Me, Myself and Irene

Charlie Baileygates (Jim Carrey), a member of the Rhode Island police force, is a long-suffering kind of guy. When his wife gives birth to black triplets after meeting a vertically challenged African American, Charlie accepts the boys as his own and raises them after she leaves him. At work, he`s so easy going everyone takes advantage of him. But years of bottling up his anger causes a Jekyll and Hyde transformation: nice, diffident Charlie is taken over by mean-spirited Hank, who talks and acts like Clint Eastwood and who likes things rough - even sex. When Charlie is assigned to deliver Irene, Renee Zellweger, a young woman who knows too much about crooked cops, interstate, it`s just as well for both of them Hank`s there to take over... Me Myself & Irene starts promisingly with an amusing setup, but as it progresses it`s obvious the Farrelly Brothers aim to out-gross themselves. And though there are some funny moments, especially a scene involving a reclining cow, and though Jim Carrey gives a skillful performance, there`s too much in the film that`s just ugly, and very unfunny. And there`s also the issue of the distorted and simplistic attitude the film takes towards schizophrenia, a very serious illness.Margaret`s Comments:The Farrelly brothers have had a history of being able to deliver anally obsessed adolescent films with wit so even audiences beyond pubescence could sit back and be entertained. But somewhere, somehow the anal overtook the wit in this one. So few laughs, no exhilaration. I`m a great fan of Jim Carrey and he has moments of brilliance in this, but there is a strange phoniness at its heart, the film can`t seduce us into believing the ridiculous situations it presents. It seems to be overladen with plot, and it has some quite nasty elements - the Hank character is truly a viper. Vvisually it is the ugliest film I`ve looked at lately. With the choices made in casting, cinematography, design and screenplay there is a sense of just missing the desired target, enough to create that vital lack of credibility in what happens on screen.