Jim Carrey was one of the highest-paid actors working in Hollywood during the 1990's. Flash forward to 2013 and he isn't looking so rosey. After a string of disappointingly shit films, including Mr. Popper's Penguins, Fun With Dick & Jane and A Christmas Carol, it looked like he could turn things around with Kick-Ass 2. Carrey will be playing Colonel Stars And Stripes, a vigilante with a Guile from Street Fighter-style haircut known for excessive brutality. Have you seen the Red-Band trailer? It's pretty rough. And hilarious. We're excited.
Why is Jim Carrey a tool, though? He was Ace Ventura, right? Carrey has said that he's refusing to do any press interviews or support the film because he thinks it's too violent. Wow, Jim. That's real clever. First off, you knew what you were signing up for. You went in with your eyes wide open, fully aware of the fact that it's A) going to be violent and B) you're going to be involved with the promotion of it. Did he speak up? We don't know. If he didn't speak and didn't say, "Hey, maybe we can leave this scene out? Guys?", then he's full of shit. Simple as that.
There's nothing more douchey than taking somebody's money and then bitching about it afterwards. Did he get underpaid, perhaps? Is there more at play here? From what we've heard so far, the production went along smoothly and Carrey made no protestations about the film's violence during the process. It's only when he was told that he'd have to promote the film that he's kicking up shit. And it's pretty clear why. He's just not arsed doing any interviews or press junkets. We can understand that. That makes sense. Press junkets are tough - they take you away from your family and friends, being asked the same questions over and over again and, well, airplane food. It's relentless, we're sure. But trying to disguise the fact that you're not up for doing this by disagreeing with the film AFTER you've acted your part and cashed the cheque isn't cool. It's a pretty dickish move. Why not donate the fee he got to charity?
If he felt that strongly about the violence in the film, which he obviously does, he should have asked for his part to be cut and handed the money back. It's not unheard of for actors to ask for their parts to be edited out of a film. Directors have even been known to disown films after they've made them. Google the term 'Alan Smithee' and you'll see what we're talking about it.
Jim Carrey is in a very fortunate position. He's very rich and he could probably live comfortably off the money he's made from his films for the rest of his life. Instead, he chooses to work. So if he's going to bitch and moan about a film's content, a film he knew had this in it from the get-go, it means that he's taking up a place that some struggling comedic actor, who could be WAY funnier than Carrey, is fighting to get.
So, for being hypocritical, Jim Carrey wins our Tool of the Week award. Batman Forever was terrible. This is worse.
