Movie Review

Fun with Dick and Jane

I'm glad Hollywood is making an effort to go back to topical comedy, something you normally only see now on "South Park" and "The Simpsons." With last year's "Team America" and this year's "Fun with Dick and Jane," Hollywood has proven that sometimes the best way to make people laugh is to comically lampoon those that deserve it. In the case of this movie, it's Ken Lay and the Enron corporation.

The story is about Dick (Jim Carrey) and Jane (Tea Leoni), two suburbanites whose lives are so well planned that they even schedule the next time they're going to have sex, and what music is going to be playing while doing it. When Dick gets a job promotion, Jane quits hers and the two think they are set for life. Only what they don't know is that this is a last resort by a company on its last legs. The company tanks and insider stock trading and scandal is on the mind of every media analyst. For Dick, the concern is much greater - how is he going to provide for his family now? The job market is a mess. He winds up taking jobs way below his skills but even that doesn't help that much.

The best gags come during these scenes of embarrassment and desperation, primarily because even though the humor is so broad, the movie remains an honest account of how devastating the job market can be. A long string of events including working at a convenient store and becoming a migrant worker force Dick to realize that things are not going to get any better. The fact that the bank is ready to foreclose on their house force him and Jane to go on a crime spree, robbing banks and other corporations in order to maintain whatever they have left.

From here the movie pretty much goes on auto-pilot. It asks the question of how far would we go in order to keep our heads above water but it never really explores that issue. Instead it's more of an opportunity to make the head honchos dangle on the string a little bit, with Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni doing their best to keep things jumpy and fun. Carrey as always brings enthusiasm and high-energy to the film. He is allowed to cut loose here, as in one scene where, dressed in black and disguising his voice, he plays air guitar and taunts a VP of the company that wouldn't hire him. Leoni proves a perfect ally for Carrey, playing a woman who's rational but also a little wild as well. In no scene is this more evident than in their first couple robbery attempts where instead of dissuading him, she instead provokes.

It should also be noted that we end up caring and finding these two likable because the script really does make it seem like they have no other choice, and because both actors at times can be very sincere as well. "Fun with Dick and Jane" isn't high art, but it's easy to root for.

Craig's Grade: B

A	10.9%
B	41.8%
C	31.8%
D	15.3%
F	0.3%