Jim Carrey became a bona fide movie star after the release of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, but at the time critics were not impressed by either movie. Before The Mask, Dumb And Dumber, and Liar Liar, Jim Carrey solidified his frenetic brand of comedic genius with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. The 1994 release saw Carrey take on the title role as an energetic pet detective tasked with hunting down the Miami Dolphin's stolen dolphin mascot, Snowflake.
The film took him from a relatively unknown TV talent to global superstar, and it just so happened to be a huge hit with audiences, earning more than $12 million at the box office on its opening weekend. Critics were not so enamored with the movie, but with a hit on their hands the studio behind the film, Morgan Creek, moved quickly to green-light a sequel. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls arrived in theaters the following year, and saw a similar split between audience enthusiasm and critic disdain. Of all the legendary Jim Carrey characters, Ace Ventura has perhaps been the most critically maligned - which isn't so surprising, considering both films were intentionally low-brow in their sensibilities.
As it stands, both Ace Ventura movies are fondly remembered by audiences but leave behind a critical legacy that isn't much better than that of Cats. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes currently shows a 47% rating among critics for the first film, and a 32% rating for the sequel. Taken by themselves, both ratings suggest the Ace Ventura movies had few redeeming features. But how could critics be so at odds with the positive audience reaction to these early Jim Carrey classics? Here's some of the more colorful quotes from critics reviewing the first movie:
“Jim Carrey struts around in a Hawaiian shirt and Li’l Abner pompadour, flashes his big, creepy-preppy grin like a junior Richard Nixon on Jolt cola, and punches home every last one of his so-stupid-they-really-are-stupid lines. Carrey suggests an escaped mental patient impersonating a game-show host - and, what’s worse, his hyperbolically obnoxious shtick is the whole damned show.”
"Only a child could love Mr. Carrey's character, but that may be the point. The movie has the metabolism, logic and attention span of a peevish 6-year-old."
"The movie basically has one joke, which is Ace Ventura's weird nerdy strangeness. If you laugh at this joke, chances are you laugh at Jerry Lewis, too, and I can sympathize with you even if I can't understand you. I found the movie a long, unfunny slog through an impenetrable plot. Kids might like it."
Critics apparently weren't happy about having to sit through and try to analyze another Ace Ventura movie merely a year later, and When Nature Calls attracted even worse reviews than the first movie. Here are some examples of the critical ire drawn by the sequel:
"I never thought that any more adventures of Jim Carrey's pompadoured pet detective could be worse than his truly horrendous initial outing. Boy, was I wrong. This alleged comedy is disgusting, offensive, and not at all funny. Painful to sit through."
"A surprisingly awful sequel... The end result is a terminally underwhelming (and surprisingly racist) misfire that squanders the good will established by the comparatively masterful first movie."
It seems Jim Carrey's performance was the main bone of contention among critics, who mostly appear to have found his hyperactive energy too much to take. But it would be exactly these kind of over-the-top performances in movies such as The Mask and Dumb And Dumber that would earn Carrey a devoted following in the years following the first Ace Ventura film. Of course, it's unlikely he set out to wow the critics with his boisterous portrayal of the pet detective, but even he probably didn't expect the vitriol with which the reviewers wrote. Other grievances include the first movie's absurd plot, and the sequel's indelicate handling of the native tribes-people.
Ultimately, these movies - which were aimed at a younger audience and found great success in that demographic - failed to wow professional reviewers. Ace Ventura may have been seen as puerile and unfunny by movie critics simply because they were not the target audience. Not that the films suffered as a result; Ace Ventura: Pet Detective in particular attained a kind of cult status among adolescents of the time, and is remembered fondly by many a 90s kid who can still recite classic Ace Ventura quotes to this day.
With that said, not every reviewer balked at the off-the-wall antics of Jim Carrey. In fact, several critics actually enjoyed both the first and second movies. Here are some more positive takes on the Ace Ventura movies:
"Jim Carrey stoops to new highs in low comedy: Actually he bends over, flaps his cheeks and introduces the world to butt ventriloquism in "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective." A riot from start to finish, Carrey's first feature comedy is as cheerfully bawdy as it is idiotically inventive."
"Jim Carrey, whose fourth starring role, in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, is his best yet. Unlike so many superstar comics before him, Carrey has retained a raw hunger for The Joke — the killer punchline, the ultimate sight gag — that seems insatiable, and this gives his work a furious, omnivorous energy. Even when the jokes are as corny as this movie’s subtitle is, Carrey regularly squeezes a laugh out of you through sheer force of will."
Regardless of what the critics may have thought, the Ace Ventura movies are still fondly remembered by those who grew up with them. For those looking to revisit Carrey's rubber-faced performance, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls have both recently been added to Netflix's library.