Jim Carrey stars as Peter Appleton, a screenwriter in Hollywood looking to break out of B movies and into the big time. His plans are derailed though when the House Committee on Un-American Activities names him as a communist. Peter is swiftly black balled and apparently out of a career. Devastated he gets drunk and climbs into his car for a drive. Inevitably he crashes the car into a river and wakes the next day on a beach somewhere with no idea where he is or who he is. Led to town by an older man who discovered him, Peter finds the townspeople think he looks eerily familiar. It seems he bears an uncanny resemblance to the late Luke Trimble, a favorite son of the town who died in World War II. Luke's father Harry (Martin Landau) believes his son has returned and brings him home to his apartment above the shuttered movie theater the Majestic. The place has been closed since Luke died nearly a decade earlier. The town lost dozens of young men in the war and never really recovered.
Once a source of pride to the town the old theater is now in near ruins, much like the psyche of the town. Nearly every window sports a photo of a young man killed in battle. Into this sadness and emptiness walks Peter, looking every bit like one of their most loved. The townsfolk are quickly enthralled by Peter, who lacking any memories of his own can only assume that he is Luke. It's even harder to think otherwise when he meets Luke's gorgeous girlfriend Adele (Laurie Holden). With a beautiful woman on his arm and a town crazy about him, Peter's confidence soars and he and Harry set about re-opening the Majestic.
This movie is told in broad strokes and big emotions. It never tries for the subtle approach in either its themes or its storyline. With that in mind can you think of a better lead actor than Jim Carrey? The man has enough personality and expression for three or four normal people. Luckily though he tones it down to more normal levels and gives us a fairly normal guy. It's not often I'll say that the movie was more flamboyant than Carrey but that is just the case here.
The film goes relentlessly after every emotion but in a focused manner meant to give the viewer a great big warm fuzzy. The villains are larger than life and the town of Lawson, California that is home to most of the action is the picture perfect 50s American town. White picket fences, manicured lawns, the whole thing. This simply isn't a film that tries to be edgy. It wants to be one of those movies that people speak glowingly of years later because they still get teary eyed every time it appears on TV. Does it succeed? Not really. There is a reason that films like that don't get made much anymore. Audiences have become more sophisticated. They don't need to have emotion force fed to them. Sure, the nostalgia of such films is nice but it simply feels out of place in a modern movie.
What it boils down to is a serviceable romance that tries too hard to grab for movie magic that doesn't really exist anymore. Carrey does a fine job and further cements my thought that he's much better when he isn't careening madly about the screen on some wild ad lib. A restrained Carrey is a tolerable and even enjoyable Carrey. Martin Landau gets most of the credit for acting though. Harry is easily the most likable and sympathetic character. This is where the movie gets closest to the feeling it strives for.
I'm not one that enjoys having my emotions manipulated. As such it was hard to fall for the fairly obvious plays this movie makes for them. The most fun I had actually was picking out the cameo roles. The sharp eared should catch several voice only roles and Evil Dead fans should easily spot that god among B movie actors Bruce Campbell. Surely some folks will start carping about Carrey deserving an Oscar but this is not his best shot at that coveted little statue. Better luck next year.
- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Comments