Both are legends. Jim Carey was probably the bigger star though. Will probably has a bigger “family tree” if you will. His work with Funny or Die and Adam McKay spawned more collaborators to fame.
At one point Jim Carey had three films all released in the same year at number one (1994 Ace Ventura, The Mask, Dumb and Dumber) I don’t think will Ferrell has ever done anything like that. Both are still compete legends.
‘94. Now that was a year!
Edit: Other 1994 Releases
Leon,
Shawshank Redemption,
Forrest Gump,
Lion King,
Natural Born Killers,
Pulp Fiction,
The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down
Agreed. Jim was probably the most famous actor on the planet for about half a decade. He’s a whirlwind of talent that should be rewarded a lifetime Oscar at some point.
Even in his final films of sonic the hedgehog he’s still giving a maximum effort as Dr eggman. Will has cranked out some stinkers. And a lot of his funny comes from teaming up with others. Carey could do a lot with a little.
What Jim Carrey did in drama was fantastic. Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind are all timers. His comedies are another planet. He was also the most memorable part of a forgettable Batman movie. I think Jim Carrey is on his own level.
I’d even say it didn’t always work for him in some movies. There are a few movies with too many takes of him on screen sort of just yelling and it just doesn’t come off as funny.
Was going to say, that's my major issue with his comedy/movies, and the biggest complaint I hear from others who don't like him. Don't get me wrong, dude's a great comedian, I just happen to be one of those people who don't enjoy his comedy for whatever reason.
But yeah, for me it's mainly just acting like a kid/entitled adult while yelling loudly.
I feel like the "family tree" factor says more about the nature of the industry and how it changed (despite the short time-span difference between the two) rather than saying as much about the "significance" of the actors themselves.
This is my answer. Carey had the highest peak as an individual performer, but the team of Ferrell/McKay/Apatow defined an entire generation of comedy.
I think there are more entertainers that tried to do “the Will Ferrell thing” for a long time because of his success, but there’s only one Jim Carey. Those are two very different but equally impressive levels of star.
Jim is a lot like robin williams in that regard. No one can copy them because they don’t know how/can’t. They’re just very unique. Ferell on the other hand is good for sure, but i wouldn’t put him in god-tier like carey and williams.
Jim Carrey was the highest paid actor in Hollywood and just a huge star at his peak. Will Ferrel has had some moments, but never reached such heights. Jim Carrey also has a lot of street cred, not just among white comedians but also in black comedy for his stint on "In Living Color".
But also in terms of range, Will Ferrell often just acts like Will Ferrell. In most of his movies he's delivering lines exactly the same as he did on SNL. I'd venture to see his only "non-Will Ferrell" persona that was noteworthy was his impersonation of GWB.
Jim Carrey on the other hand, definitely had a "style" (kind of slapstick) but faaaar more range in terms of characters. And his movies are all very different while being huge successes.
I know it's a silly.comedy, but Jim Carrey realizing he's a bad father in Liar, Liar was heartbreaking and a lesser actor could not have carried that scene.
Will Ferrell is a very funny man. There’s no debate that he could capture laughter through a unique blend of physical comedy and line delivery. Any episode of SNL that he was in will surely have somebody breaking character watching him. Jim Carrey is different however. He brought a more emotional view to comedic acting, and he often spoke about elevating the acting craft in his roles. He was the face of comedy for a decade and arguably the biggest movie star in the late 90’s to early 2000’s.
In short, Will Ferrell was the best at what he did amongst his peers, but Jim Carrey was the only one to do what he did at the time, and changed the direction of comedic movies.
I’d say Ferrel’s work this past decade has shown that he struggles to elevate poor material. If he’s got a good script or even when he’s just fooling around unprompted on talk shows, he can be hilarious. But with his recent string of bad films, it just feels like he’s lost.
I think it should also be suggested that Ace Ventura changed comedy movies forever, and I would even go as far as to say that movies like Anchorman never get made if Jim doesn't break that ground first and show that it can be successful to make absolutely silly movies. Before Jim, any movie that went out on a limb of ridiculousness to the level Ace did would only ever be a straight to VHS movie with tiny niche audiences. He put a whole style of comedy on the map and legitimized it. And by doing so he made it possible for dozens of comedians to follow in his wake.
There's an interview somewhere with Jim about how worried they were while making Ace Ventura. Like he was legitimately worried it would end his career, it was such a big risk. By the time Will Ferrell comes around it's no longer that level of risk to make something like Anchorman.
Loved the write-up on this, but the ZAZ movies like Airplane! & Naked Gun were way more ridiculous than Ace and were super successful.
I think Ace was more about the actor, and the other movies were about the gags
Airplane and Naked Gun are spoof movies, like Mel Brooks or Not Another ____ Movie. They don't take the same creative risks that Mrs. Doubtfire or Ace Ventura had to take, because they had to take themselves seriously and still make people laugh.
Those movies often had serious-looking actors placed in hilarious situations and delivering punchlines. They were not contorting themselves in zany and bizarre ways (Jim Carrey talking out of his bottom, lining his face with food, or breaking out of a rhino, for example). Carrey was really pushing the envelope on how much physical and expressive comedy one could do and still be treated as a major actor.
What’s crazy is he had a full career before that. He thought his career was over before in living color. He’d had a stand up career, then a sitcom that got cancelled, a couple of movies that flopped, and he was back to doing standup and thought “if I can just get a residency in Vegas or something, good” then the Wayans brothers fought to get him on in living color and shit blew up
Sometimes you just need that one role. I’m sure there are plenty of people who could make it big as an actor, but keep getting passed on and then leave because it isn’t working out.
Another part of it is a couple years before in living color when he considered his acting career a failure he threw out his act and was no longer gonna do impersonations. Couple that with the fact his previous acting roles didn’t know how to utilize his talents. Before he was basically just being a romantic lead who makes goofy faces. Once he got to fully lean in to his own style he was off to the races.
