Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

Like the first one, only MORE!

Lover: Taken from IMDB
“I don't normally respond to these kinds of things, but after reading some of the negative responses I couldn't help myself. There is a movie out there for everyone, something everyone NEEDs to laugh at and who can relate to. This movie is the opidemy of my humor and the extreme way it portrays the upper crust world of stuffy, snobby, self absorbed unrealistic people who think the world revolves around their view and opinions is classic and makes me laugh in a way that is honest for me. I read that some people were offended by it and want to get others to share their view. All I gotta say is, "If you didn't like the first one, why did you go to see the second one? Just to complain?" Do all of us "Friends" of Jim Carey a favor, if you don't like his humor, just go find some stuffy anal retentive "fluff" film, and write reviews on them that we will never read since those movies are for stuck-up self absorbed types. Sorry I just didn't think it fair that these people are "Flameing" this as if there are no other possibilities. Thanx for reading.”

Fair enough with one very good point; if you didn’t like the first one don’t bother with this, though I’m not sure about the spelling of Thanks.

Hater: Taken from IMDB
“Movie lesson #1 - never go into a sequel expecting something as good as the original. It never happens. But, seldom will a series fall as far and as hard as Ace Ventura did. The 1994 original, while not a classic piece of moviemaking by any means, but it was a funny movie with a somewhat coherent mystery plot to back it up. This 1995 sequel has none of that. The "plot" (I use the term loosely because this movie goes on so many pointless tangents it's hard to tell where the plot is half the time) brings famed pet detective Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey) out of Miami and into the jungles of Africa, after he is called upon to find a missing white bat that was to be given as a dowry between two warring tribes. An intriguing idea, especially since, as it turns out, bats are the only animals that Ace can't stand. But, unfortunately, the list of things this movie does wrong runs about as high as the things it could have done right. The idea of Ventura attempting to capture the one animal he hates could have been milked of every possible comic opportunity it could. But, it's done for nothing. Okay, so the movie does contain a few good laughs. But they are too quick and too far between. And, when your funniest joke is about a naked man falling out the back end of a mechanical rhino, you're not holding much.”

First things first some sequels are good and in very rare occasions better. Secondly there was a plot and I’d feel sorry for anyone who couldn’t follow it, yes it’s basically all about Bat poo but it is “coherent”. Clearly decided they weren’t going to like it before they saw it.

What I thought:
This sequel is in many ways exactly the same as the original, the difference here is that it turns everything up. The comedy is faster paced and sillier than the first, with Jim Carrey fully committed to making Ace Ventura as eccentric as he can be. It does however turn up everything so this time the story is even thinner and when your only biggest plot device is poo it’s clear your just using it for laughs rather than character development, action etc…

You could argue that it doesn’t make use of some of the things that are bigger, from the opening “Cliffhanger” inspired scene, Monasteries high in mountains to thick African Jungle these settings don’t appear as lush as they could be. However who cares when Ace is regurgitating for a baby bird, using a slinky or trying to run with his arms going numb? You’ll be laughing too much! There is also more acting clout with the likes of Simon Callow playing bad guys but their only there so that Ace can essentially take the piss out of them, the fact that they are so straight faced the whole way though it only adds to humour!

Does it make this a bad movie, well in truth not at all and in my honest opinion I enjoy this one more. The space that is left for Jim Carrey to go completely mad with it is immense and leads to a film that has more belly laughs and more quotable lines. Once again however it comes down to one thing; sense of humour, some love it some don’t.