Me, Myself & Irene

Me, Myself & Irene is a 2000 American black comedy film[2] directed by the Farrelly brothers, and starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger. Chris Cooper, Robert Forster, Richard Jenkins, Daniel Greene, Anthony Anderson, Jerod Mixon and Mongo Brownlee co-star. The film is about a Rhode Island state trooper named Charlie who, after years of continuously suppressing his rage and feelings, suffers a psychotic breakdown that results in a second personality, Hank. This was also Carrey's first role in a 20th Century Fox film. Also, this is the Farrelly brothers 2nd film with Carrey, the first time since Dumb and Dumber was released in 1994.

Me, Myself & Irene
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPeter Farrelly
Bobby Farrelly
Produced by
  • Peter Farrelly
Written byMike Cerrone
Peter Farrelly
Bobby Farrelly
Starring
Music by
CinematographyMark Irwin
Edited byChristopher Greenbury
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • June 23, 2000 (2000-06-23)
Running time
116 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$51 million[1]
Box office$149 million[1]

Plot

Charlie Baileygates (Jim Carrey) is a veteran Rhode Island state trooper who has been taken advantage of by those around him, including his wife Layla (Traylor Howard). Almost immediately after their wedding, Layla begins to cheat on Charlie with their wedding limo chauffeur, a dwarf black man named Shonté with a genius-level IQ. Despite his friends warning him of Layla's infidelity, Charlie refuses to accept it, even after she gave birth to biracial triplets, who also appear to be geniuses. A few years later, Layla leaves with Shonté, abandoning her children. Charlie raises the triplets: Jamal, Lee Harvey, and Shonté Jr. (Anthony Anderson, Jerod Mixon, Mongo Brownlee). While Charlie is loved and respected by the boys, he is continually abused by the rest of the town. As a result of years of such treatment, Charlie develops a split personality named Hank to deal with the confrontations Charlie avoids. Emerging whenever Charlie is under extreme stress, Hank is an over-the-top, rude, and violent persona reminiscent of characters played by Clint Eastwood.[3] A psychiatrist prescribes medication to keep Hank at bay.

Believing that Charlie needs a vacation, his commanding officer (Robert Forster) orders him to escort Irene Waters (Renée Zellweger) from Rhode Island to Massena, New York, because she reportedly committed a hit-and-run. Irene insists the accusation is a lie told by Dickie (Daniel Greene), her mob-connected ex-boyfriend, to keep her from revealing his illegal activities to the authorities. In Massena, Charlie turns over Irene to two EPA agents. A hitman with a contract on Irene's life kills one of the agents. Irene and Charlie flee, leaving his medication behind in their haste and allowing Hank to emerge frequently. Charlie is unjustly blamed for the murder. FBI agents begin pursuing him and Irene, as do two crooked police officers in Dickie's payroll, Boshane (Richard Jenkins) and Gerke (Chris Cooper). The chase becomes a media spectacle, alerting Charlie's sons to his predicament.

Charlie and Irene return to Rhode Island, developing a bond along the way. Though Irene is taken by Charlie's personality, Hank worries her, as his aggressive personality and overestimation of his own toughness often gets them into trouble. Along the way they pick up "Whitey" (Michael Bowman), an albino waiter who claims to have killed his entire family. While stopping at a motel, Hank convinces Irene to have sex with him by impersonating Charlie. When Charlie realizes what happened the next morning, he is incensed and begins fighting with Hank. They are almost ambushed by Boshane and Gerke, but Charlie's sons, having found them, steal a police helicopter and call in a false report, stating Charlie and Irene have been spotted in the woods nearby.

Charlie and Irene leave Whitey at the motel and board a train back to Rhode Island. Dickie boards the same train, having been ordered by his superiors to "get his hands dirty". He kidnaps Irene, and Charlie gives chase, working together with Hank to save her. Hank balks when Dickie heads onto a bridge, but Charlie finally stands up for himself against his fears, thus permanently nullifying Hank. As Charlie tries to disarm Dickie, Dickie shoots off his thumb. Dickie is then hit from behind by a lawn dart thrown by Whitey, killing him. Charlie and Irene fall from the bridge into a river below. Charlie's sons arrive to rescue them. Regrouping with Whitey, Charlie apologizes for making him kill again, but Whitey reveals he made up his backstory for fear of Hank. The police arrive, but quickly learn of Irene's plight. Gerke and Boshane are arrested, Charlie is congratulated for bringing them to justice, and Irene is cleared of the charges against her.