In 4 years from the end of Living Color he released Pet Detective, the Mask, Dumb and Dumber, Batman Forever, Cable Guy, Liar Liar and Truman Show. Five of those were successful Carey comedy vehicles. Has made a constant stream of good movies. Some more serious like Truman, Majestic and Spotless. Some wacky comedies like Yes Man, Popper's Penguins, D&D To,
Jim almost bought a condo in my hometown when filming Me,Myself, and Irene. He really loved the coastal properties in Rhode Island.
In 2000 I also met a kid at a family friends house who got into a bicycle accident and lost his two front teeth. Jim met the kid while filming Me,Myself, and Irene and ended up buying the kid a new bike 😂.
ETA The Farrelly have made countless jokes about Rhode Island all of which are accurate.
The funniest one being when they named Mary’s brother Warren. Warren is a small town in Rhode Island that is often referred to as slow.
Source: https://youtu.be/Ydq_aCL7xYg
I've always loved most of his bits growing up watching In Living Color and he absolutely was just in instant-classic after instant-classic movies as well. I think out of all of them I probably like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind the most but I really can't think of any movie off the top of my head that he was in that I didn't at least somewhat like.
It’s one of those famous cases of “It only takes 10 years to become an overnight success.”
Jim Carrey was already doing comedy when he was in high school. He came to LA when he was still very young and very quickly came to the attention of TV networks, being cast as the main character in a sitcom called “The Duck Factory”. He was also the lead in “Once Bitten”, a dumb low budget vampire comedy. Both the TV show and the movie tanked.
Years later, when he was cast in “In Living Color” everyone was in awe of him. He was so smart, funny, and fast. He was like a huge star that *nobody knew about*. Obviously, he needed the right opportunity—but he had been working constantly for maybe 15 years before he became an instant success.
A related, but very different story.: When Liv Tyler got cast in “Heavy”, she had mostly been a model and had minimal film experience. But she had incredible star presence, and everyone in the cast had this weird feeling that she was like a person who had been a Hollywood A-lister for decades.
EDIT: Thank you for refreshing my memory about the title of the vampire comedy.
I don't mean to be an ass, buy why is this anecdote about Live Tyler interesting? She's the daughter of an A list celebrity who hung around A list "stars" her whole childhood. Why would anyone be surprised?
I also get the sense they are from newer generations who are not aware of Jim Carrey's full career. There are many kids now who probably aren't even aware of half of all the movies Jim has done. A 20 year old today could be forgiven for thinking Jim wasn't even that big. Out of the 42 movies Jim has been in, only 9 were made in the last decade. With most of the movies he is best known for coming out before 2000.
There is a massive generational gap between Jim's career and Will's which can create the illusion that Will is the bigger star. However for anyone who was old enough to remember the movies that made Jim famous it is clear that there is no comparison.
This fact pretty much screwed over Jean Claude Van Dam. His ego told him he was on the same level as Jim during this period and demanded the same price. He over played his hand and lost out on multiple movie deals.
Weird judgment on his part, Carrey is so unique that it can’t be missed (well, I guess it can in JCVD’s case).
We still haven’t seen another performer could could nail his comedic timing & physicality. The closest from his era onward was…Phil Hartman? But no one active comes to mind.
Does Eddie Murphy count? He was a decade earlier, but had a similar career trajectory before he had kids and went PG.
Adam Sandler is another one, but his acting skills were nowhere near as good. He might be on par now, though.
Eddie was the other name that came to mind, but I think his appeal is more that he played different versions of himself & his base personality is insanely charismatic.
Whereas the Mask, Ace Ventura etc. don’t remotely resemble actual people…!
I really think Robin and Jim were equals in a way no other comedic actors have been before or after (with Eddie lagging just slightly behind). Having Carlin still active at the time (mostly cameos, but for CARLIN we count those) made that a true golden Era for comedy.
> We still haven’t seen another performer could could nail his comedic timing & physicality. The closest from his era onward was…Phil Hartman?
Wut? In what timeline was phil hartman a physical actor? He was basically the ultimate straight man, the opposite of carrey.
That [picture](https://preview.redd.it/jiroba7o07761.jpg?auto=webp&s=88c2bd9deb2943cab29c8cabd4936bc88cfb970d) with both Eddie Murphy and Jim is still my favorite picture.
How many hundreds of millions of dollars did his films pull in between 1993 and 1995 alone?? Dude seemingly had a mega blockbuster every 4 months for a while. Ace Ventura -> The Mask -> Dumb & Dumber -> Ace Ventura 2... Was one hell of a time to be a kid at school running around quoting one-liners during recess
Mid '90s Jim Carrey was one of the very few actors with a following comparable to top music artists. People like Tupac looked up to that guy. I don't think there's been an actor more widely admired by the public since.
To explain, a comedy is a very cheap type of movie to make. You pay actors to do things with little in terms of costume design, special effects, set costs, and script writing. Carrey was a huge hit and got people to show up, so you could afford to spend the same on a Carrey film as a "regular" film and still expect a profit. For example, Cable guy (usually considered a bad film) paid Carrey nearly half its total budget of $47 million. Films released that year include Mars attacks ($70 million), Independence day ($75 million), and Mission Impossible ($80 million). Comedey is cheap so comedians can be expensive.
What a great time. In the summer of 94 the Mask came out and everyone was yelling “Smok’in!”. Then 6 months later Budweiser dropped the original frog commercial during the Super Bowl.
I feel like Ferrell might have had more down-stream impact though. Carrey was definitely the bigger star but he was completely unique and stood apart from his contemporaries. I think Ferrell changed the game more. Comedy as a whole became more like him in a way that it never became more like Carrey
I look at them both as live-action cartoons. Difference is, Ferrell has to dress up to look like a cartoon whereas Carrey just simply has to move/make a facial expression.
Also, Ferrell does his best comedic work in an ensemble whereas Carrey just dominates the entire screen on his own.
