Jim Carrey‘s acting career has been built on a foundation of zany characters and off-beat comedy, but two of his movies on Rotten Tomatoes have been scored in such a way that they force his acting abilities to be seen in a new light. Although some of Jim Carrey’s best movies show the fun-loving side of the actor, there’s a subset of his back catalog that has him appear in more dramatic roles. Some of these alternative projects have been fairly hit-and-miss, but others have resulted in some of the best performances of Carrey’s career.
Almost every Jim Carrey movie reveals a new facet of the actor’s skills, with each production requiring something different from its leading man. Throughout his career, Carrey has always answered the call with his vast array of performances – even if the movies themselves fell short in other areas. Interestingly, it was some of Carrey’s less slapstick and over-the-top characters that stuck more solidly in the minds of the audience, and Rotten Tomatoes has the evidence to back it up.
10 Iconic Jim Carrey Characters, Ranked By Likability
Jim Carrey has played characters ranging from lovable everymen like Truman Burbank to despicable villains like the Riddler and the Grinch.
Jim Carrey’s Rotten Tomatoes Scores Confirm His Two Best Movies Were Against Type
Rotten Tomatoes gave two dramatic Jim Carrey movies very impressive scores
Some of Jim Carrey’s most famous roles are loud and intensely charismatic. For instance, it’s impossible to watch Ace Ventura or The Mask without being glued to their respective title characters because of their flamboyant nature. Due to this, Carrey became associated with a particular type of movie character. However, Rotten Tomatoes has 1998’s The Truman Show and 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as Carrey’s highest-rated movies. What’s most interesting about this is the fact that the films weren’t Carrey’s “usual” work, and featured him in more serious roles.
Jim Carrey’s Top 5 Movies On Rotten Tomatoes | ||
Title | Year | Score |
The Truman Show | 1998 | 94% |
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | 2004 | 92% |
Liar Liar | 1997 | 83% |
The Mask | 1994 | 80% |
Dr Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! | 2008 | 79% |
Despite returning to his more familiar acting style before and after these two movies, the impressive Rotten Tomatoes scores for both films suggest that Carrey’s ability to carry a dramatic story is perhaps even greater than his skills in the comedy arena. Carrey’s next-highest scoring movie on the site is 1997’s Liar Liar, which was a return to the well-known type for the actor, but is actually rated notably lower than both The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine. So, Carrey’s reputation marks him as a comic actor, but it’s his serious acting that has earned him the most critical acclaim.
Jim Carrey Was Secretly A Better Dramatic Actor Than Comedic
Carrey has delivered stunning performances in non-comedic roles
The fact that Jim Carrey’s two highest-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes both feature him in dramatic roles proves that his comedic acting was just one of his talents. It’s understandable that his more animated characters would grab the attention of those who didn’t closely follow his career, but it’s now also clear that Carrey can deliver a more nuanced performance as well. There is no denying that Jim Carrey is capable of delivering a sidesplitting performance, but he was arguably a victim of his own success by pulling it off too well.
As a result of his comedic triumphs, Carrey was pigeonholed early on in his career into a genre of cinema that championed laughs above all else. While he still played roles that went against his recognized type through the years, the projects largely flew under the radar. Certain outlets have even praised Carrey’s performance in dramatic productions while criticizing almost every other aspect. For instance, Rotten Tomatoes isolated Carrey’s “Committed” performance in 2016’s Dark Crimes while scoring the movie 0% overall.
It’s A Shame Jim Carrey Didn’t Make More Dramatic Movies
Carrey had more to offer in genres outside of comedy
Most of Carrey’s recent movies have had him return to his comic roots, with any outliers to this trend not being met with much interest. His successes in The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine show that Carrey had much to offer in the dramatic arena, and he was rarely given the opportunity to flex that creative muscle in any meaningful way. As a result, many moviegoers have been denied the opportunity to see Carrey deliver a touching performance such as he did in other films.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind: 10 Details That Foreshadow The Ending
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a confusing, dream-like journey, at first, but there are certain things that foreshadow the plot to follow.
Although many of Jim Carrey’s purely dramatic endeavors failed, he appeared in a number of movies that forced him to combine his manically funny sensibility with other forms of acting. For example, 2003’s Bruce Almighty and 2008’s Yes Man both had prominent moments that called upon their lead actor to tap into his emotional side – and the same is also true of Liar Liar. However, Jim Carrey should have been afforded more opportunities to star in dramatic movies alongside his comedy ones.
