Centering on an upwardly mobile couple who resort to robbery to maintain their way of life, this comedy remake boasts an all-too-timely premise. But while the 1977 "Fun With Dick and Jane" was a reasonably diverting sendup of conspicuous consumption with a subversive if not always razor-sharp comic edge, the new version, with Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni stepping into roles originated by George Segal and Jane Fonda, replaces smart performances with tired shtick.
The film, directed by Dean Parisot ("Galaxy Quest") from a script by Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller, makes some clever updates, setting the story in 2000 -- "a long, long time ago" in that pre-war-on-terrorism bubble of supposed innocence. In the process, though, it undercuts the potential satire with obvious swipes at that barn door of a target, corporate greed, and does so in a way that feels disingenuous, phoned-in and borderline cynical. Fans of Carrey and those looking for a break from serious awards-season offerings could give "Dick and Jane" a run at the boxoffice, but it's not likely to be a spectacular heist.
In the original film, a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses SoCal exec and his wife turn to crime after he loses his aerospace job. The wise and witty comedic acting of Segal and Fonda was one of the movie's sure strengths, though it served to make its selfish protagonists more likable, perhaps, than they should be. The setup of the new film muddles things in a different way, turning its central couple into victims of corporate shenanigans. Meant to be sympathetic, they come off as shrill and hard to embrace.
A rising exec at vaguely defined media enterprise Globodyne, Dick Harper (Carrey) tosses around meaningless mouthfuls of words like "consolidator," "synergy" and "platforms." His wife, Jane (Leoni), is the quintessential harried, multitasking working mom. At Dick's urging, she quits her stressful job as a travel agent after he scores a big-league promotion to vp communications. But Dick, it turns out, won't be in the executive suite long; he's only being set up by sleazy chief financial officer Frank Bascombe (Richard Jenkins) and company topper Jack McCallister (Alec Baldwin, putting a Southern drawl on the kind of bastard he could play in his sleep). They toss their new spokesman to the cable-talk dogs -- a snarling money-show host and a deeply disappointed Ralph Nader -- just as the company disintegrates in an Enron/WorldCom-type implosion of shell companies and cooked books.
Dick and Jane's entire savings was in now-worthless Globodyne stock, and the company's demise has sent the local real estate market on a dive that would leave them owing the bank if they sold their home. Relying on visual gags and slapstick, the film milks the silliness of the situation as the Harpers remain in their superhouse sans water or electricity, among neighbors who proudly demonstrate their voice-operated Mercedes. With dozens of desperate laid-off execs vying for the same coveted positions, Dick and Jane lower their expectations with ill-fated gigs as day laborer and drug-company guinea pig. Looming foreclosure sends Dick over the edge, and soon he and the missus are wielding their son's squirt gun (no real weapons because they're not really bad) in a series of elaborately costumed stickups.
The script's jabs at Kenneth Lay and George W. Bush, however deserved, lack real sting, and Parisot puts most of his energy into dumb action, generating only a few laughs. Carrey and Leoni get the physical comedy right. They also convey the required chemistry for a couple who once scheduled dates for sex and now find lawlessness a spontaneous turn-on. But mostly they're asked to flail around in over-the-top "funny" acts.
The production package is straightforward and polished and makes good use of Los Angeles-area locations, especially the Malibu spread -- one of the many homes of Baldwin's "Walden"-quoting villain -- that bears a striking resemblance to another movie home of a hypocritical executive, that of Campbell Scott's in "The Dying Gaul".
FUN WITH DICK AND JANE
Sony Pictures Entertainment/Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures and Imagine Entertainment presenta Brian Grazer, JC 23 Entertainment and Bart/Palevsky production
Credits:
Director: Dean Parisot
Screenplay by: Judd Apatow, Nicholas Stoller
Story by: Gerald Gaiser, Judd Apatow, Nicholas Stoller
Producers: Brian Grazer, Jim Carrey
Executive producers: Jane Bartelme, Peter Bart, Max Palevsky
Director of photography: Jerzy Zielinski
Production designer: Barry Robison
Music: Theodore Shapiro
Co-producer: Kim Roth
Costume designer: Julie Weiss
Editor: Don Zimmerman
Cast:
Dick Harper: Jim Carrey
Jane Harper: Tea Leoni
Jack McCallister: Alec Baldwin
Frank Bascombe: Richard Jenkins
Veronica: Angie Harmon
Garth: John Michael Higgins
Joe: Richard Burgi
Oz: Carlos Jacott
Blanca: Gloria Garayua
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 90 minutes...