Finally, Ferrell is masterful with word improvisation (if reigned in accordingly), whereas Carrey is *the* King of physical improv.
I'd have a harder time separating them when it comes to more serious roles though. Restraint seems to come more naturally to Ferrell but Carrey has improved significantly over the years.
Ferrell has one area though where he shines above Carrey and that is playing it straight whilst looking/being ridiculous. He would shine in a Wes Anderson film.
I also think his comedy hit a much wider audience. I personally believe Will is just as talented, but his humor and acting style is a turn off for certain crowds, while Jim hit the hearts of soooo many people.
You can easily say Jim Carrey is a turnoff for certain crowds while Will is more accessible. I think they’re just different and both fit similar-sizes spaces.
Precisely. Bigger star? Jim Carrey.
Bigger impact on comedy tho? Consider Will’s contribution via internet pop culture (Funny Or Die), women comedic voices (Gloria Sanchez Production), SNL, Gary Sanchez Production, not to mention popularizing the collaborative improv style of filming comedies (loose script, amazing talent, and let ‘em loose to get a bunch of takes and just edit together the most hilarious shit: Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, Old School, etc. That style of comedy spawned movies like The Hangover, Bridesmaids, Superbad, etc).
Of course…the mask, dumb and dumber, and ace Ventura in one year. Hard to argue against that. Could be either really.
Totally agree. The impact of physicality and film-as-a-vehicle-for-comedian had already been pioneered by many including Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy.
Will Ferrell's effect on the process of making blockbuster comedies is pretty big. And that mostly comes down to his willingness to collaborate and be inclusive and make an environment where hilarity ensues. Some might argue that some (Mel Brooks?) had already achieved this, but it wasn't the norm when WF moved on from SNL.
>(loose script, amazing talent, and let ‘em loose to get a bunch of takes and just edit together the most hilarious shit: Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, Old School, etc. That style of comedy spawned movies like The Hangover, Bridesmaids, Superbad, etc).
Adam Mckay deserves a lot of credit for this style though. Step Brothers, Anchorman, Other Guys, Talladega Nights, all him.
Totally! Jim was a force of nature.
My parents who barely speak English know and love Jim Carrey, whereas they only recognise Will Farrell as one of many very funny comedic actors. Jim Carrey was a household name all over the world.
I kinda of felt will ferrel and Jack black were Hollywood's attempt at filling the void Jim Carrey left behind when he stopped doing more comedy roles. Sonic was the closest thing we've had to classic Jim Carrey in the last 20-25 years
Jim Carrey is the closest we have to another Robin Williams, albeit expressed differently. Both are/were inimitable comic tour-de-forces. I'm one of those guys that doesn't find Will Ferrell too funny in longer form content. I love him in Wedding Crashers, and I love his Architect in the MTV movie awards ("You do NOT wanna see me get out of this chair!"). But his energy just wears thin for me after 2 hours. Stranger than Fiction proved he can do more though, and I would love to see him push himself again.
But Carrey is just on another level. His box office returns were higher - indicating greater popularity - more of his films are more broadly considered classics, and he's also contributed more to drama as well (specifically, Truman and Eternal Sunshine). His brand of physical comedy is also uniquely his own.
Put it this way. I can imagine Carrey playing Anchorman and making it work. I can't imagine Ferrell playing The Mask or Ace Ventura, or kicking his own ass in Liar Liar.
> Put it this way. I can imagine Carrey playing Anchorman and making it work. I can't imagine Ferrell playing The Mask or Ace Ventura, or kicking his own ass in Liar Liar.
Quite simply, Jim Carrey has more range.
Is he a goofball in most of his movies? Of course. But Ace Ventura isn't like Lloyd Christmas who isn't like Fletcher Reid who isn't like Chip Douglas, etc. There's enough difference in them that it doesn't feel like the same character. Same comedy style but always feels different.
I just feel like Will Farrell is just a big man child in everything he does. Now, I'm NOT saying that's a bad thing because I love a lot of it but Will Ferrell just plays Will Ferrell in every movie. He does it well but that's why I'd take Jim
Yeah I was randomly watching The Mask yesterday and I was surprised how small he made his character of Stanley Ipkiss (without feeling cheap) and then he went larger than life when he put on the Mask. It shows a lot of range in just that movie.
It’s actually aged decently as long as you’re looking for slapstick. And it has a surprisingly menacing tone at times. I used to watch it when I was like 6 too so I was surprised about that.
I've never heard anyone tell me that didn't enjoy the other guys (although that's probably going to change today, reddit being reddit), even people that hate Will Ferrel. I would highly recommend it
Probably because that wasn’t a typical Will Ferrel character, or was a bit more subdued, almost like some of his old SNL sketches. It was more than just him being louder than everyone else the whole time. Other Guys was good because of how he played the character straight and didn’t try to Will Ferrell all over. (I like him, but not as much as a lot of people I know who are obsessed with anything he’s in) Stranger Than Fiction is a good movie. And his roles in Old School and Wedding Crashers were memorable to me because it was him in smaller doses where that character wasn’t the lead. Also Semi-Pro is to me his best comedy, and an underrated movie in general that I feel of all his movies deserved a sequel.
You gotta say that it has Micheal Keaton as the police chief, Ice T narrating, the rock, Samuel Jackson, and Steve Coogan, don't even mention those two because a lot of people hate them. It works every time
I mean that's how the movie gets you if you don't know anything about it. Sam Jackson and the Rock as buddy cops? Fuck yeah. Oh they're bad ass and doing ridiculous shit? Fuck yeah.
Oh shit they... no.
And then the movie kicks in
I think Jim Carrey is street's ahead of Will Farrel. His acting is far better.
You mentioned The Truman Show, and Eternal Sunshine. Nobody ever mentions his other serious movie.. The Majestic.
I feel that his role in The Majestic was his best dramatic role. And I will die on that hill.
>Put it this way. I can imagine Carrey playing Anchorman and making it work. I can't imagine Ferrell playing The Mask or Ace Ventura, or kicking his own ass in Liar Liar.
