Movie Review: Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)

So after sitting through and watching the first Ace Ventura movie, I was actually hoping that the flaws of the first movie could be improved to make a more enjoyable movie that works as a comedy. All I really wanted in When Nature Calls was laughter and I didn't even really care about the story. Yet this movie does...Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls is a 1995 comedy film starring Jim Carrey who once again plays our titular role. In this film, Ace has to locate a missing white bat within the depths of an African tribes jungle. Comic episodes ensue and this movie, in my mind...was worse than the first one. Surprisingly When Nature Calls is actually far worse of a picture than it's predecessor. This is a bland, disengaging, and offensive film that actually complements the first movie. Actually saying that does feel a little harsh. I mean, this isn't Citizen Kane and it most certainly isn't trying to be. The story in this movie was actually far more interesting than that of the first. From the first scene (which reminds us that the budget has doubled since the last film) the scope and storytelling ability seems to have improved beyond the first one. That said, this movie doesn't make use of any of it's surroundings to tell a story. Instead, Jim Carrey (who really doesn't seem to have morals in this movie) goes around making fun of every single character on screen. Then there comes the tribe itself, which I found to be shockingly offensive. The depiction of the native people is one of the most offensive depictions of African American people that I have ever watched in any film. I'm surprised more people haven't spoken up about this, because it shocked me beyond belief. As stated above, I wasn't ever engaged in this quest to find that bat...probably because the movie is derailed way before we get to that point. Ace Ventura 2 is pretty much Jim Carrey's role walking around an island and making fun of the native tribe, as well as seducing the sexy daughter of the Chief. It might sound like I'm a hater of this film, but actually that's not true. One of the ways this movie did actually IMPROVE over the first installment is with the humor. The comic gags are far funnier than the first film hit. Also, the last scene (last joke) was actually funny and I did laugh. I'll mention again how the budget was exactly doubled from the first installment and from the opening scene we get the sense of a bigger scope of a film. I liked that aspect of When Nature Calls, but from a screenwriting and story-angle, this movie doesn't quite deliver. Overall, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls is somewhat bland, has some really shocking material pertaining to depictions of race, and yet does manage to sneak in a higher level of humor. 1 star= D