'NUMBER 23' DOESN'T ADD UP TO A THRILLER WORTH WATCHING.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic A gimmick movie that's light on details and heavy on overwrought o·ver·wrought adj. 1. Excessively nervous or excited; agitated. 2. Extremely elaborate or ornate; overdone: overwrought prose style. style, "The Number 23" is a psychological thriller guaranteed to tick off anyone whose IQ is over the threshold of the title number. It's a film that somehow makes its preposterous construct into a dull slog, enlivened en·liv·en tr.v. en·liv·ened, en·liv·en·ing, en·liv·ens To make lively or spirited; animate. en·liv  en·er n. only by the occasional appearance of a bulldog possessing the most menacing stare this side of Dirty Harry. The barely-there idea behind the movie is that Normal Guy Walter (Jim Carrey) reads a book about a man obsessed ob·sess v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es v.tr. To preoccupy the mind of excessively. v.intr. with the number 23 - it's everywhere! - and the man in the book strikes Walter as very much like himself. It's his story! And given that the book's character, a hard- boiled detective named Fingerling fingerling young fish. (also Carrey), seems intent on murdering the mean moll mama (Virginia Madsen) in his life, Walter begins to fret over the terrible things he might do to his woman, an adoring wife named Agatha (Madsen again). "The Number 23" careens back and forth between Walter's increasing fragile grip on reality and Fingerling's dark exploits, which director Joel Schumacher renders with his customary stylized styl·ize tr.v. styl·ized, styl·iz·ing, styl·iz·es 1. To restrict or make conform to a particular style. 2. To represent conventionally; conventionalize. gusto. First-timer Fernley Phillips' screenplay wavers between wink-wink knowingness (cue the bulldog) and self-seriousness, finally collapsing into a need to explain everything, even if the reasoning runs counter to everything we've just seen transpire. Most fatally, it never presents Walter as a man worth caring about. With material this contrived, it's easy to understand why Carrey seems lost and Schumacher works overtime laying on the design to distract you from the thinness of the story. Madsen is miscast mis·cast tr.v. mis·cast, mis·cast·ing, mis·casts 1. To cast in an unsuitable role. 2. To cast (a role, play, or film) inappropriately. in Fingerling's fantasy, misused in the movie's reality. You would have hoped that "Sideways" would have rejuvenated re·ju·ve·nate tr.v. re·ju·ve·nat·ed, re·ju·ve·nat·ing, re·ju·ve·nates 1. To restore to youthful vigor or appearance; make young again. 2. her career, but since then, Madsen seems afflicted af·flict tr.v. af·flict·ed, af·flict·ing, af·flicts To inflict grievous physical or mental suffering on. [Middle English afflighten, from afflight, with a curse more powerful than any number. Its name is Oscar. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672. glenn.whipp@dailynews.com THE NUMBER 23 - One star (R: violence, disturbing images, sexuality, language.) Starring: Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen. Director: Joel Schumacher. Running time: 1 hr. 37 min. Playing: In wide release. In a nutshell: Psychological thriller not suitable for anyone whose IQ is above the number in the title. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Jim Carrey is obsessed by all things numerical in "The Number 23," a disturbing new psychological thriller. |
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