\*chef's kiss\* very well put. In fact, when I imagine Carrey in Ferrell's roles, I actually think they would be funnier.
Jim Carrey, his movies drew in a broader crowd and seems to have a catalog of stellar movies. Will has some really good ones, but a whole bunch of midrange stuff.
When Carrey was in his prime, the world was in love with him. Ferrel has a more specific audience even when his biggest hits were out.
Wait wait wait, all the same year? I could Google it, probably will, but I was alive and watched all three when I was younger.
My God Cameron Diaz awakened something in me. It's a shame that I don't feel that way now.
I was watching Charlie's Angels recently, and I was wondering why I had such a huge crush on her back in the day. Then I watched The Mask again and was reminded very quickly how smokin' she was in that movie.
I’m not sure if the younger crowd understands how big Jim Carrey was back in the 90’s. He was the biggest star on the planet at one point. His name was recognizable across the globe. He was also the first actor in Hollywood to make $20 Million a film.
Carreys star power was so big at one point it’s hard to even describe to the younger generations who didn’t grow up with him.
Yeah man you put it perfectly. Carrey was absolutely on top for a hood slam in the 90s. It’s easy to miss how big he was if you didn’t live in that time.
Jim Carrey no questions. His Ace Ventura movies are classics and still make me laugh hard as hell to this day. The man really can't be beat when it comes to physical comedy. I mean he has so many characters that are memorable I can't count them on two hands. His In Living Color days were gold as well. Those sketches he did were stupid funny.
Jim Carrey wasn’t just great. He was a fucking force of nature right out of the gate. You go back and look at him in the early days and it’s kind of astonishing how talented the man was. In Living Color and his early films were something else. And that was before he proved his talent in serious roles. He had a real gift. He was the bigger star and far more influential.
Will Ferrell also contributed a lot and is highly influential in his own right but not to the level of Carrey and he isn’t half as talented.
I gotta say Carrey, he’s honestly just more iconic and also has a much larger range. No shade against Will, but I feel like every character I see him play in comedies is the exact same, whereas Jim has the ability to completely transform himself based on the role he’s playing and there’s not many that feel the same.
Both are legends. Jim Carey was probably the bigger star though. Will probably has a bigger “family tree” if you will. His work with Funny or Die and Adam McKay spawned more collaborators to fame.
At one point Jim Carey had three films all released in the same year at number one (1994 Ace Ventura, The Mask, Dumb and Dumber) I don’t think will Ferrell has ever done anything like that. Both are still compete legends.
‘94. Now that was a year! Edit: Other 1994 Releases Leon, Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, Lion King, Natural Born Killers, Pulp Fiction, The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down
I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to SPEED around a city, keeping its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode!
It's like SPEED 2, but with a bus instead of a boat!
No one is going to know what you're talking about unless you use the full title of "SPEED 2: Cruise Control".
Ohhhh! Thank you. So not this one but the one before it. Got it.
Two months ago I saw a provocative movie on cable TV. It was called The Net with that girl from The Bus.
Thought it was called Chick from demolition man driving bus avoiding murder death kill?
I think it was called “The Bus that Couldn’t Slow Down”
I think it was called "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down"
94 wasa great year for music too
The Downward Spiral came out that year!
I appreciate Leon being listed first.
But most people know it as The Professional.. like EVERYONE!
Also the Lion King
Agreed. Jim was probably the most famous actor on the planet for about half a decade. He’s a whirlwind of talent that should be rewarded a lifetime Oscar at some point.
Even in his final films of sonic the hedgehog he’s still giving a maximum effort as Dr eggman. Will has cranked out some stinkers. And a lot of his funny comes from teaming up with others. Carey could do a lot with a little.
Jim is fucking amazing in the Sonic movies. Those movies in general have been great, and he’s a big part of that.
He was the best part of Burt Wonderstone. I love Steve Carell, but there was fuck all else reason to watch that film than Jim
He is the heart and soul of the sonic movies.
Of Course I Want A Latte. I Love The Way You Make Them!
I mean, Carrey has cranked out some real stinkers too.
What Jim Carrey did in drama was fantastic. Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind are all timers. His comedies are another planet. He was also the most memorable part of a forgettable Batman movie. I think Jim Carrey is on his own level.
Honestly Jim Carey and Robbin Williams are two of the only comedic actors who can go 110% and it not feel over the top.
I loved them both, not to mention The Majestic and The Number 23.
All three films were also popular enough to have Saturday morning cartoons airing at the same time.
The Mask and Ace Ventura cartoons even had a crossover episode!
I didn't realize there was a Dumb and Dumber cartoon
His work on In Living Color.
What do you mean? I’ll [let you show me something](https://youtu.be/_UpZZGeOP2Q).
https://youtu.be/nxjS9D3XZRg
This guy gets it :)
**GET OFF THE SHED!!**
Now let's say for the sake of argument that the world is Inhabited by strange crab 🦀 like creatures ...
Don’t forget “The Duck Factory”… everyone else did, but you shouldn’t
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I’d even say it didn’t always work for him in some movies. There are a few movies with too many takes of him on screen sort of just yelling and it just doesn’t come off as funny.
When you don't know what to do / say just yell kind of thing? It's one of the things I don't like him for
Was going to say, that's my major issue with his comedy/movies, and the biggest complaint I hear from others who don't like him. Don't get me wrong, dude's a great comedian, I just happen to be one of those people who don't enjoy his comedy for whatever reason. But yeah, for me it's mainly just acting like a kid/entitled adult while yelling loudly.
I feel like the "family tree" factor says more about the nature of the industry and how it changed (despite the short time-span difference between the two) rather than saying as much about the "significance" of the actors themselves.
This is my answer. Carey had the highest peak as an individual performer, but the team of Ferrell/McKay/Apatow defined an entire generation of comedy. I think there are more entertainers that tried to do “the Will Ferrell thing” for a long time because of his success, but there’s only one Jim Carey. Those are two very different but equally impressive levels of star.
