Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)

Movie · 2005 · Comedy, Crime · 1h 30m · PG-13 · English

Curator score: 1.4/10 (266K ratings)

Giving big businesses a run for their money!

Overview

After Dick Harper loses his job at Globodyne in an Enron-esque collapse, he and his wife, Jane, turn to crime in order to handle the massive debt they now face. Two intelligent people, Dick and Jane actually get pretty good at robbing people and even enjoy it -- but they have second thoughts when they're reminded that crime can hurt innocent people. When the couple hears that Globodyne boss Jack McCallister actually swindled the company, they plot revenge.

Ratings

Director

Dean Parisot

Production

JC 23 Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, Columbia Pictures

Cast

Jim Carrey, Téa Leoni, Alec Baldwin, Richard Jenkins, John Michael Higgins, Angie Harmon, Richard Burgi, Carlos Jacott, Aaron Michael Drozin, Gloria Garayua, Michelle Arthur, Stacey Travis, Timm Sharp, David Herman, Gian Franco Tordi, Laurie Metcalf, P.J. Byrne, Dempsey Pappion, Knox White, Walter Addison

Curator Review

Verdict

A breezy, mid-2000s studio comedy with a sharper anti-corporate edge than its title suggests. Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni give it enough energy and chemistry to stay watchable, but the satire is broad and the plotting is uneven, so it lands more as a diverting cable-era caper than a must-see comedy.

Best for

  • fans of Jim Carrey’s rubbery, high-energy comic style
  • viewers who like light crime comedies with social satire
  • people in the mood for an easy, undemanding watch
  • audiences interested in recession-era or corporate-collapse jokes

Skip if

  • you want tightly written heist mechanics
  • you dislike broad studio comedy
  • you prefer darker, more biting satire
  • you’re looking for a memorable or especially original caper

Overview

Fun with Dick and Jane is a very 2000s kind of comedy: part suburban panic, part corporate revenge fantasy, part mainstream caper. The setup is simple and timely, turning an Enron-style collapse into a couple’s slide into petty crime, and that gives the movie a nice built-in frustration that most of the jokes can orbit around.

Worth noting

Jim Carrey is the main reason it works at all, leaning into desperation and manic improvisation, while Téa Leoni keeps the whole thing from becoming too cartoonish. Their chemistry helps sell the premise, and the movie has enough momentum once the robbery spree starts to feel genuinely playful.

Bottom line

Still, the satire is broad and the film never quite sharpens its premise into something lasting. It’s amusing, occasionally pointed, and easy to sit through, but it plays more like a pleasant disposable comedy than a standout entry in the crime-comedy genre.

Top Letterboxd reviews

Andre de Nervaux (3★) · 871 likes

Remember seeing the name of this film on TV guide as a kid and thinking it was a porno

James (Schaffrillas) (3.5★) · 645 likes

Takes a while to get going but boy is it a lot of fun (with Dick and Jane) when it does!

C B (2.5★) · 460 likes

You know those films that you watched years ago and have vague memories of enjoying? The ones that if asked about you might say, "Yeah, I quite liked that.", despite time robbing you of any real specifics of what went on in the film? For me, this is one of those films. I know I enjoyed my time having fun with Téa and Jim, but enough time has passed for me to forget exactly why. I finished watching this film an hour ago.

terra 🌸 (4★) · 387 likes

Relationship goals

Mind Hunter (3★) · 306 likes

I can confirm that I did, in fact, have fun with Dick and Jane.

Recommended similar titles

Ruthless People

1986 · Comedy · 1h 34m · R · Curator 8.1/10 (32.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads

A sharper, nastier corporate-and-domestic crime comedy with a similar pleasure in ordinary people outmaneuvering the system.

The War of the Roses

1989 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 56m · R · Curator 9.2/10 (1.3K ratings)

If the appeal is watching a marriage curdle under pressure, this is a much darker and more vicious version of that dynamic.

Office Space

1999 · Comedy · 1h 30m · R · Curator 6.2/10 (659K ratings)

For the anti-corporate mood and the fantasy of striking back at a soul-crushing workplace, this is an essential companion piece.

The Man Who Wasn't There

2001 · Crime, Drama · 1h 56m · R · Curator 7.8/10 (211.2K ratings)

A drier, more fatalistic take on ordinary people drifting into crime, with strong noir atmosphere.

Catch Me If You Can

2002 · Drama, Crime · 2h 21m · PG-13 · Curator 8.4/10 (3.4M ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential

A polished, charismatic crime film about improvisation and reinvention, with a lighter touch than most con-man stories.

A Mighty Wind

2003 · Comedy, Music · 1h 32m · PG-13 · Curator 6.7/10 (70.9K ratings)

For viewers who respond to gentle ensemble comedy and character chemistry, this has a similarly easygoing charm.

The Cooler

2003 · Romance, Drama · 1h 41m · R · Curator 4.6/10 (51.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads

A smart, adult comedy-drama about luck, desperation, and the economics of survival.

Bad Santa

2003 · Drama, Comedy, Crime · 1h 32m · R · Curator 3.7/10 (291.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Max

A much cruder black comedy, but it shares the same impulse to turn holiday-season consumer culture into a crime story.

The Matador

2005 · Action, Comedy, Crime · 1h 37m · R · Curator 4.4/10 (48K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads

A slick, offbeat crime comedy from the same era, with a stronger sense of character and tonal control.

The Producers

2005 · Comedy · 2h 14m · PG-13 · Curator 1.3/10 (47.1K ratings)

Another broad studio comedy from the same period, built on escalation, greed, and absurd schemes.

The Pursuit of Happyness

2006 · Drama · 1h 57m · PG-13 · Curator 7.3/10 (1.6M ratings)

Not a comedy, but it pairs well as a post-collapse story about financial strain and the pressure on family life.

Burn After Reading

2008 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 36m · R · Curator 5.2/10 (877.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads

A far sharper and more cynical crime comedy about dumb luck, bad decisions, and people punching above their weight.

Topics

crime comedy, black comedy, heist, corporate satire, marriage, capitalism, 2000s comedy, anti-hero, caper, social satire

Open Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) on Curator TV