2001, 1 hr. 40 min., Rated PG for language and mild thematic elements.�Dir: Frank Darabont. Cast: Jim Carrey (Peter Appleton/Luke Trimble), Martin Landau (Harry Trimble), Laurie Holden (Adele Stanton).

I cannot believe that this movie didn't do better at the box office last weekend. It's as if Americans aren't in the mood for a feel-good movie for Christmas. Then again, after seeing the movie I can see why word-of-mouth wouldn't be great, which still doesn't excuse why Carrey couldn't draw $20 million for every opening weekend for every picture. But there I sat, the day after Christmas at 12:15 p.m., and there were a total of four of us in the theater.

The Majestic was supposed to be another award-winning vehicle for Jim Carrey, but I have a feeling those chances of drowned in its own juices. Set in 1951, Carrey plays a Hollywood film writer of B movies who ends up in Lawson, Calif., with amnesia, mistaken for a war hero.

"Pain, nobility, the human condition...truth..." is how Carrey explains a movie that never was, but is also a metaphor for what the audience can expect to see on our own screen.

All true, but something was missing. Was it too melodramatic? Too telegraphed? Too manipulative? Too plodding? Not uplifting enough? I guess I'll just be simplistic and say that it just doesn't feel right.

Maybe it's when Carrey is first in town, mistaken for Martin Landau's son, Luke. It seems as if more people would visit such a beloved hometown figure, and the press would plaster his picture on every medium. It's a great fluff piece of a hero returning home, only to not remember if home really is where the heart is.

The feel of the film notwithstanding, there was a good cast supporting Carrey.

Landau has kept busy in an age others would bow out, and to our credit. He creates a solid and empathetic character.

Laurie Holden (whom I thought was Amy Smart in the trailers) is best known for her roles as mysterious UN operative Marita Covarrubias on "The X-Files", but has done nothing else you'd recognize. As Luke's girlfriend, Adele, the Internet Movie Database says Holden's nickname is 'Blondie', and you can see every golden lock of hair in The Majestic, in a Kim Basinger-in-L.A. Confidential-playing-Veronica Lake kind of wave. She's a doll, literally and figuratively.

The Majestic is directed by Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile), so maybe for that alone I expected more.

Thus, I'm sorry to report that I was disappointed with the movie, expecting a cascade of chills down my shoulders but ending up with a sore rear end.

The verdict:

HOME   |   Back to Jeff's Movie Reviews