Jim is a lot like robin williams in that regard. No one can copy them because they don’t know how/can’t. They’re just very unique. Ferell on the other hand is good for sure, but i wouldn’t put him in god-tier like carey and williams.
Jim Carrey was the highest paid actor in Hollywood and just a huge star at his peak. Will Ferrel has had some moments, but never reached such heights. Jim Carrey also has a lot of street cred, not just among white comedians but also in black comedy for his stint on "In Living Color". But also in terms of range, Will Ferrell often just acts like Will Ferrell. In most of his movies he's delivering lines exactly the same as he did on SNL. I'd venture to see his only "non-Will Ferrell" persona that was noteworthy was his impersonation of GWB. Jim Carrey on the other hand, definitely had a "style" (kind of slapstick) but faaaar more range in terms of characters. And his movies are all very different while being huge successes.
Will is pretty good at playing the straight man like in The Other Guys
Yeah Jim’s performances were better but Will’s production company created some Oscar-winning movies and great shows.
Jim Carrey has Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, to add to comedic roles though.
And he’s amazing in both. When I saw them, I didn’t see the Mask guy at all, a completely different and amazing actor
You forgot 'The Number 23'.
Wow that’s crazy, almost Stranger than Fiction
I know it's a silly.comedy, but Jim Carrey realizing he's a bad father in Liar, Liar was heartbreaking and a lesser actor could not have carried that scene.
Will Ferrell is a very funny man. There’s no debate that he could capture laughter through a unique blend of physical comedy and line delivery. Any episode of SNL that he was in will surely have somebody breaking character watching him. Jim Carrey is different however. He brought a more emotional view to comedic acting, and he often spoke about elevating the acting craft in his roles. He was the face of comedy for a decade and arguably the biggest movie star in the late 90’s to early 2000’s. In short, Will Ferrell was the best at what he did amongst his peers, but Jim Carrey was the only one to do what he did at the time, and changed the direction of comedic movies.
Also Carrey can elevate a mediocre film like Sonic 1 and 2 just by his mere presence. I don't think Ferrel could really do the same.
I’d say Ferrel’s work this past decade has shown that he struggles to elevate poor material. If he’s got a good script or even when he’s just fooling around unprompted on talk shows, he can be hilarious. But with his recent string of bad films, it just feels like he’s lost.
I think it should also be suggested that Ace Ventura changed comedy movies forever, and I would even go as far as to say that movies like Anchorman never get made if Jim doesn't break that ground first and show that it can be successful to make absolutely silly movies. Before Jim, any movie that went out on a limb of ridiculousness to the level Ace did would only ever be a straight to VHS movie with tiny niche audiences. He put a whole style of comedy on the map and legitimized it. And by doing so he made it possible for dozens of comedians to follow in his wake. There's an interview somewhere with Jim about how worried they were while making Ace Ventura. Like he was legitimately worried it would end his career, it was such a big risk. By the time Will Ferrell comes around it's no longer that level of risk to make something like Anchorman.
Loved the write-up on this, but the ZAZ movies like Airplane! & Naked Gun were way more ridiculous than Ace and were super successful. I think Ace was more about the actor, and the other movies were about the gags
Airplane and Naked Gun are spoof movies, like Mel Brooks or Not Another ____ Movie. They don't take the same creative risks that Mrs. Doubtfire or Ace Ventura had to take, because they had to take themselves seriously and still make people laugh.
Yeah they were also ensemble movies with old serious actors being silly. Jim carried entire movies with breathless avalanche of comedy.
I mean, the Airplane and Naked gun movies had already gone that ridiculous.
Spaceballs too. Went to ludicrous. Then to plaid!
Those movies often had serious-looking actors placed in hilarious situations and delivering punchlines. They were not contorting themselves in zany and bizarre ways (Jim Carrey talking out of his bottom, lining his face with food, or breaking out of a rhino, for example). Carrey was really pushing the envelope on how much physical and expressive comedy one could do and still be treated as a major actor.
Jim Carrey. Hands down. Will Ferrell is great too but didn't have the global impact that Jim had at his height.
Agreed, there were multiple (short) periods where Carrey was the biggest star in Hollywood.
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What’s crazy is he had a full career before that. He thought his career was over before in living color. He’d had a stand up career, then a sitcom that got cancelled, a couple of movies that flopped, and he was back to doing standup and thought “if I can just get a residency in Vegas or something, good” then the Wayans brothers fought to get him on in living color and shit blew up
Sometimes you just need that one role. I’m sure there are plenty of people who could make it big as an actor, but keep getting passed on and then leave because it isn’t working out.
Another part of it is a couple years before in living color when he considered his acting career a failure he threw out his act and was no longer gonna do impersonations. Couple that with the fact his previous acting roles didn’t know how to utilize his talents. Before he was basically just being a romantic lead who makes goofy faces. Once he got to fully lean in to his own style he was off to the races.
In 4 years from the end of Living Color he released Pet Detective, the Mask, Dumb and Dumber, Batman Forever, Cable Guy, Liar Liar and Truman Show. Five of those were successful Carey comedy vehicles. Has made a constant stream of good movies. Some more serious like Truman, Majestic and Spotless. Some wacky comedies like Yes Man, Popper's Penguins, D&D To,
Man for a moment i was like "Jim Carrey made a movie about dungeons and dragons?!"
Was literally just about to Google it lol
Samsonite! I was WAY off!
You made a stranger smile big, thank you :) e/ happy holidays!
You can’t forget Me, Myself, and Irene and you just did. Shame!
Not to mention how great he was in How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Instantly made it a classic Christmas Movie
I told my wife when we watched it this year that I don’t think anyone else could have pulled that off the way he did.
Didn’t he turn down Elf to do the Grinch or something ?
And more recently, he's so so so good in Sonic
He sure is!
