Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
1994 · Directed by Tom Shadyac
Original language: English
- comedy
- crime
- mystery
The story
He's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. The Ace is on the case to find the Miami Dolphins' missing mascot and quarterback Dan Marino. He goes eyeball to eyeball with a man-eating shark, stakes out the Miami Dolphins and woos and wows the ladies. Whether he's undercover, under fire or underwater, he always gets his man… or beast!
What it’s like
Bright, saturated Miami daylight does most of the work here: sun-bleached stadium lots, pastel hotel lobbies, turquoise pools and flat, glaring beach light, with the palette tipped toward hot pinks, lime greens and tropical prints. The camera is mostly plain and workmanlike, medium shots and quick cuts that let the performances carry the frame, while the zooms into Jim Carrey's rubbery expressions do the heavy lifting. The sound is cheerful 90s pop-rock and synth-tinged novelty cues, with pratfalls, squeaks and exaggerated sound effects punctuating nearly every scene. Its pace is brisk and scattershot, built from bits and gags more than any sustained tension, and the mood is loud, goofy and irreverent, with a sly affection for oddballs and animals. The violence is cartoonish and slapstick, with brief scuffles, fistfights and a few crude jokes; there is some sexual innuendo and mild suggestive humour, but no real gore and little genuine menace. It suits a silly Friday night, a group watch, or a lighthearted rewatch when you want big laughs without effort, and it is for people who enjoy broad physical comedy and over-the-top characters.
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