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'The Truman Show'
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As Truman Burbank, the unwitting star of his own 24/7 reality TV show, Carrey’s performance in “The Truman Show” is revelatory. Carrey plays Truman as a sweet, charming and likeable hero that belies the story’s deeper and more sinister concept. Here, the actor is “normal” – no grand physical comedy, funny faces or weird outfits. Truman is a low-key average guy and the least zany of all of Carrey’s characters but he pulls it off as effortlessly as Ace Ventura. In hindsight, it’s astonishing that “The Truman Show” landed three Oscar nominations – none of them for Carrey.
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'Liar Liar'
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Lawyer Fletcher Reede lied his way through life until his son made a magical birthday wish, compelling the loud-mouth fibber to tell the truth for 24 hours. The role perfectly suited Carrey’s manic ways and over-the-top buffoonery, flawlessly illustrated by the actor’s wild facial expressions and physical slapstick comedy, but executed with more grace and a better storyline than “The Mask”. At the heart of the fun family flick and surrounded by Carrey’s mad cap ways, there’s a pretty good lesson about honesty and integrity. Carrey earned a Golden Globe nomination for the role.
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'I Love You Phillip Morris'
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The little-seen 2009 biopic comedy gives Carrey one of his most complex and bold on-screen characters to date. The actor stars as a real-life conman who, after coming out as gay and abandoning his family, enters a life of excess and crime, eventually landing in prison where he falls in love with fellow inmate, Phillip Morris (played by Ewan McGregor). Carrey changed his physical appearance, dropping weight for the daring role as the sleazy con man, but it’s his dynamic on-screen chemistry with McGregor that really sells the story and shows an entirely new dimension to Carrey’s acting skills.
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'Once Bitten'
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1985’s “Once Bitten” is a deep cut on Jim Carrey’s filmography that proves the rubbernecked funnyman was always adept at slapstick comedy and funny faces. The 23-year-old Carrey is a bumbling and super uncool college student who becomes a vampire after a sexy older woman (played by Lauren Hutton) feasts on his virgin blood. It’s campy, goofy and now, hilariously dated, which just makes it – and Carrey’s performance – all the more charming.
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'Man On The Moon'
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Jim Carrey often cited the late comedian Andy Kaufman as one of his greatest influences so it’s no surprise the actor would portray his comedic hero in the big screen biopic “Man On The Moon” in 1999. An intimate look at the adult life of the quiet comic genius, Carrey continued his late 1990s dramatic streak, toning down his comedic and physically transforming himself into the oddball Kaufman, showing he’s not only adept at drama, but he’s also pretty good at mimicry.
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'Ace Ventura'
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1994 was the year Jim Carrey became a household name, thanks to his off-the-wall character Ace Ventura, a role that would set the tone for the rest of Carrey’s career. Goofy, loud and brash, the man with the rubber face is tasked with finding Snowflake, the beloved dolphin mascot of the Miami Dolphins. With unlimited amounts of energy, crazy costumes and hairstyles, the highly-quotable movie is still the most synonymous with Carrey’s acting career, spawning a sequel in 1995.
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'Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind'
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Bittersweet and sad, “Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind” is unlike anything Carrey has attempted before or since. Starring as Joel, opposite Kate Winslet’s Clementine, the couple embarks on an experimental memory-wiping procedure to erase their failed relationship. When Joel’s procedure is botched, his memories come flooding back, painting a melancholic, whimsical and sometimes comedic portrait of a damaged soul. One of the highlights of Carrey’s career, the 2004 film was the actor’s last true dramatic turn.
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'Dumb And Dumber'
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Jim Carrey is good at playing dumb. As one-half of a dimwitted duo, Carrey’s Lloyd Christmas is cringe-worthy, embarrassing and downright hilarious as he embarks on a cross-country road trip with his best friend, Harry Dunne (played by Jeff Daniels). With an awful bowl haircut and chipped tooth, Carrey is a loveable loser whose on-screen chemistry with Daniels is superb, showcasing that he can be funny as part of a team. The characters might be incredibly stupid, but they’re so likeable and good-hearted, it’s no wonder the film spawned a sequel 20 years later.
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'Batman Forever'
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After taking the reins of the Batman franchise over from Tim Burton, director Joel Schumacher ditched the Gothic vibes and upped the camp and colour in “Batman Forever”. Clad in a skin-tight green leotard and a shock or red hair, Carrey was Edward Nygma, the mad genius whose alter ego The Riddler never met a joke he didn’t like. Zany and over-the-top, Carrey’s Riddler paid homage to the campy 1960s “Batman” TV series, dancing through the movie while looking like thoroughly enjoying every minute on screen as the crazy villain. It may not be the greatest Batman movie, but Carrey’s performance certainly deserves recognition.
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'The Cable Guy'
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“The Cable Guy” was Carrey’s first turn at a dark comedy in the 1996 movie directed by Ben Stiller. As an obsessive and socially awkward cable installer, Carrey’s wacky physical comedy takes a menacing turn as he desperately latches onto lonely cable customer played by Matthew Broderick. The movie wasn’t well-received by critics or audiences at the time who liked their Carrey comedies light and funny, but in the two decades since the film’s release, “The Cable Guy” has achieved cult status, thanks in part to its hilarious Medieval Times bromantic dinner date scene and the “Caaaable Guuuyyyyyy” door scene that would give Jack Nicholson in “The Shining” a run for his money.
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