Me, Myself & Irene (2000)

We, the people doing the Thursday Movie Picks series, had a meltdowns week earlier this year and Steven from Surrender to the Void picked Me, Myself & Irene. It sounded like a fun Jim Carrey movie so I finally checked it out. 

The film is about Charlie Baileygates (Jim Carrey), a Rhode Island State Police trooper whose life started falling into pieces on his wedding day when his wife (Traylor Howard) started cheating on him and eventually gave birth to three African-American kids. When she leaves him, Charlie takes upon the task to raise the triples. He becomes a loving and loved father but everyone else mistreats him and takes advantage of him. One day he snaps, his other rude and violent personality, Hank, takes over and, diagnosed with split personality disorder, he's assigned to escort a woman, Irene (Renée Zellweger) back to New York and must protect her from her corrupt ex-boyfriend (Daniel Greene). 

Although it's directed by the Farrelly brothers and it stars Jim Carrey, I was expecting the film to be good as it starts out as an interesting story about a man who is afraid of confrontation. Unfortunately, as I should have expected from those guys, the film takes a turn for the worse and the plot not only is silly, over-the-top and predictable but it's also insulting to all those people suffering from mental illnesses. Somehow, the story manages to be engaging. Bits of it at least as at times it feels so dragged and unappealing.

The characters aren't much better either, definitely too one-dimensional for a comedy like this too. Charlie is the kind of man you feel sorry for; Hank is the kind of guy nobody likes. The confrontation between these two should be funny but because of the lack of development, it is not as funny as it could have been. The character of Irene is also pretty thin and shallow. The rest, they are not even worthy of a mention. 

20th Century Fox

Me, Myself & Irene is not an utter waste of time though. Although he alone was not enough to keep me interested and engaged throughout the entire film, Jim Carrey once again displays his terrific facial expressions and weird body movements and gives a funny and entertaining performance both as Charlie and Hank —he is way more effective as Hank though. Renée Zellweger is completely wasted in here, but she is so sweet and charming, you end up caring about her character. 

As for the humour, it's juvenile, crude and racist at their best. It's not like I was expecting a clever sense of humour, it's the Farrelly brothers after all, but they could have spared us some of those dreadful jokes and gags. They do manage to get a few genuine laughs though. 

Chicago (2002)

Though it won Best Picture in 2003, I never bothered watching Chicago for one simple reason, it's a musical and I'm not really into them. Then Birgit picked it for the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge, it sounded fun and decided to watch it. And what can I say, it probably didn't deserve the Oscar but it's a fun musical.

In 1920s Chicago, Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger), a housewife who dreams of becoming a vaudeville star, kills her lover (Dominic West) after finding out he was never going to make her famous. As he discovers her infidelity, Roxie's husband, Amos (), refuses to take the blame for the murder and Roxie is sent to jail, pending hanging. There she finally meets Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), the vaudeville star she admires the most, who is in for murder her husband and her sister --they were having an affair. Both represented by greasy lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), who is known for having his clients acquitted and making them famous, the two women start fighting for the fame. 

Based on the Broadway musical of the same name which in turn is based on the true story of Roxie Hart, the plot is pretty thin and stupid --I mean, they try to justify a second degree murder-- and yet it's witty and interesting enough to keep you glued to the screen to know how it will end, even though you predict how it is going to end.

Another interesting aspect of Chicago is its characters. They all are nasty, selfish people, and there's absolutely nothing redeeming about them but you can't help but like them and root for them, and the credits go to the actors. 

Renée Zellweger gives an exquisite performance as Roxie Hart, a scheming, manipulative woman who's always looking for attention. Roxie isn't the kind of character that has development, but the kind that slowly shows who she really is, somewhat of a psychopath, and Zellweger does a wonderful job delivering that. Her portrayal feels genuine, and she manages to be incredibly sweet, sarcastic and sexy too. Her singing and dancing aren't perfect which make her the perfect choice to play a woman who is not a singer nor a dancer but wants to become one. Hers, in my opinion, is the strongest performance of the film. 

Miramax Films

Zellweger gets great support from most of the rest of the cast. Catherine Zeta-Jones gives a pretty good performance as Velma Kelly, the ruthless, self-assured star, and her dancing and singing are on point. Did she deserve the Oscar for Supporting Actress? I'm not sure. Queen Latifah is good too as Mama, the corrupt warden of the women's prison, and John C. Reilly is delightful as Roxie's neglected, suffering husband. Richard Gere, on the other hand, is terrible as the lawyer as he looks like he'd rather be somewhere else. 

The musical numbers are quite entertaining and very well choreographed and yet I had a problem with them. They don't really move the plot forward and they are often interrupted with dialogue which is very annoying. I liked the idea of mixing reality and fantasy but it could have been handled better. They, however, allow us to know things about the characters in a more fun way. 

Visually, Chicago is very beautiful. From cinematography to sets to costumes, it's all great. Still, because of the flaws in the script and the execution, I don't think it should have won Best Picture.