Fans have seen Carrey’s acting chops span from the ridiculous to the heart-wrenching, and everything in between. With an expansive filmography, it’s hard to narrow them down. But Team Ozoon reached a grueling consensus to bring you Jim Carrey’s top 10 films
Jim Carrey is a Canadian national treasure.
You might have seen the rubbery-faced comic on the show Living Color before Carrey launched onto Hollywood’s centre stage in 1994.
With a string of box office hits and more than 50 film roles over multiple decades, Carrey has proved to the world that he is among the best actors in Canada.
10. Yes Man (2008)
Carl is a down-and-out divorcee. He is a disillusioned bank loan officer who accepts a challenge to say yes! to every opportunity sent his way. Hilarity ensues.
The fun-loving film is as offbeat as it is heartwarming. Carrey delivers an energetic performance, with a solid supporting cast that features Allison (Zooey Deschanel) as Carl’s charming and offbeat romantic interest and brow-beating buddy, Peter (then-fledgling actor, Bradley Cooper).
9. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Who better to don a grinch suit and shine as the antihero in Dr Seuss’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas?
Carrey gave a perfect portrayal of the persnickety character under the direction of Ron Howard. The film also features eternal optimist Cindy Lou-Who (Taylor Momsen).
Fans of Carrey’s exaggerated performances and maximum-volume delivery were delighted to see the grinch’s evolution from grumpy to gracious. Their turnout helped catapult it to the sixth highest grossing film of the year 2000.
8. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
Ace Ventura is the eccentric animal detective from Miami, Florida. He’s on a mission to rescue the abducted mascot from the Miami Dolphins football team. Yes, it is a dolphin if you are wondering.
As the outlandish and absurd Ace, Carrey burst into mainstream cinema like a metal band at Sunday mass. Millions stomped along, but those predisposed to subtlety would need a little longer to appreciate the art of the man.
This film truly launched Carrey’s career, followed by a stampede of box office triumphs in that very same year of 1994.
7. Bruce Almighty (2003)
TV anchor Bruce Almighty is down on his luck and looking to file a complaint with Head Office. Not the network’s, but a level up. After complaining to God played by Morgan Freeman, he finds himself in possession of the Big Guy’s powers for an entire week.
Although initially opening to mixed reviews, the film grossed $86.4 million at the box office on opening day, and $484.5 million worldwide overall, making it the highest-grossing Jim Carrey film of all time.
6. The Mask (1994)
Carrey’s hyperactive, larger-than-life screen presence are what made this film the unstoppable hit that it was with audiences.
It also launched the career of a young Cameron Diaz, who wore THAT sultry red dress, of course.
The eye-popping – literally – Tex Avery-style visual effects broke new ground, marking the first such visuals in a live-action film. This earned The Mask even more acclaim to add to its multiple film nominations, and Carrey’s zany performance as Stanley Ipkiss wasn’t overlooked either, with his own slew of nominations.
5. Man on the Moon (1999)
Carrey won his second Golden Globe in 1999 for best actor for his portrayal of the late comedian Andy Kaufman.
Andy Kaufman was more than just a comedian: like Carrey, he was a “performance artist’. Kaufman’s sense of humour often bordered on obnoxious, despite referring to himself as “a song and dance man.
Carrey’s own penchant for musical comedy and an obvious affinity for the absurd allowed him to easily slide into Kaufman’s shoes.
This role was another chance for Carrey to highlight a deeper side of his acting. It was the first and only film in which Carrey opted to do method acting, and his efforts paid off. His portrayal of the anti-comedian and his idiosyncrasies was uncanny, right down to the famous Elvis impersonation on Johnny Carson.
A strong supporting cast shone along with Carrey, with Danny DeVito as George Shapiro and Courtney Love as the incandescent Lynne Margulies.
4. Dumb and Dumber (1994)
Stupidity never felt so appealing as baffling antics saw our lead characters dodge would-be murderers, death by hypothermia, and revenge tactics deployed against one another.
The multiple brushes of death would be thwarted by dumb luck at each turn, leaving the audience feeling somehow both a little dumber, and intellectually gifted.
But it was Lloyd and Harry’s loveability that was the gift that kept on giving – until the cinematic tragedy that was Dumb and Dumber To, twenty years later, nearly ruined an enduring legacy.
Carrey’s performance was so good that critic Roger Ebert claimed the dead parakeet joke “made me laugh so loudly I embarrassed myself”.
The risk was clearly worth the reward.
3. Liar Liar (1997)
“I can’t… lie!” Fletcher Reede: habitual lawyer – excuse me, liar – one day; incorrigible truth-teller the next. And like the stereotypical fast-talking lawyer, Fletcher rarely let the facts get in the way of a good story.
His young son, Max, crushed by his father’s broken promise to attend his birthday party, used that one birthday wish to maximum effect.
Carrey’s exuberant performance as the unfiltered attorney had audiences in stitches as his inability to lie in order to advance his client’s interests led to courtroom meltdowns.
This was a tale of moral redemption, though, and Max (Justin Cooper) would have his father atone for his previously deceitful ways.
2. The Truman Show (1998)
The Truman Show showed us where voyeurism could lead us if taken to the extreme.
Carrey, in the title role, was transformed in Peter Weir’s explorative film that traded outright comedy for an up-beat, and narrative adversity for outright drama.
Truman Burbank, was an ordinary man who discovers his entire life has been a set-up. His world was a television set, and his audience: the whole world.
Audiences loved the more earnest side of Carrey. The Truman Show pushed the boundaries of how we viewed the actor known for his slapstick comedy.
Carrey won his first ever Golden Globe for Best Actor for the performance.
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
By 2004, we already knew that Carrey could dial back the goof and flesh out roles with more nuance and depth, but Carrey really knocked it out of the park with the would-be Arthouse cult-hit.
With a lucrative name like his bringing all the shades of grey to the helplessly depressed protagonist, Joel Barish, Carrey lifted this brilliantly written script into mainstream movie fodder.
Directed by Michel Gondry, Eternal Sunshine is overflowing with dreamy visuals, creative editing, and deeply contemplative themes. It was fertile territory for a liberated Carrey to dig down and connect with the full spectrum of on-screen talent you’d expect from the best of dramatic actors, as the darkly comedic turns were left to others.
performance of hurt and lovesick Carrey as Barish who is trying desperately to retrieve the erasing memories of his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet).
This role firmly placed the comedian into the A-list as a versatile and credible actor, and rightfully earned enough critical and audience acclaim to be considered the most definitive Jim Carrey film of all time.
Rarely do we see a performer take us so far along a one-track journey only to slingshot us back in the opposite direction. Jim Carrey’s fame was carved out of his one-of-a-kind comedic genius, but gradually revealed himself to be what he likely was all along: one of the most well-rounded and dynamic actors of our time.