Irene prepares to leave Rhode Island when she is pulled over by the police, but this proves only to be a diversion to allow Charlie to propose marriage to her, which she happily accepts. In a post-credits scene, everyone looks for Charlie's thumb in the river. Whitey finds it, but a fish eats it.

Cast

Music

The film's original score was written by Pete Yorn, while the movie's soundtrack contains eight covers of Steely Dan songs.

  1. "I'd Like That" – XTC
  2. "Breakout" – Foo Fighters
  3. "Do It Again" – Smash Mouth*
  4. "Deep Inside of You" – Third Eye Blind
  5. "Totalimmortal" – The Offspring
  6. "The World Ain't Slowin' Down" – Ellis Paul
  7. "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" – Wilco*
  8. "Only A Fool Would Say That" – Ivy*
  9. "Can't Find The Time to Tell You" – Hootie & The Blowfish
  10. "Bodhisattva" – Brian Setzer Orchestra*
  11. "Bad Sneakers" – The Push Stars*
  12. "Reelin' In The Years" – Marvelous 3*
  13. "Strange Condition" – Pete Yorn
  14. "Barrytown" – Ben Folds Five*
  15. "Razor Boy" – Billy Goodrum*
  16. "Where He Can Hide" – Tom Wolfe

* Steely Dan cover

"Motherfucker" by The Dwarves, "Fire Like This" by Hardknox, "Don't Say You Don't Remember" by Beverly Bremers, "The Perpetrator" by Hipster Daddy-O and the Handgrenades, "Love Me Cha Cha" by Jimmy Luxury, and "Hem of Your Garment" by Cake were included in the movie but not on the soundtrack. Pete Yorn's "Just Another" can also be heard in the background, during the scene where they discuss Hank's idea. Alta Mira's "El Capitan" can be heard in the background, during the scene where Hank fights Charlie at the train station.

Home media

The film was released on VHS on January 9, 2001, and on DVD on January 23, 2001.[4]

Reception

Box office

The film opened at #1 on the weekend of June 23, 2000, making US$24.2 million in its opening weekend.[5]

The film earned $90,570,999 in the United States, and a further $58,700,000 internationally for a worldwide total of $149,270,999.[1]

Critical response

Review website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 47%, based on 99 reviews, and an average rating of 5.4/10, with the consensus that "While Jim Carrey's comedic skills earn some laughs, Me, Myself and Irene sports a tired, unsatisfying plot."[6] Online review aggregator Metacritic states the film has a score of 49 out of a possible 100 based on 35 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[7]

Controversy

On June 9, 2000, the National Allience for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) sent a letter to 20th Century Fox arguing that the film contains an inaccurate portrayal of Dissociative Identity Disorder.[8] In the letter, NAMI executive president Lauire Flynn argued that "Me, Myself & Irene perpetuates a myth that schizophrenia-a severe, biologically-based brain disorder-is a split personality", and criticized how Fox was "seeking to dismiss such concerns with claims that the film is 'only a comedy,'", stating that "for millions of Americans, schizophrenia and other mental illnesses are no laughing matter".[8] NAMI asked Fox to release Public Service Announcements explaining real-life schizophrenia and DID, as well as Jim Carrey to explain the differences between schizophrenia and DID during interviews promoting the film.[8]

References
  1. "Me, Myself and Irene". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  2. Michael Blanding & Alexandra Hall. Moon Handbooks Vermont. Moon Publications.
  3. Saathof, Evan (30 June 2015). "The Split Tonal Personality Of ME, MYSELF, & IRENE A look at the Farrelly Brothers' funniest drama". Birth. Movies. Death. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Sometimes Charlie is Charlie; sometimes he is Hank, a mean jerk who sounds like a bad Clint Eastwood impression and doesn't take any guff from anyone.
  4. Tribbey, Ralph (November 2, 2000). "Fox Tests DVD Release Lag on Jim Carrey's 'Me, Myself and Irene'". hive4media.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2001. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  5. "Me, Myself and Irene Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  6. "Me, Myself & Irene". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  7. "Me, Myself & Irene". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  8. "NAMI Protests "Me, Myself & Irene"". NAMI]. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
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