Jim Carrey is one of the most beloved actors in comedy, and his best 10 movies include some fantastically funny flicks. While not all of Carrey’s greatest movies are comedies, his slapstick comedy style was instrumental to his rise to fame. Carrey’s career took off in the 1990s after a string of successful comedic roles in movies like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Dumb and Dumber. His career continued to gain steam as the 2000s rolled around, with Carrey picking up several more notable leading roles in a variety of films, including comedies and dramas.
While he has been part of a number of highly rated and high-grossing films, not every Jim Carrey movie is a hit. He has featured in some notable flops as well, as many prolific actors inevitably do before the end of their careers. With that in mind, it can be both useful and entertaining to take a look at Carrey’s best movies from his vast filmography, ranking them from worst to best in terms of overall quality and entertainment value.
10 The Cable Guy (1996)
Character: Ernie “Chip” Douglas/The Cable Guy
While The Cable Guy was not an instant hit in theaters, it has gained a cult following since its 1996 release, making it one of the most overlooked movies of the ’90s. Carrey stars alongside Matthew Broderick as an energetic and highly intrusive cable TV technician, who quickly overstays his welcome. This black comedy is unique and engaging, and while its uneven storytelling prevents it from reaching any higher in this ranking, the clever wit and creative premise land it a spot in Carrey’s best 10 movies.
9 Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Character: Count Olaf
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events is another of Carrey’s best movies, using its star-studded cast and outstanding production value to earn over $200 million at the box office upon its theatrical release in 2004. Starring alongside some highly distinguished actors such as Meryl Streep, Catherine O’Hara, and Jennifer Coolidge, Carrey manages to steal the show as the villainous Count Olaf. This wildly entertaining adaptation of the first three novels in the Series of Unfortunate Events series is a great movie, but it could’ve ranked higher if it had taken a little more time to complete its story properly.
8 Liar Liar (1997)
Character: Fletcher Reede
Liar Liar follows Carrey’s Fletcher Reede, a lawyer and compulsive liar who built his career on his ability to lie smoothly. His world is upended, however, when his son wishes his dad couldn’t lie anymore, and suddenly, Fletcher finds himself unable to do anything but tell the truth. Though Fletcher Reede is one of the least likable of Carrey’s iconic characters, he manages to redeem himself by the end of the movie, making for a heartwarming conclusion. This hilarious and heartfelt script fits Carrey like a glove, helping it land solidly in his top 10 best movies.
7 How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Character: The Grinch
Jim Carrey’s 2000 iteration of the iconic Dr. Seuss story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, remains a classic holiday movie. Carrey fills the role of the Grinch with his classic physical style of comedy, and his face manages to remain as rubbery as usual under the massive levels of prosthetics required for the role. How the Grinch Stole Christmas spent four weeks at the top of the charts in the United States after release, and it’s still watched over and over during the winter holidays, helping it land the number seven ranking.
6 Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
Character: Ace Ventura
Jim Carrey’s portrayal of Ace Ventura in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is one of his most iconic roles, and it helped launch his career into the comedy stratosphere in the mid-90s. Carrey’s wonky pet detective is one of the best displays of his physical comedy and incredible facial contortions. This unique premise has gained a cult following since its 1994 release, and the name Ace Ventura has become synonymous with Jim Carrey. While it’s not the highest quality film he has featured in, it’s one of the funniest and most iconic in his career.
5 Dumb And Dumber (1994)
Character: Lloyd Christmas
Dumb and Dumber, another hilarious Jim Carrey hit from 1994, is a buddy comedy that follows Carrey’s Lloyd Christmas and Jeff Daniel’s Harry Dunne as they unwittingly stumble their way through a hostage negotiation. Dumb and Dumber‘s success spawned a franchise that includes an animated series as well as a prequel and sequel film. This is one of the gems of Carrey’s comedic catalog, and it helped define his career, solidifying him as one of the biggest stars in comedy. While it’s undeniably funny and cleverly thought out, it lacks the deeper meaning of some of Carrey’s higher-ranking films.
4 The Mask (1994)
Character: Stanley Ipkiss
The 1994 film The Mask is another franchise-spawning film starring Jim Carrey. In this one, Carrey plays a bank clerk named Stanley Ipkiss, who happens upon a green wooden mask that turns its wearer into The Mask, a figure with the ability to animate himself and his surroundings. The Mask made an incredible $350 million at the box office against its roughly $23 million budget (via Box Office Mojo), which speaks to the outrageous success this movie immediately achieved. Carrey’s performance is the heart of the film, and it could have ranked higher if not for the outstanding movies Carrey starred in over the next decade.
3 Bruce Almighty (2003)
Character: Bruce Nolan
Bruce Almighty is a 2003 fantasy comedy in which Jim Carrey’s television reporter, Bruce Nolan, gets the chance to act as God for a week. This unique premise fits Carrey like a glove, and its fantastic cast, which includes Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston, and Tony Bennett, helps elevate it into Carrey’s best three movies ever. This movie is hilarious and heartfelt, and its commercial success led to a spinoff film starring Steve Carell, titled Evan Almighty. While the film was not well-received by critics, it remains one of Carrey’s most popular films with audiences, largely because of Carrey’s hilarious and earnest performance.
2 The Truman Show (1998)
Character: Truman Burbank
The Truman Show was released in 1998, and it is one of Jim Carrey’s most powerful films. This genre-blending movie follows Carrey’s Truman Burbank, who is unaware that his entire life has been part of a globally broadcasted reality TV show. The Truman Show received a wide variety of notable award nominations, and it did similarly well with audiences, becoming one of the most iconic movies of the 1990s. This thought-provoking flick is notable for its social commentary, and its broad range of well-blended themes have been extensively analyzed from a number of different angles, making it one of Carrey’s most meaningful roles.
1 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
Character: Joel Barish
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of few films to receive universal acclaim from critics and audiences alike, and it just manages to beat out The Truman Show as Jim Carrey‘s best movie. This thought-provoking film explores the nature of memory and love by following a pair of diverging lovers, played by Carrey and Kate Winslet, who choose to have their memories of each other erased after their relationship falls apart. This powerful drama has the unique distinction of being considered one of the greatest movies of all time by some movie critics, and at the very least, it’s one of the best movies of the 2000s.