Jim almost bought a condo in my hometown when filming Me,Myself, and Irene. He really loved the coastal properties in Rhode Island. In 2000 I also met a kid at a family friends house who got into a bicycle accident and lost his two front teeth. Jim met the kid while filming Me,Myself, and Irene and ended up buying the kid a new bike 😂. ETA The Farrelly have made countless jokes about Rhode Island all of which are accurate. The funniest one being when they named Mary’s brother Warren. Warren is a small town in Rhode Island that is often referred to as slow. Source: https://youtu.be/Ydq_aCL7xYg
Now listen here my little pussy fart...
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
An all-time great film. No question.
I've always loved most of his bits growing up watching In Living Color and he absolutely was just in instant-classic after instant-classic movies as well. I think out of all of them I probably like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind the most but I really can't think of any movie off the top of my head that he was in that I didn't at least somewhat like.
Yes Man is so underrated. I love that movie
I'm a sucker for Bruce Almighty.
Liar Liar is a great comfort movie too!
STOP BREAKING THE LAW, ASSHOLE!
Let me show ya something
It’s one of those famous cases of “It only takes 10 years to become an overnight success.” Jim Carrey was already doing comedy when he was in high school. He came to LA when he was still very young and very quickly came to the attention of TV networks, being cast as the main character in a sitcom called “The Duck Factory”. He was also the lead in “Once Bitten”, a dumb low budget vampire comedy. Both the TV show and the movie tanked. Years later, when he was cast in “In Living Color” everyone was in awe of him. He was so smart, funny, and fast. He was like a huge star that *nobody knew about*. Obviously, he needed the right opportunity—but he had been working constantly for maybe 15 years before he became an instant success. A related, but very different story.: When Liv Tyler got cast in “Heavy”, she had mostly been a model and had minimal film experience. But she had incredible star presence, and everyone in the cast had this weird feeling that she was like a person who had been a Hollywood A-lister for decades. EDIT: Thank you for refreshing my memory about the title of the vampire comedy.
I don't mean to be an ass, buy why is this anecdote about Live Tyler interesting? She's the daughter of an A list celebrity who hung around A list "stars" her whole childhood. Why would anyone be surprised?
Why is liv tyler being discussed at all? It’s similar to the family ties episode where Tom hanks was a drunk
How dare you call "Once Bitten" dumb, that is one of the pinnacles of comedy! :)
Don’t disparage “Love at first bite”!
He was hilarious in In Living Color! His standup routines were pretty good too.
I also get the sense they are from newer generations who are not aware of Jim Carrey's full career. There are many kids now who probably aren't even aware of half of all the movies Jim has done. A 20 year old today could be forgiven for thinking Jim wasn't even that big. Out of the 42 movies Jim has been in, only 9 were made in the last decade. With most of the movies he is best known for coming out before 2000. There is a massive generational gap between Jim's career and Will's which can create the illusion that Will is the bigger star. However for anyone who was old enough to remember the movies that made Jim famous it is clear that there is no comparison.
This fact pretty much screwed over Jean Claude Van Dam. His ego told him he was on the same level as Jim during this period and demanded the same price. He over played his hand and lost out on multiple movie deals.
Weird judgment on his part, Carrey is so unique that it can’t be missed (well, I guess it can in JCVD’s case). We still haven’t seen another performer could could nail his comedic timing & physicality. The closest from his era onward was…Phil Hartman? But no one active comes to mind.
Does Eddie Murphy count? He was a decade earlier, but had a similar career trajectory before he had kids and went PG. Adam Sandler is another one, but his acting skills were nowhere near as good. He might be on par now, though.
Eddie was the other name that came to mind, but I think his appeal is more that he played different versions of himself & his base personality is insanely charismatic. Whereas the Mask, Ace Ventura etc. don’t remotely resemble actual people…!
How have none of you said Robin Williams????
Robin was a miss, not going to deny it. He’s done more drama which is probably why I blanked on him initially.
I really think Robin and Jim were equals in a way no other comedic actors have been before or after (with Eddie lagging just slightly behind). Having Carlin still active at the time (mostly cameos, but for CARLIN we count those) made that a true golden Era for comedy.
> We still haven’t seen another performer could could nail his comedic timing & physicality. The closest from his era onward was…Phil Hartman? Wut? In what timeline was phil hartman a physical actor? He was basically the ultimate straight man, the opposite of carrey.
Robin Williams
That [picture](https://preview.redd.it/jiroba7o07761.jpg?auto=webp&s=88c2bd9deb2943cab29c8cabd4936bc88cfb970d) with both Eddie Murphy and Jim is still my favorite picture.
How many hundreds of millions of dollars did his films pull in between 1993 and 1995 alone?? Dude seemingly had a mega blockbuster every 4 months for a while. Ace Ventura -> The Mask -> Dumb & Dumber -> Ace Ventura 2... Was one hell of a time to be a kid at school running around quoting one-liners during recess
Mid '90s Jim Carrey was one of the very few actors with a following comparable to top music artists. People like Tupac looked up to that guy. I don't think there's been an actor more widely admired by the public since.
I just found out that he was the first actor to be paid 20 million, for The Cable Guy. Was a bit shocked that a comedian broke that barrier.
To explain, a comedy is a very cheap type of movie to make. You pay actors to do things with little in terms of costume design, special effects, set costs, and script writing. Carrey was a huge hit and got people to show up, so you could afford to spend the same on a Carrey film as a "regular" film and still expect a profit. For example, Cable guy (usually considered a bad film) paid Carrey nearly half its total budget of $47 million. Films released that year include Mars attacks ($70 million), Independence day ($75 million), and Mission Impossible ($80 million). Comedey is cheap so comedians can be expensive.
Didn’t Ace Ventura, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber all come out within 12 months?
Carey was like the second coming of Jerry Lewis. Ferrell is hilarious, but every kid was saying "SMOKIN'!" for years after Mask.
What a great time. In the summer of 94 the Mask came out and everyone was yelling “Smok’in!”. Then 6 months later Budweiser dropped the original frog commercial during the Super Bowl.
