James Eugene Carrey Essay, Research Paper

James Eugene Carrey

The exceptional Canadian actor, Jim Carrey, has exploded onto

the movie scene in the past five years. His “comedic unpredictability”

has become his trademark in Hollywood (Hughes 28). The roles he

played in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and

Dumber have brought back the “dumb roots” back to comedy (Trakin

56). His combination of physical grace and facial contortions can make

just about anyone laugh. Even as a child in Newmarket, a suburb of

Toronto, Carrey put on his own comedy shows for family, friends, and

schoolmates.

Acting in a third-grade Christmas pageant at Blessed Trinity

School, the young Carrey stopped the show with his goofy portrayal of

Santa Claus. In the seventh grade he was allotted 15 minutes at the

end of each school day to perform for his classmates (Hughes 39).

When Jim was 14 and his father lost his job, he learned that “life offers

no assurances, so you might as well do what you’re really passionate

about,” as he explained to Richard Corliss of Time. These words

represent Jim’s life and how he eventually became who he is today.

The whole family–Percy, Kathleen, sons Jim and John, and

daughters Pat and Rita–went to work at Titan Wheels, a tire factory in

Scarborough, Ontario. After putting in a full day at school, the children

labored all night, as assembly line workers and janitors. “At 16 Carrey

dropped out of school, his straight A’s having plummeted to failing

grades under the strain of working the evening shift” (”Jim Carrey”

75). The Carreys eventually quit their factory jobs and took to living in

a Volkswagen camper. In an interview with Fred Schruers, Carrey

said, “It sounds sad but we were so much happier than we’d been

being those people we didn’t like…we became living, happy, laughing

people again, people that had food fights every Sunday” (Johnston

3). In the meantime, Jim Carrey had begun his standup comedy

career, “A psychological double-edged sword that simultaneously

provided an outlet for the pressure he felt to support his family” (”Jim

Carrey” 75).

In Tennessee Williams memory play, “The Glass Menagerie,” a

character named Jim O’Connor plays a gentleman caller. His high-

school years are in great contrast to Jim Carrey’s high-school days.

“In high school, Jim was a hero.” “He had tremendous Irish good

nature.” Tom, as the narrator described him saying, “He seemed to

move in a continual spotlight” (Williams 83). This character Jim was

the typical storybook high-school jock: star in basketball, captain of

the debate club, and president of the senior class.

“…You would logically expect him to arrive at nothing short of

the White House by the time he was thirty” (Williams 83). In the play,

Jim O’Connor probably should have succeeded based on his high-

school achievements. In actuality, Williams did the opposite and had

him with a low-paying job at a warehouse. Contrarily, Jim Carrey had

a completely different situation. He was obligated to drop out of high

school to help his family. I think that some people who later become

famous have lived through or experienced some kind of hardship in

their pasts but that depends on how they are brought into this world

and the situations they experience growing up. Based on what I

learned about Jim Carrey’s past, I would say that most people who

become famous might not have outstanding high-school careers but

they must have had enough intelligence to realize their passion and

follow their dreams.

Jim Carrey is very famous today because his acting style is very

appealing to many people. His goal in life since childhood was always

to be a jokester and he is renowned for it now. Jim Carrey doesn’t

think of himself as being famous but his fame came from desire and

leaving high school was just one of the bumps along the way. He does

now what he always wanted to do–make people laugh.

Hughes, Mary. Jim Carrey: Comedian Performer (Overcoming Adversity).

Boston: Chelsea House Publishing, 1998.

“Jim Carrey.” Current Biography Yearbook. Volume C. 1996.*

Johnston, William. “The FAQ.” The Jim Carrey Area. 1998.

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/9090/longbio.html>

(20 Mar. 1999).

Trakin, Roy. Jim Carrey Unmasked. New York: Mass Market Paperback,

1995.

Williams Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. New York: Penguin Group, 1992.

*no author given–title given in parenthetical notation