Entertainment: Fun With Dick And Jane IS Fun

***1/2 - Jan and I got to see this with the family and a couple of friends this weekend, and we all had a really good time. It seems that comedies have been getting funnier of late, and this was certainly a good example.

Fun With Dick and Jane follows the pattern of the last couple of Jim Carrey movies such as Liar Liar and Bruce Almighty, in which Carrey exists in a mostly real world environment, only slighly more exaggerated, so it's humor that more serious minded adults can still enjoy.

What I particularly liked about this film is that it didn't wait to get funny. A lot of comedies seem to start off with a serious side, or spend time in the first act establishing the characters without adding much humor. Thankfully Dick and Jane is an exception, as the humor starts in the very first scene and doesn't relent until the end. If you've seen the commercials, you know the film is about Carrey and his wife, played by Tea Leoni, turning to a life of crime when he loses his job at an Enron-esque firm and they run out of money. Fortunately this is not all of what the movie is about so it avoids the Saturday Night Live trap of being a one-joke act that runs on for 90 minutes. That would be boring. This movie is not. It also avoids the other trap of not making the set-up for the crime spree be melodramatic in an effort to build character motivation. While we sympathize with Dick and Jane in their destitute plight, the plight itself is extremely funny to watch, and as entertaining as the crime spree (if not more so considering the ads give away the best jokes of that part of the film). Fortunately there are so many non-crime scenarios that are hysterical that the movie is enjoyable in it's own right and not just an extension of the commercials. This film also gets on my short list of films that made me laugh so hard I missed half the jokes because I couldn't hear them.

Leoni is also good opposite Carrey and is much more than just a straight man for him to play off of, she is in on the jokes and adds a great deal of comedy relief herself. While Carrey is the star of the film, she makes him funnier and the two work well together as a comedic duo. It's hard to find a sidekick for Carrey that can hold their own, but she does and she does it well.

This film also doesn't take itself too seriously as social commentary of the Enron Era, but if laughter is the best medicine perhaps Dick and Jane is a sort of social catharsis. Although the ending is implausible, it is what you want to have happen and wish did happen. Stick around at the end as the producers take the time to thank the executives of Enron, WorldCom, and other such companies... by name.

This film should appeal to all average moviegoers.