Touches You

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Fun with Dick and Jane (2005): Dir: Dean Parisot / Cast: Jim Carrey, Tea Leoni, Alec Baldwin, Richard Jenkins, Angie Harmon: Routine remake about communication and marital union. When Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni lose their jobs and are threatened with bankruptcy they resort to crime in order to live. Setup works due to casual development of the plot that isn't rushed but the conclusion leaves questions as to whether a lesson is learned or is crime a payoff. Director Dean Parisot counters cheap sets in favor of developing the setup, which pays off further due to Carrey and Leoni's flawed methods of executing crime. They are an effective pairing coming from different cinematic backgrounds. They are at their best in crime scenes that backfire leaving them empty handed. Parisot previously made the mystifying comedy tragedy Home Fries as well as the science fiction comedy spoof misfire Galaxy Quest. Richard Jenkins carries a few laughs as an ex-co-worker but Alec Baldwin is a complete waste as the cheating boss in what amounts to being a rather standard role. Angie Harmon even got talked into this. It is hardly an impressive comedy in terms of its production values. Despite the fact that this is a remake the theme stresses the difficulty in living yet Dick and Jane's true fun is in their ability to work through these difficulties as a union. Score: 5 ½ / 10

Jim Carrey isn't at the top of my list of favourite actors. He's funny, but way too often he simply goes overboard and it seems as though he's trying to be too funny - with the end result being that he isn't funny, he's just irritating. When he keeps himself more in check, though (and actually acts, rather than trying too hard to be funny) he can put on a pretty good performance, and in "Fun With Dick and Jane" he manages to do that, teamed very effectively with Tea Leoni.What really makes this movie work is not so much the comedy (although it is quite funny at times) but the sympathy you feel for the characters, which - because of the economic troubles in the modern world - is probably even greater today than it was in 2005 when this movie was made. Dick is a corporate executive on the rise, who as the movie opens gets his big promotion to Vice President of a big company, only to be left stammering incoherently in a television interview when the company goes under while he's on the air. He and Jane find themselves in desperate circumstances, unable to find work, having to sell everything they own, finally faced with the foreclosure of their house. This was funny and somewhat sad all at the same time. You could laugh at what was happening on screen and at the same time really understand their plight, while at the same time hoping you never have to face what they're facing. Finally, with literally no other options, Dick and Jane take up robbing stores and banks to try to save their home. Everything worked very well up to that point in the movie.I didn't like the revenge angle, though. Eventually, this turned into Dick and Jane finding a way to make Jack McAllister (Alec Baldwin) - who had been the president of the company Dick worked for - pay for his dishonesty. Somehow the movie lost its sense of fun with that, and the end result was a little too "feel-good," as their plot against McAllister worked perfectly and to the benefit not just of Dick and Jane, but of all the company's former employees. It was nice to see McAllister pay up, but to me it didn't really fit too well with what I was feeling about the movie up to that point.This is quite a fun ride for a little over an hour, then the remainder of the movie gets a bit bogged down with this plan directed against McAllister. What really makes this work, though, is that Dick and Jane are truly likable characters whose desperate circumstances you really do care about. They were fine performances from Carrey and Leoni. (7/10)

I'd like to share an experience I'd while watching this movie yesterday. I'd just come back from office, flopped on the bed and took out my shoes while flipping channels on the TV at same time. Just then, one of the channels began to air Fun with Dick & Jane. The moment I saw the opening rolls showing Jim Carrey sprinting out of his house, I became rooted to my bed. He's one of my all-time fave actors.Throughout the 90mins(the channel didn't even give an ad break), I didn't move an inch, not even an inch! I didn't even want to change out of my office wear fearing that I might lose even a small moment of comedy from Carrey or Tea Leoni. That's how entertained I was with this movie.So many funny scenes of Carrey and Leoni that I can't pick a favorite really. Both give a great performance. Didn't realise that Tea Leoni could pack so much fun in her, after watching her very serious character in Deep Impact(1998). Every other cast here were just kinda normal supporting actors for these two guys, including "The Shadow" Alec Baldwin. Ya, he was just a shadow here too :-) Maybe the ending could have been a bit more lively. I felt the state of shock that Alec Baldwin's character goes through in the end wasn't portrayed convincingly. The whole shot that included Baldwin, Carrey, Leoni, the media & crowd of others felt a bit weak to me.Verdict: Still, a great comedy, great direction, great performances. That's it, review over!

Well, it's interesting to see Jim Carrey doing works different from his usual ones; okay, maybe this isn't THAT different from them, but at least he doesn't sound like a goofy retard anymore. In this short flick, Carrey's character is a desperated man robbing and cheating everyone around because his company broke and he's totally out of money. For a comedy movie, I believe there are too few funny moments, but at least they don't try to hard and fail like many of Carrey's comedies do. The plot itself isn't too elaborated or developed; the story is told in an entertaining way so the spectator doesn't have time to get sick, tired or lost in the story. Agree with me or not, but I liked this film better than "The Truman Show"-- and I must say I'm ready to be offended and receive thousand of negatives reactions to this opinion of mine.