Epic, ranchy Jim Carrey double feature on netflix couldn’t be made today
By Robert Scucci | Being published
Here is a quick riddle for you to solve. What do Jim Carrey, bat droppings, metal band cannibal CORPSE, and monopoly raider have in common? They’re all integral parts of the ace Ventura series that helped kick off Carey’s 90s comedy. Throughout the years, our favorite silly-faced rubber man has been unstoppable, and a big part of that success comes from the unexpected financial success of 1994 Ace Ventura: Animal Detective And its download in 1995, Ace Ventura: When nature calls.
Both movies struggled to be fresh and out of the box, but the Ace Ventura movies quickly became fan favorites and remained the type of movies that insist “you can’t do it today.” Maybe there’s a sliver of truth in there, but that hasn’t stopped the films from finding a cool home on Netflix. Anyone who grew up quoting these movies now has the luxury of quoting them whenever they want. Just be warned: you’ll want to call for a quote. Every bit has to be good, and no one likes to live with that. Trust me. I read this personally.
The first film proved the concept
Ace Ventura: Animal Detective It is the centerpiece of their iconic, fully stocked Miami Police Department. ACE is a private investigator of apparent diseases whose allies keep throwing him into a series of problems. When assigned to investigate the disappearance of Snow, the bottlenose dolphin mascot, Ace finds himself caught in a wild goose chase involving Binald Camp (UDO Kier), and members of the Miami Dolphins lineup. Despite the rash of his face, the upper face and the way itself is not poor in all the added situations, the ace actually uses dedicated thinking and his cocksure attitude to save the day.
Completely free for all, Ace Ventura: Animal Detective It’s loud (due to Cannibal CORPSE’s explosive club scene), brash, and out or looking at someone just to play it. Critics hated it, giving it a 47 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, but the movie is now a culture classic for being so committed to its absurdist dominance that you can’t help but smirk at Carer’s Ruber-Fournes facing ruble. $107 million pulled off a $15 million budget that sealed the deal for a sequel, which I firmly believe is a better film.
The sequel dials things up to 11
Bigger travel, badder, and somehow braver, Ace Ventura: When nature calls It takes ACE to Sub-Saharan Africa, where he is mistaken for ‘the White Devil,’ forced to face his fear of bats, take on poachers, and damage more cars than anyone should. With Double The Budget, the movie goes all out. Throwing down the stairs of a monastery, absurd world trials, and an ace climbing an animaronic rhinoceros fully naked are all part of the adventure. And the eyeball of the scene? My brother used to do that!
Critics went hard on this one, giving it a 23 percent rating, but viewers couldn’t get enough. The movie grossed $212 million on a $30 million budget and still holds a strong audience approval rating of 72 percent thanks to Jim Carrey’s commitment to Little.
Casting ace Ventura
Considering how often licensing and rights freezes ruin the streaming experience, it feels like a miracle that the Ace Ventura films are available on Netflix in their full, inevitable glory. If you want to use the double feature, you actually can. But if you are pressed for time, I would go with him When nature calls. The first movie does a good job establishing the character we all know, but it’s rough around the edges and the little encounters. The sequel jumps right into the chaos because it knows exactly what ace is and why it planned in the first place.
So the next time you’re hunting for a raunchy screwball comedy to sink into after a long day, you might as well go all out and give it another shot.
Like writing, both Ace Ventura: Animal Detective And its sequence, When nature callsare streaming on Netflix.
