Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

Jim Carrey is one of those actors you will find yourself either adoring or hating. He does not ever "underact." This movie made me laugh so hard I cried (even after the fifth time!) From the robot rhino scene to the monopoly guy Jim knows how to be hilarious. I saw the first one (liked it a lot) and have to say this one is way better! I am a huge fan of Carrey. I don't think there are many people who can make such a variety of facial expressions. The only reason this is not a ten is because there is (as usual with Carrey) some inappropriate stuff thrown in. But if your love laughing and you love Jim, this movie will fit you "Like a glove!"

I didn't think the first movie was any great shakes.

Sure, it had Carrey in it, running amok and mugging and mimicking and making every rude sound a kid would learn by eighth grade. But the story just kept getting in the way.

That's why "When Nature Calls", in my opinion, is much funnier.

The story of securing a sacred bat is neither too intrusive nor annoying and leaves room for gags aplenty.

And Carrey.... Well, he enters a slapstick marathon and wins the gold in every event. I swear the man is made of rubber.

Some of the jokes are pretty gross (the spitting ritual, the "guano" references, etc.) but why should that come as any surprise? Most comedies gear for that kind of humor anymore and, more or less sophisticated, reach the same common denominator: body fluids is funny, dude.

Still, without the fluids and functions, there are still great scenes (Ace's entrance in the dining hall, the monks' reaction to his departure, his behavior at the slide show, his driving habits, his escape from a mechanical rhino) and plenty of opportunities to see Hollywood's most uninhibited comedian use every conceivable part of his body to make us laugh.

I laughed. His work is done.

When this "Nature" calls, answer it.

Nine stars. And remember: do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Despite being retired since a cliff top incident with a racoon, Ace comes out of retirement to help find a missing sacred bat that is the symbol of peace between two African tribes. However he finds things are not all as it seems.

The sequel to the first film was never going to be a fantastically inventive affair but rather more of the same, albeit not as fresh or different. The plot is almost meaningless and certainly not important to enjoying the film. The comedy is everything and it almost manages to make for a good film. Opening with an inspired and hilarious Cliff Hanger spoof followed by a reference to William Shatner's episode of the Twilight Zone, the film fails to really keep it up and slips into relying wholeheartedly on Carrey's mugging.

Mostly this is funny but it is less sophisticated than the first film (if it's possible to describe the first film as that!). The jokes become more about the faces he pulls than about any invention in the dialogue or writing. As such you'll like this or hate it based on how you like Carrey when he is manic. I like him when I'm in the mood and laughed pretty regularly here.

Carrey of course carries the film with ease but also has famous support like he did in the first film. However they are not given as much to do and are of less value – Callow, Gunton and McNeice are not that missed when off-screen. Of curiosity value are several British actors playing Nigerians – Akinnuoye-Agbaje is better known as the amazing actor from Oz on HBO and is given nothing to do here, meanwhile Okonedo is pretty and humorous for those of us who know her better for her gritty role in Clocking Off on BBC1.

Overall anyone watching this should just be aware of what they are getting – it's a silly comedy that is totally reliant on Carrey's mugging to carry it. If you're not in the mood for that then avoid – but even if you are then you should be aware that it still might not be that good a film.

For those of you who suffered through awful sequels to great Jim Carrey films (Dumb And Dumberer, Son Of The Mask), you know that what was missing was Carrey himself (and good writing, and a good plot...but anyway). Carrey made this film work. Because despite a lot of problems with the writing, his talent, charisma, and delivery saved it.

This isn't a great film, but it's worth a watch every now and then. And it has some very funny scenes, that Carrey gave it his all in. What sets the difference here is that while WNC has the same problems as those aforementioned garbage sequels, the saving grace was primarily Jim Carrey himself. He can get away with over-exaggerating what made the predecessor work. This is indeed Ace Ventura cranked up to 11 on the ridiculous scale. Where he's apparently become such a deranged caricature that he can't form a coherent thought for 10 seconds, without breaking in to a weird character or impersonation. "Well, it worked for the first film!" Ugh, it gets pretty bad at times.

But still...there's something you gotta like about this movie. And maybe that's Carrey himself. Nobody else would have ever made this work. And why should they try? A character, that's been turned in to a caricature in the sequel, played by a different actor? No, it wouldn't have worked. But WNC is pretty watchable, and pretty funny. It knows it doesn't take itself seriously (check out the monster truck scene). Having seen it plenty of times growing up, it may not hold a candle to the original, but it still happens to be pretty funny. I give it a 7, which may be a little generous. But there were some legitimately great scenes in this movie. Overall, it's not great, but not bad at all. I'd say to check it out if you liked the first film.

Despite most views of this movie, I thought it was just as good as (and in some aspects better than) the original. Of course there was a lot of recycled humor, but there was also a lot of original humor too. I was a little bummed to find out that Courteney Cox wasn't returning in the second installment, but they did just fine without her. I doubt it will happen, but I would love to see an Ace Ventura 3 someday.

I thought the scene where Ace is trapped inside the animatronic rhino was the funniest scene in the movie, but the film is filled with other great scenes too. I also loved the fact that he is a lover of all animals, except Bats. I thought that was such a funny idea for the character. I mean, what does that say about bats if a lover of all animals can't even stand them and finds them revolting. Just thinking about it makes me laugh. I just love the irony I guess. Anyhow, there isn't much more I can say about this film other than if you liked "Pet Detective", you should see "When Nature Calls". "Bumble-Bee Tuna",

-Chris