Bad Luck Has a New Number: The Number 23

The Number 23, directed by Joel Schumacher (St. Elmo's Fire, The Lost Boys, Batman Forever, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera) stars Jim Carrey as Walter Sparrow, an average man with a wife and child. Agatha Sparrow is played by Virginia Madsen, a part that was originally cast with Elisabeth Shue, who had to decline on the project on account of her pregnancy.

Sparrow's life abruptly changes when his wife introduces him to an old, beat-up red book. Inside its pages, Sparrow discovers a world that seems to match and mimic his own. Inside the book, he begins to learn about the pattern of The Number 23. The number, and the pattern, soon becomes its own obsession.

The dark thriller is a far cry from the lighthearted Carrey fans loved in movies like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Liar, Liar. However, past movie projects like The Majestic and The Truman Show have scratched the surface of Carrey's true range and extraordinary acting potential. He's been funny and he's been foolish, so why not dark and disturbed? The edgy thrill and supernatural-like overtones in the R-rated The Number 23 will no doubt be Carrey's most distinctive acting role to date, and could change the way fans look at the funny man.

Director Joel Schumacher's own range will provide the perfect complement for Carrey's acting skills. In the movie, Carrey will assume two different personas, showing fans a side of him they have never been seen. He will portray the dark, brooding, somewhat frightening hero - a character that no one will want to laugh at. In the past, Carrey's name on a marquee has been enough to sell movie tickets - will that be the case when he acts as both hero and villain in a strange, number-obsess world?

The Number 23 will show fans a new Carrey against a dark, dramatic setting of tension and suspenseful terror. No doubt the first few will flock to the flick to see Carrey in such a strange role, while others will go because they want to see him in any role, but The Number 23 will reveal that it's worth the hype and more. Opening aptly on February 23, the initial response to Carrey's new movie is one of hope and anticipation. He will no doubt make this film, too, a huge success.