Me, Myself and Irene [DVD] [2000]

This is a pretty funny, though somewhat sophomoric, movie. It is also pretty filthy, at times, and definitely not for the movie goer of delicate sensibilities. There is something to offend just about everyone, so be prepared.

The basic premise of the movie is simple. A Rhode Island state trooper, Charley Baileygates, played by Jim Carrey, marries the prettiest and smartest girl in town. After she gives birth to triplets for whom Charley could not possibly be the father, for reasons obvious to the viewer, she later leaves him for another man, her soul mate and likely father of the triplets. She leaves Charley with the triplets, whom he raises as his own. The cuckolded Charley goes on to become the town joke and a seriously repressed man.

Eighteen years later, he snaps and begins to express his anger through an alternate personality and quintessential bad boy who calls himself Hank. Hank has attitude and plenty of it, and he lets everyone know that he is mad as hell and is not going to take it anymore. Charley's superiors send him to be evaluated, and he is given medication to control his psychiatric disorder.

Enter Irene, played by Rener Zellweger. Charley is asked to escort her to upstate New York where she is ostensibly wanted on a hit and run. Unbeknownst to either of them, she is being hunted down by dirty cops who are looking to silence her, as it is believed that she may have information that could take down her crooked ex boyfriend who is being investigated by the EPA.

During their trip, Hank, Charley, and Irene have a host of advantures, which are often hilarious, as Charley and Hank battle over who will become the dominant personality. The low key Zellweger is a good foil for the rubber faced Carrey's physical comedy. As Charley and Irene are pursued by the dirty cops, the now grown triplets, funny and profane, also add another element, as they go to their father's rescue.

The DVD provides great audio and first rate visuals. It also offers something for everyone, as it has a plethora of enjoyable bonus features. It is a DVD that all Carrey fans should have in their collections.

As I say Carey once again steals the show and whether you love him or loathe him, I would challenge anyone to watch the sequence when he beats himself up, including the stunt where he throws himself out of the car, and not be impressed by his fantastic mime abilities and sheer comic genius.

The rest of the comic moments are provided by the Farrelly brothers' typical fare of gross over the top pranks and these seem to hit the mark although even by their outrageous standards some of the jokes seemed really near to edge for me!
I loved the interplay of Carey's three "sons" and the addition of "Whitey" the albino worked for me also.

As I say the actual story is really secondary to the film's aims and this is the only part worthy of criticism. The "touching" scenes between Carey and Rene Zellweger were tedious and unconvincing, but I guess that wasn't the point of the film anyway.

I would normally score this film three stars, but I'll give it one extra for Carey's fine performance.