Jim Carrey's Maturing Movie Roles

Jim Carrey has grown from America's funny-faced favorite comedian to an actor, still fun and funny, who can tackle serious projects. OMG! explains that his most recent undertaking, due out in December 3, 2010, is "I Love You Phillip Morris." It is the screenplay, based on a true story, in which Carrey plays gay con-artist Steven Russell.

Such a serious role is a dramatic departure from Jim Carrey's early days of "Dumb and Dumber" and "Ace Ventura." But Carey's move toward more dramatic roles hasn't taken place over night. We've watched Carey mature and try on a variety of roles, with increasing degrees of drama.

In 1994, Jim Carrey was entertaining audiences with prat fall comedy, goofy faces, and outrageous stunts. It was then that America came to love him in "Ace Venture: Pet Detective," "The Mask," and "Dumb and Dumber."

Carrey's meteoric rise to popularity landed him a role in one of the Batman films, "Batman Forever" (1995). Jim Carrey played the role of the enigmatic Riddler, whose wild and crazy antics were a perfect fit for Carrey.

Following "Batman Forever" Jim Carrey's movies definitely begin to have more plot, but not too much more. For a long time he didn't venture far from his original comedic genius, which continued to provide popcorn movie sell-outs.

In the 90s there were a string of Jim Carrey comedies including "Ace Ventura: Nature Calls," "The Cable Guy," "Liar, Liar," and "The Truman Show." All movies to laugh about, but nothing dramatic for Jim Carrey to write home about.

His career had another rebound in 2000 when he played the despicable, but lovable Grinch in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Carrey's dramatic portrayal of the Grinch in this beloved Christmas movie marked a turning point in his career.

During the early part of the turn of the century we began to see Jim Carrey in more dramatic, mature roles. His characters were significantly more developed, as was Bruce in "Bruce Almighty." These were followed up by masterful movies such as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "The Number 23," which showcased Jim's ability to be more than just a funny man.

Jim Carrey is growing more mature, and his work has become a reflection of that. I'm sure he will pop up every now and then in a popcorn flick. He'll definitely continue to be a favorite voice-over for animated films, but Jim Carrey has become more than just America's goof-ball funny guy. He is a serious actor who has taken a fledgling career that started out based on brash, in-your-face humor and molded a career that will continue to carry him among the serious actors of the next several decades.

Sources:
"I Love You Phillip Morris Gets a Release Date," Huffington Post
Jim Carrey on IMBD.com
"Jim Carrey's Role of Grandfather is 'Odd' & 'Magical,'' OMG!