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The
Number 23
Genre: Drama/Mystery/Thriller
Rated: R
Directed
by: Joel Schumacher
Starring: Jim Carrey, Virginia
Madsen, Logan Lerman, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins,
Rhona Mitra
Released by: New Line Cinema
In
Short: This contrived tale of the perils
of obsessive numerology is worth a cheap rental
but not much else. |
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A Mathematician's Nightmare
Forgettable
in Every Way
by
Laurie Hartzell
Although
it starts out as an entertaining weekend popcorn movie,
this numerology thriller attempts to dive into "The
Da Vinci Code" territory but instead drowns in predictable
histrionics.
Jim
Carrey is Walter Sparrow, a slightly off-kilter dog-catcher
whose life changes for the worse when fate intervenes
in the form of a devoted dog. Virginia Madsen plays Walter's
wife, Agatha, who discovers a book in an old book store
because Walter arrives late for their date, because he
was bitten by the dog that also appears several other
times throughout the movie to keep the plot rolling. Sound
contrived yet?
The
book that Agatha finds tells the tale of a man haunted
and obsessed with the number 23, which paranoid numerologists
connect to catastrophic events. Walter discovers that
details and characters in the book are eerily similar
to parts of his own life, and although he becomes more
and more obsessed with the book throughout the first part
of the film, it takes him forever to read the darn thing.
"Did you finish it yet?" his wife Agatha repeatedly
asks. Agatha also mirrors our feelings in several other
instances, stating that the 23 phenomenon is self-fulfilling—anyone
who's looking for the number will find it. We wish Jim
Carrey’s character would have listened…
Gratuitous throat-slashing and balcony-jumping follow
as the film attempts to delve into both the secrets of
the book’s author and the mystery of the number
23, resulting in a sort-of "Da Vinci Code" adventure
for mentally unstable numerologists. The surprise ending
wasn't much of a surprise, and unlike fellow revelation
films such as "The Usual Suspects" and "The
Sixth Sense," "The Number 23" won't be
worth watching a second time.
Despite
the cheap thrills and clichéd scenes—Agatha
enters an abandoned insane asylum at night with no flashlight,
how smart!—there are parts of this movie that remain
memorable. We thought we'd be seeing 23 everywhere as
soon as we exited the theater, but the only thing that
stuck with us was how strangely hot Jim Carrey was in
this film. The ridiculous rubber-faced Ace Ventura long
gone, Carrey’s skeevy, unshaven, back-tattooed character
was actually sexy, and the steamy scenes with a vamped-out
Virginia Madsen didn't hurt either. All in all, if you’re
looking for a cheap night at home, "The Number 23"
will be worth a rental in the future, but not much else.
And
don't bother circling the 23rd word in each paragraph
of this review and making a hidden sentence—you
could probably force the words to mean something, but
like the movie, in the end, it wouldn’t amount to
anything. 
PLH022007 |
(Updated:
02/23/07 LH) |
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