Welcome back to another installment of Disc Dive! This week we’ve got a remake on our hands with Fun with Dick and Jane (2005).
Title: Fun with Dick and Jane
Director: Dean Parisot
Released: December 21, 2005 (Theatrical – Canada and the United States)
Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
Disc Format: DVD
It’s the year 2000 and Dick (Jim Carrey) and Jane (Téa Leoni) are living the suburbia dream. They’ve both got good jobs, a nice house, and like any good suburban family, they’re not about to let their neighbors one-up them.
Dick has put in the work and is now being rewarded. He’s going to be the new VP of Communications for Globodyne, the media company he works for. The substantial bump in pay that comes with the promotion means that Jane can quit working as a travel agent. He’ll be the breadwinner and she’ll be able to spend more time with their son.
For his first act as VP of Communications, Dick is told he’ll be going on-air to discuss the company’s recent performance. What he doesn’t know is that he’s been set up as a fall guy. While he is mid-interview, Dick finds out that Globodyne’s CEO covertly sold off 80% of his shares in the company. This news takes the company stock all the way down to $0. The firm is bankrupt and all employees have now lost their job along with their pension.
But Dick doesn’t feel too bad about things. He’s sure he can find another VP role and the family finances won’t skip a beat. Well, as his luck would have it, Globodyne’s collapse was the tipping point and now the entire economy has entered a recession.
Faced with a tarnished reputation, mounting bills, and shrinking options, there’s only one option left. If the guys at the top can steal from everyone else, why can’t Dick and Jane return the favor?
I remember getting this in as a new release when I was working at Hollywood Video. I watched it then and honestly can’t remember having seen it since. A friend of mine was moving recently and was giving away some movies as they were downsizing, which led me to acquiring this on DVD.
Fun with Dick and Jane came out at an odd time in Jim Carrey’s career. He was sort of all over the place, taking a wide range of roles. The year prior, both Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and A Series of Unfortunate Events were released. After this would come The Number 23 and the following year he’d be the voice of Horton in Horton Hears a Who!.
Personally, I am a big fan of the majority of Jim Carrey’s work. If you’re of a certain age, you grew up with him. More specifically, you grew up knowing his comedic roles. Ace Ventura, The Cable Guy, Dumb and Dumber, the list goes on and on. While films such as The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are dramatic outings that are more universally loved, others such as The Majestic and especially The Number 23 have their fair share of critics.
Here, Carrey is in comedy mode and his chemistry with Téa Leoni is undeniable, with their scenes together being some of the best parts of the entire movie. Unfortunately, the film around them feels very uninspired in sections. The supporting cast, including the likes of Alec Baldwin, Richard Jenkins, and Angie Harmon, all deliver exactly what’s needed of them, though it isn’t much. When Jim Carrey is your lead, the comedic bits are going to flow his way, and there isn’t a lot left over for anyone else.
While I don’t remember what my initial thoughts were, it is very clear on a rewatch that Fun with Dick and Jane was very much a film of its time. Much like any comedy, there are going to be parts that don’t age well. We don’t have to wait long to get our first moment here. While on his way up to receive his promotion, Dick sings along to the muzak version of “I Believe I Can Fly”.
Aged like fine milk.
Overall, Fun with Dick and Jane is not something that you should rush out to revisit. It had the right premise and the right leads, but never quite knows what to do with the premise.