Movie · 1994 · Comedy, Mystery, Crime · 1h 26m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 1.9/10 (724K ratings)
He's the best there is! (Actually, he's the only one there is.)
Overview
He's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. The Ace is on the case to find the Miami Dolphins' missing mascot and quarterback Dan Marino. He goes eyeball to eyeball with a man-eating shark, stakes out the Miami Dolphins and woos and wows the ladies. Whether he's undercover, under fire or underwater, he always gets his man… or beast!
Ratings
Curator score: 1.9/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.21/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 47%
Metacritic: 37
TMDB: 6.6/10
Director
Tom Shadyac
Production
Morgan Creek Entertainment
Cast
Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, Sean Young, Tone Loc, Dan Marino, Noble Willingham, Troy Evans, Raynor Scheine, Udo Kier, Frank Adonis, Tiny Ron, David Margulies, John Capodice, Judy Clayton, Bill Zuckert, Alice Drummond, Rebecca Ferratti, Mark Margolis, Antoni Corone, Margo Peace
Curator Review
Verdict
A manic, quotable 90s comedy with a huge Jim Carrey performance and a brisk mystery setup, but its humor is very much of its era and the ending is widely seen as transphobic and sexist. Worth it if you want broad physical comedy and don’t mind ugly dated material.
Best for
fans of elastic, high-energy slapstick
viewers seeking a very 90s studio comedy
people who enjoy absurd detective-parody plots
Jim Carrey completists
Skip if
you’re sensitive to transphobic or sexist jokes
you want a mystery with real suspense
you prefer dry, subtle comedy
you dislike broad, manic performances
Overview
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is a time capsule of peak early-Jim Carrey: loud, rubbery, and built almost entirely around performance. The movie’s best stretches are pure comic momentum, with Ace’s physicality, voice work, and escalating chaos carrying a simple missing-mascot mystery far beyond what the plot deserves.
Worth noting
It also has a very specific 1994 studio-comedy edge that hasn’t aged gracefully. Some of the jokes are mean-spirited, and the final reveal lands with the kind of transphobic and sexist punchline that can seriously sour the whole experience.
Bottom line
If you’re watching for Carrey at full blast, there’s plenty here to admire and quote. If you’re watching for a smart mystery or a comedy with modern sensibilities, this is a rougher sell.
Top Letterboxd reviews
amaya (1★) · 1535 likes
i always thought this was for kids and i almost put it on last time i was babysitting.... thank GOD we just watched frozen instead because seeing jim carrey fuck monica from friends whilst "the lion sleeps tonight" plays in the background is not it
TheOwlBlind (1★) · 1394 likes
Hasn't aged well. The noted transphobia is undoubtedly an issue, but just as bad is the blatant sexism. Ventura trading work for sexual favours, demeaning women. It's hard to think of a more repellent scene in a film effectively aimed at young audiences than the final "unmasking"; a woman in power being stripped and sexually humiliated in front of a large audience of gawping men - and it's played for laughs too.
DaOConnman (1.5★) · 1280 likes
OOOOOOOOF. This movie aged like a fine wine that was opened 25 years ago and left sitting outside.
James (Schaffrillas) (2.5★) · 1169 likes
That took a turn!
Apelsins (3.5★) · 1070 likes
''If I'm not back in five minutes... just wait longer.''
1996 · Comedy, Romance · 1h 59m · R · Curator 7.8/10 (359.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
If you want a broad 90s comedy with big performances but more warmth and less cruelty, this is a strong alternative.