Fun With Dick And Jane

The self-important writer/director commentary is the worst thing about this DVD, which is itself an unnecessary (if competent) remake of the 1977 pop semi-classic Fun with Dick and Jane. Loosely reframed around an Enron-esque corporate collapse, the story involves an upper/middle class suburban couple (Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni, in the title roles) that resorts to armed robbery to protect their (possibly frivolous) piece of the American Dream. It’s the shallow comedic elements of this that work best here. Carrey’s physical comedy is unmatched in contemporary American mainstream film and Leoni does an enviable job of keeping pace. But the film’s self-confessed "Hollywood Pinko,” anti-corporate slant never digs as deep as it should. Making fun of Walmart greeters, for example, is much less scathing than lampooning the system that puts them there in the first place. But the film only gets less perceptive as it movies up the corporate food chain, the top of which is played with unnerving southern charm by Alec Baldwin. There’s no great insight into why this character is so lacking in compassion for the proletariat that prop up his empire. More subversive, and funnier, is Dick and Jane’s son, who’s been more or less raised by the Mexican maid (Gloria Garayua). He addresses his Anglo parents in note-perfect Spanish. The DVD also comes with a gag reel, deleted scenes and publicity interviews, which are all mildly entertaining but don’t add a great deal of content to the package. (Sony)