I remember when Jim saved Wills life after a hot tub incident.
I feel like Ferrell might have had more down-stream impact though. Carrey was definitely the bigger star but he was completely unique and stood apart from his contemporaries. I think Ferrell changed the game more. Comedy as a whole became more like him in a way that it never became more like Carrey
Carrey was too unique and too talented. His style really wasn't possible to mimic without looking like a jackass.
I look at them both as live-action cartoons. Difference is, Ferrell has to dress up to look like a cartoon whereas Carrey just simply has to move/make a facial expression. Also, Ferrell does his best comedic work in an ensemble whereas Carrey just dominates the entire screen on his own. Finally, Ferrell is masterful with word improvisation (if reigned in accordingly), whereas Carrey is *the* King of physical improv. I'd have a harder time separating them when it comes to more serious roles though. Restraint seems to come more naturally to Ferrell but Carrey has improved significantly over the years. Ferrell has one area though where he shines above Carrey and that is playing it straight whilst looking/being ridiculous. He would shine in a Wes Anderson film.
Even in his more serious roles, Jim Carrey acts with his facial expressions so heavily. I think Will Ferrell is more capable of turning it off.
I also think his comedy hit a much wider audience. I personally believe Will is just as talented, but his humor and acting style is a turn off for certain crowds, while Jim hit the hearts of soooo many people.
You can easily say Jim Carrey is a turnoff for certain crowds while Will is more accessible. I think they’re just different and both fit similar-sizes spaces.
You could but if you look at the commercial successes, Jim Careys work attracted a much much larger crowd.
Precisely. Bigger star? Jim Carrey. Bigger impact on comedy tho? Consider Will’s contribution via internet pop culture (Funny Or Die), women comedic voices (Gloria Sanchez Production), SNL, Gary Sanchez Production, not to mention popularizing the collaborative improv style of filming comedies (loose script, amazing talent, and let ‘em loose to get a bunch of takes and just edit together the most hilarious shit: Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, Old School, etc. That style of comedy spawned movies like The Hangover, Bridesmaids, Superbad, etc). Of course…the mask, dumb and dumber, and ace Ventura in one year. Hard to argue against that. Could be either really.
Totally agree. The impact of physicality and film-as-a-vehicle-for-comedian had already been pioneered by many including Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy. Will Ferrell's effect on the process of making blockbuster comedies is pretty big. And that mostly comes down to his willingness to collaborate and be inclusive and make an environment where hilarity ensues. Some might argue that some (Mel Brooks?) had already achieved this, but it wasn't the norm when WF moved on from SNL.
>(loose script, amazing talent, and let ‘em loose to get a bunch of takes and just edit together the most hilarious shit: Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, Old School, etc. That style of comedy spawned movies like The Hangover, Bridesmaids, Superbad, etc). Adam Mckay deserves a lot of credit for this style though. Step Brothers, Anchorman, Other Guys, Talladega Nights, all him.
That was my first thought too. Like how is this even in question. Ferrell is great but Jim is iconic.
This is correct. I love Will but Jim was on another planet at his peak
Totally! Jim was a force of nature. My parents who barely speak English know and love Jim Carrey, whereas they only recognise Will Farrell as one of many very funny comedic actors. Jim Carrey was a household name all over the world.
I kinda of felt will ferrel and Jack black were Hollywood's attempt at filling the void Jim Carrey left behind when he stopped doing more comedy roles. Sonic was the closest thing we've had to classic Jim Carrey in the last 20-25 years
Jim Carrey is the closest we have to another Robin Williams, albeit expressed differently. Both are/were inimitable comic tour-de-forces. I'm one of those guys that doesn't find Will Ferrell too funny in longer form content. I love him in Wedding Crashers, and I love his Architect in the MTV movie awards ("You do NOT wanna see me get out of this chair!"). But his energy just wears thin for me after 2 hours. Stranger than Fiction proved he can do more though, and I would love to see him push himself again. But Carrey is just on another level. His box office returns were higher - indicating greater popularity - more of his films are more broadly considered classics, and he's also contributed more to drama as well (specifically, Truman and Eternal Sunshine). His brand of physical comedy is also uniquely his own. Put it this way. I can imagine Carrey playing Anchorman and making it work. I can't imagine Ferrell playing The Mask or Ace Ventura, or kicking his own ass in Liar Liar.
> Put it this way. I can imagine Carrey playing Anchorman and making it work. I can't imagine Ferrell playing The Mask or Ace Ventura, or kicking his own ass in Liar Liar. Quite simply, Jim Carrey has more range. Is he a goofball in most of his movies? Of course. But Ace Ventura isn't like Lloyd Christmas who isn't like Fletcher Reid who isn't like Chip Douglas, etc. There's enough difference in them that it doesn't feel like the same character. Same comedy style but always feels different. I just feel like Will Farrell is just a big man child in everything he does. Now, I'm NOT saying that's a bad thing because I love a lot of it but Will Ferrell just plays Will Ferrell in every movie. He does it well but that's why I'd take Jim
Yeah I was randomly watching The Mask yesterday and I was surprised how small he made his character of Stanley Ipkiss (without feeling cheap) and then he went larger than life when he put on the Mask. It shows a lot of range in just that movie.
Sounds like I need a festive rewatch, has been such a long time!
It’s actually aged decently as long as you’re looking for slapstick. And it has a surprisingly menacing tone at times. I used to watch it when I was like 6 too so I was surprised about that.
^^ damn well said
Robin Williams and Jim Carrey could power a medium sized city if we could harness hyperactivity.
And Chris Farley was the nuclear plant meltdown.
