Born January 17, 1962 in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada Jim Carrey would first get noticed for his role on the comedy sketch TV show In Living Color but would become better known for his roles in some amazing and memorable movies. He has a long lost of great films and is currently trending on social media because he is portraying Dr. Robotnik in the Sonic The Hedgehog movie coming out in 2020 so I figured it would be a great time to sort through and list his more successful movies and roles.
Once Bitten
Released in 1985 the horror comedy film Once Bitten directed by Howard Storm would be Jim Carrey’s first leading role in a film and would depict him as a high school student who is seduced by a beautiful vampire who is 400 years old. The movie also starred Lauren Hutton and is the film that put Jim Carrey on the map even if he didn’t reach his peak until later on in his career. the movie only grossed around $10 million at the box office worldwide.
Buy or Rent the movie here https://amzn.to/2X885pu
Earth Girls Are Easy
Released in 1988 and directed by Julien Temple the science fiction comedy movie Earth Girls Are Easy is probably not one of the movie people think of when they think of Jim Carrey but he did have a kind of key role in the movie playing Wiploc, one of the three aliens that land on Earth. The movie depicts what happens when three aliens land on Earth and become enamored with earthling women, the movie is one of those films that is so cheesy and bad that it’s good and I highly recommend it. Also starring Geena Davis, Damon Wayans and Jeff Goldblum the film is based on the song Goddess in Progress and only made just under $4 million at the box office.
Watch free with a 7 day trial of Tribeca Shortlist here https://amzn.to/33GFDh9
Check out the song that inspired the movie here https://amzn.to/2O3EQA4
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Released in 1994 and directed by Tom Shadyac the comedy film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is the movie that most people first remember Jim Carrey in and the role of the title character Ace Ventura is what made him a household name. The film depicts the zany situations a detective fr pets gets into when he is investigating the disappearance of the Miami Dolphins mascot and was the first film where we really got to see Carrey’s unique brand of over the top comedy. Also starring Courtney Cox and Dan Marino the movie was a big success grossing over $100 million at the box office and spawning a sequel, an animated TV series and a made for TV movie Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective.
Buy or Rent the movie here https://amzn.to/2X8ZWRD
Buy or Rent the sequel here https://amzn.to/2NE04Wd
The Mask
Also released in 1994 and directed by Charles Russell the comedy film The Mask is based on the comic book series of the same name by Dark Horse Comics and sees Carrey in the role of a down on his luck bank employee who finds a magical mask that pretty much lets him do whatever he wants. Also starring Cameron Diaz in her film debut the film was a huge success, grossing over $350 million worldwide and was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award and also spawned a sequel in 2005 The Son of the Mask which was horrible beyond description but didn’t feature Jim Carrey.
Watch for free with a 7 day trial of Cinemax here https://amzn.to/2NENHZW
Buy the graphic novel here https://amzn.to/370k4de
Dumb and Dumber
The third movie on this list released in 1994 the comedy movie Dumb and Dumber was directed by Peter Farrelly and would put Jim Carrey in the role of one of two very stupid friends who are on a trip to Aspen, Colorado to return a briefcase full of money that they found and was the perfect role for Carrey’s unique slapstick comedy. Also starring Jeff Daniels and Lauren Holly the movie had success at release, grossing $247 million at the box office and spawning a sequel, a prequel and an animated TV series, all less successful than the original film.
Buy or Rent the movie https://amzn.to/34YXAHZ
Batman Forever
Released in 1995 and directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton the superhero film Batman Forever was based on the DC Comics character and although it’s not considered to be the greatest Batman film out there it does have it’s own little charm to it and Jim Carrey was great as The Riddler. Also starring Tommy Lee Jones, Val Kilmer, Nicole Kidman and Chris ‘Donnell the film opened to mixed reviews but did make over $330 million at the box office worldwide.
Buy or Rent the movie here https://amzn.to/2Kap859
The Cable Guy
Released in 1996 and directed by Ben Stiller the black comedy The Cable Guy would put Jim Carrey in the role of a crazy cable installer who becomes obsessed with a customer and will do almost anything to make him his friend. The movie also stars Leslie Mann, Matthew Broderick and Jack Black and although it did open to mixed reviews it still made $102 million at the box office and helped to prove that anything Carrey put his hands on back then turned to gold even cheesy subpar comedies.
Buy or Rent the movie here https://amzn.to/2CEBmi6
Liar Liar
Released in 1997 and directed by Tom Shadyac the comedy film Liar Liar depicts Jim Carrey as an attorney who one day finds himself incapable of lying and shows just how tricky it can get if you tell the truth all of the time. Also starring Jennifer Tilly, Cary Elwes and Swoosie Kurtz the film did great at the box office , grossing over $300 million worldwide.
