The Truman Show (1998)

Jim Carrey stars as Truman Burbank, a man who doesn’t realise that his whole life has been filmed for a reality TV show broadcast to millions. This show is masterminded by Christof (Ed Harris), portrayed as an almost godlike figure.

It's a fascinating idea, but the execution seems fatally flawed. In places the storytelling isn't strong enough – mainly because you can’t easily tell what’s meant to be TV footage and what is us seeing what’s really going on. 

The plot only works at all if you don't ask any questions of it. For example, why does Carrey’s character perform as though he’s in a TV show when he doesn’t know he is? And how does the acting role actually work for his wife (Laura Linney), who is on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days per year?

Man on the Moon (1999)

Directed by Miloš Forman, this is a brilliant biopic of the wildly original comedian Andy Kaufman. 

Jim Carrey is superb in the main role, but he’s expertly assisted by Paul Giamatti (as Kaufman’s best friend) and Danny DeVito (as Andy’s manager). The film traces Kaufman’s career, but it escapes the trapping of bog-standard biopics by embracing the playful qualities of the comedian’s work. 

Courtney Love plays his girlfriend well, but isn’t really given enough lines.

The famous R.E.M. song is the theme tune.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

A man and woman undergo special treatment to have their painful memories of each other erased so that they can forget the suffering they endured when their relationship broke down. But, mid-procedure, the man realises he’s making a mistake and tries to hang on to what remains of his precious recollections of the person he still loves. 

Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are endearing in the lead roles, and their opposites-attract romance is offbeat and believable. What spoils the film is that the visual representation of memory – much of the story takes place in Jim Carrey’s mind – seems gimmicky and over-stylised. I appreciate that they were looking for a cinematic style that could resemble the way memories appear to us, but the fast-cut visuals are so full-on and relentless that they get in the way of the story. It could have been a far stronger film if the narrative and the editing allowed for some slower scenes that gave us the space to get to know the couple better. Indeed, the rare moments when they are simply talking or enjoying being together make up the best parts of the story. 

Oddly enough, a sub-plot about the boss of the company offering memory removal (Tom Wilkinson) and a woman who works for him (Kirsten Dunst) is better handled because it unfolds at a more natural pace. 

It’s so nearly brilliant, but the execution gets in the way. It’s a shame because the idea is a great one, and it enables the film to consider all sorts of ethical and even spiritual issues about identity and how much our pasts define who we are.

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

Funny and moving drama by Francis Ford Coppola. Peggy Sue (Kathleen Turner) attends a high school reunion and is dismayed when her estranged husband Charlie (Nicolas Cage) unexpectedly shows up. She faints...and wakes up in 1960 – 25 years in the past. 

Trying to come to terms with her bizarre new reality, she spends a few days in her childhood world, with her family and school friends, and faces some fundamental dilemmas. Can she change her life and avoid the mistakes she knows she is destined to make? Should she break up with Charlie, who seems to love her so much but who will later betray her? What can she do differently now that she has all the knowledge and wisdom of her 1985 self and perspective on what really matters? The film explores these questions in a way that’s always humorous and often profound.

The 1980s-to-1950s/60s time-travel plot gives this plenty in common with Back to the Future (1985), but I like the fact that this film doesn’t bother with the technical “rules” about changing the future by interfering with the past. Quite the opposite: at one point, Peggy Sue gives Charlie the lyrics to a song she says she wrote. It turns out to be “She Loves You” by The Beatles (which would be a hit in 1963). 

Given such a warm and intelligent script, Kathleen Turner gives the performance of a lifetime, perfectly conveying all the excitement and confusion of what she’s going through. Nicolas Cage is extremely charming, as the role demands, and he has a strange, goofy appeal that’s a result of his huge charisma. 

It’s incredibly romantic, but that romance is all the deeper and more affecting because of the interwoven threads of hope and regret that run through it.

Dumb and Dumber (1994)

The title says it all. An absolutely stupid film that ends up being very funny. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels play two of the most infantile people imaginable. But they are well-meaning, too, and care about each other. They become accidentally involved in a crime involving the kidnap of the husband of an heiress (Lauren Holly) and leave a trail of destruction in their wake while attempting to travel to Aspen (it’s a sort of road movie) in order to return a suitcase full of money.

It works because the humour is kind. You laugh at their absurdity and vulnerability. I’ve never been a fan of crass jokes about toilets, but these characters are so well drawn that even the “laxative overdose” scene is compelling.

Stupid as they are, you root for them because you recognise a little of yourself in their daftness and because it’s difficult to resist the warmth of their friendship.