The Vegetarian Cinophile
By Emanuel Goldman
ACE VENTURA, PET DETECTIVE (1993) Jim Carrey, Courtney Cox, Sean Young. Directed by Tom Shadyac (85 min).
The wildly popular film that propelled Jim Carrey to superstardom, Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, is like a scattergun, shooting irreverence around indiscriminately, hitting everything in and out of sight. This is an occasion to find out if our sense of humor will allow us to laugh at ourselves. Male chauvinism and homophobia, among other "politically incorrect" behaviors, are exhibited to the point of absurdity. Even ordinary conventional social graces are lambasted — for example, (false) modesty: after Ace (Carrey) makes an astute investigative observation, Melissa (Cox) later comments, "That was pretty impressive." Replies Ace, "You don't have to tell me — I was there."
One area, however, gets off rather lightly: man's relationship to animals. This is somewhat surprising since use of animals is central to the film. Yet there is an almost sacrosanct aura surrounding references to animals here, as if they were off-limits. Continuing the exchange begun above, Melissa adds, "Maybe you should become a real detective." Ace replies, "I don't do humans." Melissa observes, "You really love animals, don't you?" With perhaps the most humor that animals ever get here, Ace answers, "If it gets cold enough." But he continues in a serious vein, maybe for the only time in the film, "I have a kinship with them — I understand them."
The plot concerns the kidnapping of the Miami Dolphins football team's pet mascot, naturally, a dolphin (named "Snowflake"). This, some two weeks before the team's scheduled appearance in the Super Bowl, throws the team's management into consternation, so they hire a "pet detective," a new specialty breed invented in this film. (Any animal advocates out there want to open a real pet detective agency?)
We've already met Ace; he has retrieved a kidnapped dog for a gorgeous female client who offers Ace sexual favors as an expression of gratitude in a tongue-in-cheek (no pun intended) opening episode. On his way up to his apartment, Ace is waylaid by his landlord who is in search of past-due rent. Spotting the bag full of pet food which Ace is carrying, the landlord reminds Ace that no pets are allowed in the apartment. "What do you have all that pet food for?" he challenges. After a moment's pause, Ace rejoins, "Fiber?" The landlord demands a look inside the apartment to see if any pets are there. After overlong fidgeting with the lock, Ace finally opens the door, with not an animal in sight. Satisfied, the landlord leaves. Ace whistles, and a veritable zoo of creatures emerges from every nook and cranny of the apartment: out of the toilet, out of the closets, the vases, you name it; dozens of animals of different species, birds, monkeys, rodents, amphibians, as well as cats and dogs, all trained to hide from the landlord and come out on cue. Later, reactions of these animals are merrily interspersed with shots of Ace and his lover during a particularly athletic sexual liaison.
While hiring Ace to find the missing dolphin, the team's owner keeps calling the dolphin a "fish," and Ace keeps correcting him that it's a mammal. "Filet it and fast food it if you want to," the owner replies, adding that all he wants is that fish on the field in two weeks for the Super Bowl. The team's Head of Operations interjects, "I'll tell you who did it. It's those goddamn animal rights activists. Always out there with their goddamn signs Animals were born free,' and Stop torturing Snowflake.' That fish lives better than they do!" The animal rights group in question is called "FAN," an acronym for "free animals now." We are later told that last year they sent 127 threatening letters to schools.
The police are also investigating the theft, so Ace goes down to the station to see what they have found out so far. One of the detectives, spotting Ace, steps on a cockroach and says, "Homicide, Ventura; how you gonna solve that one?" Replies Ace, "First I establish a motive. In this case, the killer saw the size of the bug's [phallus] and became insanely jealous." The detective takes a swing at Ace, who pins him on the floor by the squashed insect. "Kiss and make up," says Ace. The Chief of Detectives, Lois Ein-horn (Young), doesn't want Ace meddling in their investigation, and tells him to stay out, threatening, "How would you like me to make your life a living hell?" "I'm not ready for a relationship," Ace counters. So much for romanticism.
Suffice it to say that the animal rights groups turn out not to be responsible for the dolphin-napping, nor for the apparent murder of the team's Head of Operations. Food consumption is dealt with scatologically: at a lavish reception, Ace announces to the wealthy host, "I need to use the bathroom. I think it's the paté. The stuff probably looks better on the way out." After seeing the villain's quarters, Ace comments that it's "cozy, if you're Hannibal Lecter," evoking the monstrous cannibal of The Silence of the Lambs (previously reviewed in a Vegetarian Cinophile column).
The real-life Dan Marino (the Miami Dolphins quarterback) and several other actual football players are in the film, as is rapper Tone Loc in a small role (he also performs the title cut, "Ace is in the House"). Constantly mugging for the camera, walking funny, exaggerating everything, Carrey redefines absurdity, and this, I believe, is the source of his appeal. But in its own silly, if not offensive, way, Ace Ventura, Pet Detective may actually raise consciousness about animals in the general public, and for that, this vegetarian is grateful. (Incidentally, the credits assure us that the "production followed the guidelines of the American Humane Association.")
© 2000 by Emanuel Goldman
Emanuel Goldman, a vegetarian since 1964, was a film critic from 1968-1980 for several publications, including The Boston Phoenix and The Boston Review of the Arts.
