Fun With Dick And Jane [DVD]

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Product Description ------------------- Comedy based on the novel by Gerald Gaiser and the 1977 movie of the same name. Dick Harper's (Jim Carrey) years of hard work finally pay off when he is promoted to vice president at Globodyne, a worldwide leader in the consolidation of media properties. But after exactly one day in his new job, Globodyne is destroyed by an Enron-like calamity - and he is left holding the bag. Dick's sudden reversal of fortune has left him little time to set money aside for a rainy day. Now it's raining buckets as Dick and his loving wife Jane (Tea Leoni), watch in horror as their deluxe home, their luxury cars and their status-conscious friends quickly vanish into thin air. After playing by the rules and working single-mindedly to build a comfortable life for his family, Dick is utterly unprepared to give up the American dream. Taking a lesson from his current employer, however, Dick hits on a brilliant idea: if stealing was good enough for his boss, then it's good enough for him. .co.uk Review ------------- Remakes are always a gamble, so it's a pleasant surprise that Fun with Dick and Jane pays off with unexpected dividends. It's as entertaining as the 1977 original starring George Segal and Jane Fonda, and the teaming of Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni makes this a safe bet for comedy fans, in spite of a slapstick screenplay that fails to achieve its fullest potential. Rather than attempt a darkly comedic send-up of the Enron scandal that left thousands of stockholders in financial ruin, director Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) opts for a lighter, more accessible (read: commercial) satire of corporate greed and cynicism, beginning in the year 2000 when Dick (Carrey) gets a plum promotion as a mega-corporate communications director just as his boss (Alec Baldwin) is preparing to bail out before stock prices plummet. Dick's wife Jane (Leoni) has quit her job as a travel agent, so the corporate bombshell leaves them penniless and desperate, resorting to petty thievery and, eventually, plotting high-stakes revenge against the greedy executives who ruined their lives. As a send-up of financial distress in a ravaged post-Enron economy, Fun with Dick and Jane delivers laughs with just enough pointed humor to give it a strong satirical edge, and Carrey's reliable brand of zaniness is controlled enough to balance nicely with Leoni's more subtle (and woefully underrated) skills as a screen comedienne. And while the "special thanks" end-credits hint at the sharper, more biting satire this might have been, there’s enough fun with Dick and Jane to make this recycled comedy worth a look. --Jeff Shannon