Why It Ranks
Ace Ventura launched Jim Carrey's film career and redefined physical comedy for the 1990s. The rhino scene alone justifies the film's existence. Carrey proved that a comedian's body could generate more laughs than any script. 'Alllrighty then' entered permanent cultural circulation.
The Film
Ace Ventura is the Big Bang of Jim Carrey. In 1994, Carrey went from In Living Color sketch comic to the biggest comedy star on the planet with three films in a single year, and this was the one that lit the fuse. Carrey's physical comedy — the talking-butt scene, the rhino birth, the tutu — operates at a frequency that had not been seen since Jerry Lewis. The film is essentially a delivery mechanism for Carrey's body, and that body is a special effect.
Fun Facts
Jim Carrey was paid only $350,000 for the role — by the end of 1994, his asking price had risen to $20 million.
The rhino birth scene was Carrey's idea — he insisted on performing it himself in a mechanical rhino prop.
The studio had so little faith in the film that they almost released it straight to video before test screenings changed their minds.
Courteney Cox was cast just months before Friends debuted — the film's success ran parallel to her TV breakthrough.
Get Glen's Musings
Occasional thoughts on AI, Claude, investing, and building things. Free. No spam.
Unsubscribe anytime. I respect your inbox more than Congress respects property rights.
Keep Exploring
Top 25 Comedies
See the full ranked list of the funniest films ever made.
Read moreTop 25 Action Movies
The greatest action films ever made, ranked.
Read moreTop 25 Sci-Fi Movies
The greatest science fiction films ever made, ranked.
Read moreTop 25 Sports Movies
Rocky, Hoosiers, Rudy — the greatest sports films ranked.
Read moreConsulting
Salesforce development and technical consulting.
Read moreWins
Track record of wins across investing, building, and creating.
Read more