“Fun With Dick and Jane” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
In 1977 there was a semi-successful little film titled “Fun With Dick and Jane.” It co-starred George Segal and Jane Fonda and concerned a couple who turned to a life of crime when the economy caused their jobs to end. Now it has been remade into a modern day comedy and stars Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni.
This time out Dick (Carrey) and Jane (Leoni) are victims of an Enron type scandal caused by Dick’s boss (Alec Baldwin) taking off with the corporate funds. Dick tries to get other work but there is none available. When things get desperate he and his wife Jane (Leoni) start robbing places.
All of this is supposed to be hilarious but in light of what actually happened in the Enron mess it is pitiful instead. Seeing people’s electricity turned off and having to humble themselves in the worst way is not a funny situation.
The actors are also to blame for the failure of this film. Carrey is more a cartoon character in this movie than he was in “The Mask.” He mugs constantly and is over the top from beginning to end. Dick needs a little humanness in order to gain our affection and our sympathy but Carrey never plays him as less than a caricature.
Leoni is just blah from beginning to end. You know she has comedic talent and can elicit big laughs but she never does. She makes Jane a one-note appendage to Dick and never breaks out on her own. Maybe it’s the writing or maybe it is just a case of total miscasting, but Leoni is the wrong person in the wrong part.
Baldwin is okay in his role as evil manipulator but it is the same role he has played over and over so there is nothing new here. It also seems Baldwin is in every other movie playing at the local theater. Has he ever heard of over-exposure
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and comic violence.
“Fun With Dick and Jane” is supposed to be a light-hearted comedy. It just isn’t. Carrey and Leoni are heavy-handed in their acting and the plot is draggy due to its serious side. It is hard to sell unemployment as the basis for hilarity. Maybe in more talented hands it could be done, but not here.
I scored “Fun With Dick and Jane” a primary 4 out of 10.
