Memoirs and Misinformation: A Novel

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We get it Jim... there is no Jim. Now do you want us to take you seriously or are you just screwing around in Hollywood and New York with way too much free time and money? He’s in mourning for the world, and for his lost “self.” Terrified of life, terrified of death. The thought of John Lennon’s final portrait taken in the morgue, sends him into a self-grooming frenzy, just in case he dies and fanboys at the morgue sell his photo to the highest bidder. My assistant, Linda, called me and said, ‘Chief, we have 10 minutes,’ and I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And she said, ‘The missiles are coming.’ And she was squeezing the phone and accidentally took a screen shot,” Carrey says. “That’s the cover of the book, my actual face after being told I had 10 minutes to live.” Carrey's novel, co-written with Dana Vachon, is a wonderful surprise - part memoir, part fiction. The novel follows Carrey as he rebounds from a post-I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS career slump by finding love and battling an alien invasion alongside Kelsie Grammer and Nic Cage. It may be about mental illness. Or it may just be about an alien invasion. Either way, Carrey's book has a lot of satire against the Hollywood machine - fame and the pursuit of accolades - but more importantly, it has a lot of empathy. Even as he skewers his fellow actors, he does so lovingly, trying to find the humanity behind their outlandish, weird behavior and, in the process, showing his own humanity.

If you think of Carrey’s career like Adam Sandler’s — and we’re not saying you should — you can make an argument that during his Biggest Movie Star in the World period, he had his Jim Carrey Comedy Superstar movies (the Farrelly brothers and Shadyac) and then his Working With Serious Directors to Make Art movies (two of which we’ll be getting to next). The one film that comes closest to merging those two is Liar Liar, a high-concept comedy about a slimy lawyer (Carrey) who, because of a birthday wish from his son, cannot tell a single lie. This turns out to be an extremely fruitful idea for a comedy, as the lawyer keeps running into situations in which his particular affliction is incredibly inconvenient. But he also gets a redemption arc that, particularly at this point in Carrey’s career, is surprisingly moving; Carrey has that normal-guy mode he can shift into that really works when he gets it right. Plus: We’ve been using “the Claw” on little kids for 23 years because of this movie. They love it. The Truman Show (1998) An engaging, fun tale that plays with the public perceptions of celebrities, questions our compulsive need to view, and contains a gloriously off-the-wall conclusion.” As far as I can tell, it's just about letting the universe know what you want and then working toward it while letting go of how it comes to pass.” Weekend Box Office Results: Five Nights at Freddy’s Scores Monster Opening Link to Weekend Box Office Results: Five Nights at Freddy’s Scores Monster OpeningThe writing is full of metaphor, imagery, and symbolism. The story is that of exaggerated Hollywood excess and a once-beloved star's existential crisis. The first half or so of the book was like walking through an art gallery where you get glimpses of individual pieces, and then those pieces come together to create the exhibit. At first it didn't seem things were terribly connected, but after a while it made sense. This book has no point... and more importantly it has no purpose other than to indirectly illuminate why actors don't typically write the stories they star in. I can't help but feel like this is a Kaufman-esque joke about the results of binge watching a bunch of crappy late night History Channel shows about ancient civilizations and aliens. Jim has been on the decline in my psyche for sometime now... his odd role choices in movies, his complete weirdness on Seinfields Coffee and Cars, his incredibly downer presence on the Actors Roundtable discussion, and now this book... I walked through a parade of hookers and took my little green ass to some motel room that would make Baretta jealous,” Carrey says. “And I’m reading this book saying the world is going to end soon and I’m like, ‘But I just got here. I gotta make it before I die.’ So, literally, I’ve been making it before I die for almost 40 years. But we all have the sword of Damocles over our heads. That mushroom cloud is a character in our lives. And we have to learn how to dance and smile and do all the proper and appropriate things.” Energy is what I believe all of us are. We're just conscious awareness dancing for itself for no other reason but to stay amused.”

Frank Darabont’s attempt to make a Frank Capra film is so desperate and blatant about its inspirations that you keep expecting “DOES THIS MAKE YOU THINK OF FRANK CAPRA?” and “OKAY, HOW ABOUT THIS?” title cards to keep popping up on screen. Carrey does his best Jimmy Stewart, but neither he nor Darabont have the edge or shadings that Stewart and Capra sneaked in to keep their movies honest. Carrey’s all-American cheerfulness and scrubbed-clean optimism work in the right role, but here, the whole movie drowns in glucose. A Christmas Carol (2009) I wake up some mornings and sit and have my coffee and look out at my garden, and i go, 'Remember how good this is. Because you can lose it.”New Yorkers Should Line Up Behind the City’s Janitors New Yorkers Should Line Up Behind the City’s Janitors Hughes, Will (July 11, 2020). "Jeff Daniels to Narrate His Old Buddy Jim Carrey's Audiobook". The A.V. Club . Retrieved September 12, 2020. Carrey was only 23 (and he looks it) when he made this cheesy ’80s comedy about a high school kid (Carrey) who is bitten by an older woman vampire ( Lauren Hutton, who at least seems to be enjoying herself) and trying to lose his virginity to avoid turning into a vampire. (As one does.) Carrey is manic and bug-eyed but not particularly interesting in his starring film debut, and other than tiny roles in films too small to even make this list, it would be a decade until he had another major role. He eventually figured it out. How the Grinch Stole Christmas(2000) Perez, Lexy (April 6, 2020). "Jim Carrey's Book Memoirs and Misinformation Pushed to July Release". Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved September 12, 2020. After initially trying to reach his daughter from Maui, Carrey walked outside, sat on the lanai and spent eight minutes going through a “gratitude list.” Staggered by the bounty of his life, he reached a state of grace, closed his eyes and waited for the missiles.

At first it plays like an absurd version of Jim Carrey taken to the nth, Charlie Kaufman-esqe and yes, Kaufman makes an "appearance". It then devolves because the story itself isn't that compelling because nothing is taken seriously therefore you can't take it seriously either. It's neither funny nor scary enough to be entertaining on that level. Just because it's Jim Carey doesn't mean we should 5/5 star anything he writes. Yes he's one of my favorite actors of all time and I find him absolutely hilarious. BUT is he a writer? no...I didn't expect to spend time today crying while reading a passage in Jim Carrey's new novel MEMOIRS AND MISINFORMATION in which Carrey, a character in his own book, is reunited with his mentor Rodney Dangerfield when the late comedian's "essence" is resurrected as a CGI rhinoceros in a big-budget Hollywood adaptation of HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPOS. If it weren’t for Carrey’s brilliant humor, and Vachon’s taut, lyrical prose, I might not have been able to take this grim version of Hollywood culture. Jim Carrey, Drama King, is an apocalyptic persona within an apocalypse. He exposes the underbelly of acting, agents, celebrity, and privilege, while yearning for friendship, romance, and meaning. Browning, Justine (October 2, 2019). "Jim Carrey to Publish First Novel Memoirs and Misinformation". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved September 12, 2020.