One of those films that was not treated overly well by critics but is beloved by fans the world over, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, shot lead Jim Carrey, then known to people mostly for being on In Living Color, into another stratosphere.
The year 1994 was a good one for the comic and actor, as this film was followed soon after by The Mask and Dumb & Dumber, further adding to his meteoric rise. The next three years would further cement him as a true comic talent, as roles in Batman Forever, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, The Cable Guy and Liar Liar continuously hit viewers’ funny bones. Though, it was the character of Ace Ventura, which was co-written by Carrey, along with Jack Bernstein and Tom Shadyac (who also directed, and would work again with the actor in Liar Liar and Bruce Almighty), that first demonstrated his skills at physical comedy, mimicry, comedic timing and coining memorable catch phrases to be enjoyed by silver screen audiences.
Satirizing sports, noirish detectives, pop culture, and everything in between, Ace Ventura is a wily, energetic private eye pet detective that, despite all of his tomfoolery, is actually quite good at his job. . . despite that, he is low on cash and oft ridiculed by the Miami PD. Carrey actually based the lead on a bird, his movements and colourful attire symbolic of a feathery-winged flyer. With the film starting off with a spoof of a UPS delivery man (flipping the letters around to ‘hds’ instead), it will bring a laugh to anyone who has ever had a package labelled fragile broken in transit.
Hired by Melissa Robinson (Courteney Cox) to find a dolphin named Snowflake, the live mascot for the Miami Dolphins and a talented field goal kicking mammal, it has been nabbed as the team prepares for their Superbowl match at home, and Robinson, their Chief Publicist, is using every avenue to find the beloved creature.
Ventura’s only clue is a very specific, triangular-cut amber stone, which he surmises belongs to a 1984 AFC Championship Ring that one of the Dolphins’ players received. Getting no aid from the belittling Police Force, led by Lt. Lois Einhorn (Sean Young) and her quasi-sidekick Sgt. Aguado (John Capodice), Ace’s only pal on the side of the law is Emilio (Tone Loc).
As murder rears its ugly head and one of the Dolphins’ head office guys gets thrown off of his balcony, Ventura knows he is embroiled in a serious situation. Using all of his tricks to find the culprit, things become even more grave when Dolphins’ quarterback Dan Marino (in a quite lengthy role) is grabbed like Snowflake. Will the Pet Detective be able to solve the case and save the day, or will he fail in his attempt?
Featuring several great little cameos, Mark Margolis, perhaps now best known for his wheelchair bound, bell ringing character of Tio Salamanca on Breaking Bad, plays Ventura’s landlord, Mr. Shickadance (named after Carrey’s own set of landlord brothers when he was growing up in Toronto). In a clever gag, when Shickadance approaches Ace from behind, he is misconstrued as Satan. The always great Udo Kier takes on the part of wealthy socialite Ronald Camp; a perfect stoic conservative aristocrat that plays so well against the out-there antics of Ventura. Another connection to Carrey can be found in the cameo by heavy metal band Cannibal Corpse, as the Canadian comedian is a huge fan of the group. Also, boxing great Randall “Tex” Cobb makes a cameo at the beginning of the film when Ventura delivers the broken package to him. When Cobb showed up on set, black eyes adorning his face, Shadyac saw it as being a perfect fit for the gruff character, and shot him ‘as is’. And, on top of Marino, Dolphins’ coach Don Shula, wide receiver Mark Duper and others have fun spots in the motion picture as well.
Oh so quotable, Ventura’s “All-righty then” is perhaps the most memorable, but there are so many classic phrases. Some of my favourites are: when Einhorn says, “Listen, pet dick. How would you like me to make your life a living hell?”, to which Ventura replies, “well, I’m not really ready for a relationship, Lois, but thank you for asking. Hey, maybe I’ll give you a call sometime. Your number’s still 911? All-righty then.”; another one is, “Be sure that you do (check the plumbing). If I’d been drinking out of the toilet, I might’ve been killed.”; a third, “WARNING. Assholes are closer than they appear.”; and finally, “If I’m not back in five minutes. . . just wait longer.” Other moments worth watching for are when Ventura pretends to be an obsessive former footballer needing help at the Shady Acres Mental Hospital (named after director Shady Ac – get it), Ventura’s improvisation of a dolphin trainer named Heinz Getwellvet (which did not originally appear in theatres), and so many others.
A fun, comedy-filled ride, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective thrives due to its playful story and the tour de force performance of Jim Carrey. It is the type of movie that will bring laughs from the very beginning to its utter end (cleverly closing with the pet lover ironically beating the crap out of an animal mascot in front of a packed Superbowl stadium). Don’t be a “Lah-who-sa-her”, check out this classic 90’s comedy, you will be “All-righty then”.