Ace Ventura: Pet Detective: 30th Anniversary- We Can Never Go Back
Quick Take: We can never go back. In a year with Chasing Chasing Amy, and one filmmaker exploring what that problematic film meant to them, I jumped straight into this film that doesn’t hold up unless you are super transphobic and homophobic. When I was a kid and this film came out, Jim Carrey’s energy was perfect for me. There are still jokes in this film that are objectively funny. The sliding glass door sequence is funny.But, the film is mired with this twist from hell where Sean Young turns out to be a former male football player, who has had clearly a lot of work done, and Ace’s reaction is… well….
I don’t mind a reaction or two. there are people in this world I do not want to kiss, so finding out you had that contact with someone can have that instant reaction of disgust. It isn’t necessarily homophobic or transphobic, until you beat the joke like a dead horse. Like, every character freaks out, and Ace goes home and bathes himself in bleach. The idea that he’ll never be clean again. it is, to put it mildly, a bit much, and has not aged well.
Has this film stood the test of time? Not as much as some other 90’s comedies, but I still think it has relevance, where perhaps it shouldn’t, and maybe it is time to take a look at other films in Carrey’s filmography instead. For more, check out the video.
