Thursday, March 1, 2007
Jim Carrey and director Joel Schumacher make a terrible duo. They last teamed up on 1995’s Batman Forever, with disastrous results, and don’t fare much better in The Number 23.
Jim Carrey plays Walter Sparrow, a dog-catcher who receives a book from his wife (Virginia Madsen) on his birthday. The book is titled The Number 23.
The book revolves around suicide and murder, which seem to be related to the number 23. As Walter reads, he starts to notice that his life parallels the book in many ways, and that the most important events in his life relate to the number 23. Digging into the past, Walter discovers a mysterious murder and realizes that the number 23 may be more than just a coincidence.
This is the classic case of the movie that tries too hard. Throughout, The Number 23 tries to be creepy, but comes off as extremely dull and unintentionally humorous.
For example, a mysterious, all-knowing dog shows up at the scene of coincidences, but instead of looking menacing, he challenges viewers to hold back their laughter.
There’s also the parallel book universe, filmed in mellow blacks, whites and reds. Here, it’s evident that Schumacher tries to evoke 1950s and ‘60s noir but fails miserably, as the scenes come across as cheesy.
But the film’s biggest flaw is in the title. It turns out that the number 23 is neither a curse nor a blessing, but a gimmick. The movie isn’t very frightening in the first place, but take away that number and it just doesn’t add up.
Rated R
95 minutes
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