Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Tom Shadyac

Writers (WGA):

Jack Bernstein (story)
Jack Bernstein (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 February 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

He's the best there is! (Actually, he's the only one there is.)

Plot:

A goofy detective specializing in animals goes in search of a missing dolphin mascot of a football team.

Plot Keywords:

Dolphin | Animal | Detective | Fire | Ass

Awards:

5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Jim Carrey	...	Ace Ventura
Courteney Cox	...	Melissa Robinson
Sean Young	...	Lt. Lois Einhorn / Ray Finkel
Tone Loc	...	Emilio (as Tone Lõc)
Dan Marino	...	Himself
Noble Willingham	...	Riddle
Troy Evans	...	Roger Podacter
Raynor Scheine	...	Woodstock
Udo Kier	...	Ron Camp
Frank Adonis	...	Vinnie
Tiny Ron	...	Roc
David Margulies	...	Doctor
John Capodice	...	Aguado
Judy Clayton	...	Martha Mertz
Bill Zuckert	...	Mr. Finkle

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for off-color humor and some nudity.

Runtime:

86 min | Turkey:78 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:PG (cut) | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | South Korea:12 | USA:PG-13 (Certificate #32779) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Iceland:L | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Compton Apartments - Washington Avenue, Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The idea for Ray Finkle missing a game-winning field goal in the Super Bowl came from Scott Norwood's last-second field goal kick going wide right in Super Bowl XXV that cost the Buffalo Bills a victory, as the New York Giants Football Team defeated the Bills 20-19.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ace is breaking into the Private Room in the Asylum, he picks the lock with the 'Private' door tag. Once he is inside and the cleaner opens the door it appears to be unlocked.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ace Ventura: Heads up! Good defense! Good defense!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Dawson's Creek: Road Trip (#1.9)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

THE CRYING GAME

Sure, this is cheeseball comedy, but Jim Carrey makes it memorable.

Ace Ventura is the kind of comedy that stems directly from a TV show, and in this case, that show was probably In Living Color, where Carrey got most of his publicity before he became famous as a movie actor. A quick look through Carrey's filmography will prove that Ace Ventura is the film that really acted as a springboard for his career. He had a few small roles in films previous to Ace Ventura, the largest of which was probably his role as one of the aliens in the awful film Earth Girls Are Easy, but after Ace Ventura, his career skyrocketed. The Mask (hey, he's still new, give the guy a break), Dumb & Dumber, a sequel to Ace Ventura, Liar Liar, The Cable Guy (oops), The Truman Show (ah, better), Man On The Moon, Me, Myself & Irene, The Grinch, and there's no end in sight.

Sure, Ace Ventura does not compare to half of these movies, and is clearly more on the side of the bone-headed comedy that he was doing on In Living Color, but his talent is unmistakable. I first saw this movie when I was in high school, and I remember that I would ditch school and go to the theater to see it and I would laugh hysterically until my sides hurt every time I saw it. There's something about seeing a slob at a tremendously rich party who just doesn't care about the etiquette of the rich people. Did anyone not laugh when he was `testing' the food at Ron Kamp's I'm-the-richest-man-in-the-universe party and stuck his tongue out at that poor guy next to him? That whole scene at that party is classic!

And, of course, it only gets better with Ace's dealings with Lois Einhorn. The whole crying game idea may have gone a little too far, but it was always amusing. Jim Carrey saves Ace Ventura from sinking to the totally brainless level of more recent crapfests as the Scary Movies, and even makes this into one of the better comedies of 1994. This is not the type of movie that is likely to win any awards, but you will remember the hilarious dialogue and Jim Carrey's immediately recognizable rubber-faced antics in this film that served as a spring board to his career, which later brought us many more excellent movies. Way to go, Jim.