There are plenty of people who act well and go off the stage. But only a few remain seeped in our hearts and buried in our imagination. If you happen to have noticed Jim Carrey in recent years, in light of his intriguing takes on spirituality; soul, how people cling to an image and attempt to manifest one for themselves- you’d realise, he has made a more poignant space for himself than he ever did in the hearts of his fans.
There are innumerable reasons why we must celebrate Jim Carrey.
But a foremost reason is his absolute lack of antics as a true Hollywood superstar. The shenanigans- weather wearing a scraggly green mask or dressed as the Grinch are for the stage. Not in real life. It appears quite like guys such as Tom Hanks and Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey carries a simple disposition. He’s a humanist. He’s a realist. He has seen despair, been down in the dumps but picked himself up. And carried on.
It’s called life and Jim Carrey, who’s just turned- believe it or not 56- knows how to live.
Tugged inside the soul of his clown-like persona is a man receptive of myriad human feelings. How else would one have expected him to come up with an absolute peach of a speech on the importance of intention? “Nothing happens on the planet without intention“, suggested Jim Carrey, reflecting on the troubles and travails of his mother- who was plagued by rheumatoid arthritis and a whole bunch of other medical anomalies.
There’s the Jim Carrey that comes on stage, laughs wildly with people and a Jim Carrey who contemplates and is unfettered by Hollywood’s excesses.
There’s something excitingly true when Carrey confesses that as a kid he would sit all by himself and attempt to figure out ‘why we are here.‘ He was no stranger to despair and was brought up in not the most comforting financial situations. It’s a well-known fact that Carrey put many a night together, working as a janitor, entrusted with the task of cleaning an Ontario-based warehouse.
Not that Jim Carrey sweeping the floors would attribute subtlety or fashion to a profession not exactly considered as a career choice but one reckons whether mopping floors and cleaning corners earned Jim a clean conscience.
But Jim’s troubles existed way before his financial woes, light years ahead of Hollywood fame.
As a shy, reticent school kid, Jim Carrey straddled with undetected dyslexia. It’s not only inspiring but heartwarming that the Jim we see on stage today, throwing muses about spirituality and the importance of self-realization was once this kid who could hardly read or understand language.
People often compensate lewd jokes and cosmetic indulgences for a sheer lack of personality. But in Jim’s case, his enormous potential for humor meant that he would do funny things to himself to connect with people.
Isn’t that’s what comedy’s purpose is? To connect with people.
From wearing blindingly yellow suits (The Mask) and brown shoes to being dressed in a Hawaiian shirt as he took off for a Jungle Safari (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls), to saying yes to everything that came his way (Yes Man) to being god, if only for a few hours (Bruce Almighty), Jim Carry is our ever-man; one for the long run, sincere to his craft and unsullied by a malicious world around him.
In an age where stars are dubbed actors the moment they exhibit virtuosity in their craft, it’s a tad bit upsetting to register why Carrey’s name doesn’t feature in a revered list. If you saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and completely forgot that its lead character was the insanely witty mask-wearing retard in The Mask, then you don’t need any further examination of Jim Carrey’s versatility.
It’s the sheer intelligence about him and the awareness of the world around him that makes Carrey in a rare league. In 2007, when none in Hollywood came upon the issue of supporting Myanmar, Carrey proclaimed Aung San Suu Kyi as his hero. It’s the sheer abundance of energy in his thin frame that adds gravitas to one of Hollywood’s truly unmissable characters.
The sensational spike of madness in his facial expressions to an utter sincerity one sees as Carrey accepts yet another award identifying his immense potential- there are few who really stand true to Shakespeare’s words, “act well the part that’s where the glory lies“. Just that Jim does a bit more: he sends us to a space where we are forced to confront our real selves. Ever thought a humorist would do that?
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