The film, directed by Dean Parisot ("Galaxy Quest") from a script by Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller, makes some clever updates, setting the story in 2000 -- "a long, long time ago" in that pre-war-on-terrorism bubble of supposed innocence. In the process, though, it undercuts the potential satire with obvious swipes at that barn door of a target, corporate greed, and does so in a way that feels disingenuous, phoned-in and borderline cynical. Fans of Carrey and those looking for a break from serious awards-season offerings could give "Dick and Jane" a run at the boxoffice, but it's not likely to be a spectacular heist.
In the original film, a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses SoCal exec and his wife turn to crime after he loses his aerospace job. The wise and witty comedic acting of Segal and Fonda was one of the movie's sure strengths, though it served to make its selfish protagonists more likable, perhaps, than they should be. The setup of the new film muddles things in a different way, turning its central couple into victims of corporate shenanigans. Meant to be sympathetic, they come off as shrill and hard to embrace.
A rising exec at vaguely defined media enterprise Globodyne, Dick Harper (Carrey) tosses around meaningless mouthfuls of words like "consolidator," "synergy" and "platforms." His wife, Jane (Leoni), is the quintessential harried, multitasking working mom. At Dick's urging, she quits her stressful job as a travel agent after he scores a big-league promotion to vp communications. But Dick, it turns out, won't be in the executive suite long; he's only being set up by sleazy chief financial officer Frank Bascombe (Richard Jenkins) and company topper Jack McCallister (Alec Baldwin, putting a Southern drawl on the kind of bastard he could play in his sleep). They toss their new spokesman to the cable-talk dogs -- a snarling money-show host and a deeply disappointed Ralph Nader -- just as the company disintegrates in an Enron/WorldCom-type implosion of shell companies and cooked books.
Dick and Jane's entire savings was in now-worthless Globodyne stock, and the company's demise has sent the local real estate market on a dive that would leave them owing the bank if they sold their home. Relying on visual gags and slapstick, the film milks the silliness of the situation as the Harpers remain in their superhouse sans water or electricity, among neighbors who proudly demonstrate their voice-operated Mercedes. With dozens of desperate laid-off execs vying for the same coveted positions, Dick and Jane lower their expectations with ill-fated gigs as day laborer and drug-company guinea pig. Looming foreclosure sends Dick over the edge, and soon he and the missus are wielding their son's squirt gun (no real weapons because they're not really bad) in a series of elaborately costumed stickups.
The script's jabs at Kenneth Lay and George W. Bush, however deserved, lack real sting, and Parisot puts most of his energy into dumb action, generating only a few laughs. Carrey and Leoni get the physical comedy right. They also convey the required chemistry for a couple who once scheduled dates for sex and now find lawlessness a spontaneous turn-on. But mostly they're asked to flail around in over-the-top "funny" acts.
The production package is straightforward and polished and makes good use of Los Angeles-area locations, especially the Malibu spread -- one of the many homes of Baldwin's "Walden"-quoting villain -- that bears a striking resemblance to another movie home of a hypocritical executive, that of Campbell Scott's in "The Dying Gaul".
FUN WITH DICK AND JANE
Sony Pictures Entertainment/Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures and Imagine Entertainment presenta Brian Grazer, JC 23 Entertainment and Bart/Palevsky production
Credits:
Director: Dean Parisot
Screenplay by: Judd Apatow, Nicholas Stoller
Story by: Gerald Gaiser, Judd Apatow, Nicholas Stoller
Producers: Brian Grazer, Jim Carrey
Executive producers: Jane Bartelme, Peter Bart, Max Palevsky
Director of photography: Jerzy Zielinski
Production designer: Barry Robison
Music: Theodore Shapiro
Co-producer: Kim Roth
Costume designer: Julie Weiss
Editor: Don Zimmerman
Cast:
Dick Harper: Jim Carrey
Jane Harper: Tea Leoni
Jack McCallister: Alec Baldwin
Frank Bascombe: Richard Jenkins
Veronica: Angie Harmon
Garth: John Michael Higgins
Joe: Richard Burgi
Oz: Carlos Jacott
Blanca: Gloria Garayua
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 90 minutes...
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.