I first saw this movie when I was in high school, and I remember that I would ditch school and go to the theater to see it and I would laugh hysterically until my sides hurt every time I saw it. There's something about seeing a slob at a tremendously rich party who just doesn't care about the etiquette of the rich people. Did anyone not laugh when he was `testing' the food at Ron Kamp's I'm-the-richest-man-in-the-universe party and stuck his tongue out at that poor guy next to him? That whole scene at that party is classic! And, of course, it only gets better with Ace's dealings with Lois Einhorn. The whole crying game idea may have gone a little too far, but it was always amusing. Jim Carrey saves Ace Ventura from sinking to the totally brainless level of more recent crapfests as the Scary Movies, and even makes this into one of the better comedies of 1994. This is not the type of movie that is likely to win any awards, but you will remember the hilarious dialogue and Jim Carrey's immediately recognizable rubber-faced antics in this film that served as a spring board to his career, which later brought us many more excellent movies. Way to go, Jim.

• A movie carried by you-know-who...

  baz_trinity2007-02-19

  Now, these movies can't be taken too seriously. The storyline is silly, the dialog is silly and the concept is silly, with one extraordinary exception: Jim Carrey, who, in contrast, uses his extremely intelligent wit and hugely humorous body actions to make this movie what it is, hilarious. The fact is, this mans arguably a genius, he made a possibly average, run-of-the-mill, 'straight to TV' comedy into an all-time classic. You can switch your brain off and literally laugh yourself to tears watching the scenes in which he acts in. He CARRIES this movie, no doubt and his performance in this is extremely underrated. Being one of his first major roles and to actually manage to single-handedly make this movie what it is with his sheer brilliance at being a comedian-actor, well, it should not be overlooked. But of course, it has it's flaws. The fact is, the scenes without Carrey (Albeit, they're not many of them) really just shows this movie doesn't have much else going for it besides the man himself. Many of the other actors/actresses (Including Courtney Cox) just aren't funny. But this movie, in my opinion, deserves an 8, because it's just really showcasing Jim Carreys excellence. Watch it and believe me, you'll get hooked!