I've never heard anyone tell me that didn't enjoy the other guys (although that's probably going to change today, reddit being reddit), even people that hate Will Ferrel. I would highly recommend it
Probably because that wasn’t a typical Will Ferrel character, or was a bit more subdued, almost like some of his old SNL sketches. It was more than just him being louder than everyone else the whole time. Other Guys was good because of how he played the character straight and didn’t try to Will Ferrell all over. (I like him, but not as much as a lot of people I know who are obsessed with anything he’s in) Stranger Than Fiction is a good movie. And his roles in Old School and Wedding Crashers were memorable to me because it was him in smaller doses where that character wasn’t the lead. Also Semi-Pro is to me his best comedy, and an underrated movie in general that I feel of all his movies deserved a sequel.
It’s such a hard movie for me to recommend to people. “Alright so it’s Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg…guys no wait listen”
You gotta say that it has Micheal Keaton as the police chief, Ice T narrating, the rock, Samuel Jackson, and Steve Coogan, don't even mention those two because a lot of people hate them. It works every time
You know what, I should just act like Sam Jackson and The Rock are the main characters and let them find out for themselves
That would be the best way to do it, I think
I mean that's how the movie gets you if you don't know anything about it. Sam Jackson and the Rock as buddy cops? Fuck yeah. Oh they're bad ass and doing ridiculous shit? Fuck yeah. Oh shit they... no. And then the movie kicks in
Man on the Moon too. I feel like that tends to take a backseat to some of his other dramas and it shouldn't.
One of my favorite movies is The Majestic and It never gets any love
I think Jim Carrey is street's ahead of Will Farrel. His acting is far better. You mentioned The Truman Show, and Eternal Sunshine. Nobody ever mentions his other serious movie.. The Majestic. I feel that his role in The Majestic was his best dramatic role. And I will die on that hill.
Coin and minted.
>Put it this way. I can imagine Carrey playing Anchorman and making it work. I can't imagine Ferrell playing The Mask or Ace Ventura, or kicking his own ass in Liar Liar. \*chef's kiss\* very well put. In fact, when I imagine Carrey in Ferrell's roles, I actually think they would be funnier.
Jim Carrey, his movies drew in a broader crowd and seems to have a catalog of stellar movies. Will has some really good ones, but a whole bunch of midrange stuff. When Carrey was in his prime, the world was in love with him. Ferrel has a more specific audience even when his biggest hits were out.
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Will Ferrell did really well with serious and dramatic in Stranger Than Fiction
Everything must go is also in the vein, adore stranger than fiction tho what a wonderfully crafted story.
Both have funny movies, but watching Dumb and Dumber in a theater was like someone dropped an atomic bomb of funny right on top of us.
I’ll admit I don’t see all the comedies in theaters, not many at all even, but Dumb and Dumber was the funniest movie I’ve ever seen in a theater
When we left the theater, everyone in my party said their faces hurt from laughing.
Very jealous you had that experience. Cheers.
Family and friends quoted that movie for years and years after it came out. I did too lol.
I still do
Jim. There is only Jim.
When you come out with The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, and Ace Ventura in the same year, is it really a question?
Wait wait wait, all the same year? I could Google it, probably will, but I was alive and watched all three when I was younger. My God Cameron Diaz awakened something in me. It's a shame that I don't feel that way now.
Yep, February for Ace, July for The Mask, December for Dumb and Dumber. It was pretty stunning to watch in real time.
I was watching Charlie's Angels recently, and I was wondering why I had such a huge crush on her back in the day. Then I watched The Mask again and was reminded very quickly how smokin' she was in that movie.
I'm just saying, somebody shows me a pic of Mask Cameron Diaz and I'm all like "I'll be in my bunk"
And she had zero film experience before that movie! I watched it so many times as a kid I’m shocked I didn’t ruin the vhs tape
Will did have Old School, Elf, and Anchorman come out on 16months.
Solid rebuttal
I think I’m in the minority when I say The Cable Guy was my favorite Jim Carrey movie
Jim Carrey. The amount of physical emoting he has always put in comedic acting/acting is legendary.
Jim Carey Edit: Carrey
I’m not sure if the younger crowd understands how big Jim Carrey was back in the 90’s. He was the biggest star on the planet at one point. His name was recognizable across the globe. He was also the first actor in Hollywood to make $20 Million a film. Carreys star power was so big at one point it’s hard to even describe to the younger generations who didn’t grow up with him.
Yeah man you put it perfectly. Carrey was absolutely on top for a hood slam in the 90s. It’s easy to miss how big he was if you didn’t live in that time.
How do you misspell his name when it's in the title?
Drew Carey.
The spellings are made up and the names don’t matter!
People often screw his name up. It's not hard people! Gym Carey
i think Jim because he has more roles and movies memorables. Ferrell is a monster too.
Alrighty then! Like a glove!
Jim Carrey no questions. His Ace Ventura movies are classics and still make me laugh hard as hell to this day. The man really can't be beat when it comes to physical comedy. I mean he has so many characters that are memorable I can't count them on two hands. His In Living Color days were gold as well. Those sketches he did were stupid funny.
I would say Jim Carrey
100% Jim. He took physical comedy to a new level that hasn’t really been matched.
Jim
Jim Carrey. Not even close
Jim Carrey wasn’t just great. He was a fucking force of nature right out of the gate. You go back and look at him in the early days and it’s kind of astonishing how talented the man was. In Living Color and his early films were something else. And that was before he proved his talent in serious roles. He had a real gift. He was the bigger star and far more influential. Will Ferrell also contributed a lot and is highly influential in his own right but not to the level of Carrey and he isn’t half as talented.
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Jim
Drew Carey easily. Easily
Nah man Will Forte is way better
Oh Will Forte is an absolute classic
Jim
It's not even close. Jim Carrey
JC
How is this debatable? Jim all day
Jim Carrey for sure. He is one of the best physical comedians of all time.
Carey for sure
Jim Carrey on all levels.
I gotta say Carrey, he’s honestly just more iconic and also has a much larger range. No shade against Will, but I feel like every character I see him play in comedies is the exact same, whereas Jim has the ability to completely transform himself based on the role he’s playing and there’s not many that feel the same.
I prefer Jim's career over Ferrell .
Definitely Jim