Buy or Rent the movie here https://amzn.to/36UOzkN
The Truman Show
Released in 1998 and directed by Peter Weir the science fiction film The Truman Show was inspired by an episode of The Twilight Zone and would put Jim Carrey in the role of a man living his entire life not knowing his whole life is a TV show that everyone has watched for years and shows how a man might react when finding this out. The film was a little more serious than most of Carrey’s films and is truly amazing in my opinion. Also starring Laura Linney and Ed Harris the film was very successful grossing over $260 million worldwide and receiving numerous nominations for multiple different awards.
Watch for free with a 7 day trial of STARZ here https://amzn.to/2rFKml7
Man on the Moon
Released in 1999 and directed by Milos Forman the biographical comedy-drama Man on the Moon explores the life of comedy great Andy Kaufman and Jim Carrey was perfect in the role. Also starring Danny DeVito, Courtney Love and Paul Giamatti the film was a commercial failure only grossing $47 million at the box office but it was a critical success winning Carrey a Golden Globe for hs performance.
Watch for free with a 7 day trial of STARZ here https://amzn.to/2X8tyyu
Me, Myself & Irene
Released in 2000 and directed by the Farrelly Brothers the dark comedy drama Me, Myself & Irene puts Jim Carrey in the role of a Rhode Island State Trooper who ends up with a second personality after cracking under all the stress of his life and job. Also starring Renee Zellweger and Chris Cooper the film did decently , grossing over $140 million at the box office worldwide.
Buy or Rent the movie here https://amzn.to/2rE8R1V
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Also released in 2000 and directed by Ron Howard the modern remake of the Christmas classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas would allow Jim Carrey to make the character his own and give us all an instant classic for our holiday season. Also starring Molly Shannon and Jeffrey Tambor the film is of course inspired by the book of the same name by Dr. Seuss and although it opened to mix reviews it was a huge commercial success, grossing over $345 million worldwide.
Buy or Rent the movie here https://amzn.to/2NHoo9D
The Majestic
Released in 2001 and directed by Frank Darabont the romantic drama film The Majestic explores the 1950’s paranoia over Communism and Jim Carrey depicts a man that shows up in an oceanside town with amnesia who becomes suspected of being a Communist. The film also stars Martin Landau and was a huge commercial failure but I personally love the movie and would suggest it to anyone.
Buy or Rent the movie here https://amzn.to/2qLBw4N
Bruce Almighty
Released in 2003 and directed by Tom Shadyac (His third project with Jim Carrey) the fantasy comedy film would have Jim Carrey in the leading role as a TV reporter who meets god and is given all of god’s powers and if that doesn’t sound interesting enough for you Morgan Freeman plays god, how can you get better than that. The film was a huge success, grossing over $480 million worldwide and spawning a spin-off sequel Evan Almighty which was not so successful
Watch free with a 7 day trial of HBO here https://amzn.to/32GjWwf
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Released in 2004 and directed by Michel Gondry the romantic science fiction comedy-drama film had Jim Carrey in the lead role as a heartbroken man and explores love, memory and the consequences we might pay if we were to just forget all the bad in our lives. Also starring Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood the film only grossed around $70 million worldwide but won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay and is regarded as one of the best films of the 21st century.
Watch free with a 7 day trial of STARZ here https://amzn.to/34SFY0c
Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events
Released in 2004 as well and directed by Brad Silberling the gothic dark comedy film Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events is an adaptation of the first three books of the A Series of Unfortunate Events book series by Lemony Snicket(Daniel Handler). Jim Carrey leads a great cast including Meryl Streep and Jude Law and the film grossed over $200 million at the box office and won an Academy Award for Best Makeup.
Watch for free with a 7 day trial of SHOWTIME here https://amzn.to/2Xat0Ip
Buy the 13 book collection here https://amzn.to/2CDkDMo
Fun With Dick and Jane
Released in 2005 and directed by Dean Parisot the comedy film Fun With Dick and Jane is a remake of the 1977 film of the same name and depicts a couple that rob a bank due to financial problems due to job loss. Jim Carrey is joined by Tea Leoni and Alec Baldwin the film grossed just over $200 million worldwide and is a typical example of Jim Carrey’s comedic stylings.
Buy or Rent the movie here https://amzn.to/2Qd6BsP
The Number 23
Released in 2007 and directed by Joel Schumacher the thriller film The Number 23 would let us see Jim Carrey in a darker and grittier role. The film depicts a man that becomes obsessed with the number 23 and shows how he starts to see it in everything and it is slowly driving him mad. Jim Carrey is joined by Virginia Madsen and although the movie didn’t do great commercially or critically I enjoy it quite a lot and it’s actually one of my favorite movies that Jim Carrey has done.
Buy or Rent the movie here https://amzn.to/2O6Jayv
Jim Carrey has been in a lot of movies since 2007 including Mr. Popper’s Penguins, A Christmas Carol and The Bad Batch but hasn’t seen the success he did earlier on in his career and as much as I love the guy I doubt his role coming up in the Sonic The Hedgehog movie in 2020 is going to be what starts his comeback.
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The Listerzine 
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