''Me, Myself & Irene'' is a 2000 American slapstick

black comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the old ...

directed by the

Farrelly brothers Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, collectively referred to as the Farrelly brothers, are American screenwriters and directors. They have made eleven films together, including ''Dumb and Dumber'', '' Outside Providence'', and '' There's Somethin ...

, and starring Jim Carrey and

Renée Zellweger Renée Kathleen Zellweger (; born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, she was one of the world's highest-paid ...

Chris Cooper Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. He has appeared in several major Hollywood films, including '' American Beauty'' (1999), ''October Sky'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Seabiscuit'' (2003), '' Ca ...

Robert Forster Robert Wallace Forster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019) was an American actor, known for his roles as John Cassellis in '' Medium Cool'' (1969), Captain Dan Holland in ''The Black Hole'' (1979), Abdul Rafai in '' The Delta Force'' (1986 ...

Richard Jenkins Richard Dale Jenkins (born May 4, 1947) is an American actor who is well known for his portrayal of deceased patriarch Nathaniel Fisher on the HBO funeral drama series '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005). He began his career in theater at the Tr ...

, Daniel Greene,

Anthony Anderson Anthony Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and game show host. He is best known for his leading roles in drama series such as Marlin Boulet on '' K-Ville'', and as NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on the NBC crime drama ...

, Jerod Mixon and Mongo Brownlee co-star. The film is about a

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

state trooper named Charlie who, after years of continuously suppressing his rage and feelings, suffers a psychotic breakdown that results in a second personality, Hank. This was Carrey's first role in a

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

film, along with being the Farrelly brothers' second film with Carrey since ''

Dumb and Dumber ''Dumb and Dumber'' is a 1994 American buddy comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly, who cowrote the screenplay with Bobby Farrelly and Bennett Yellin. It is the first installment in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise. Starring Jim Carrey a ...

'' (1994).

Plot

Veteran Rhode Island state trooper Charlie Baileygates has been taken advantage of by those around him, including his wife Layla. Almost immediately after their wedding, she begins to cheat on Charlie with their wedding limo chauffeur, Shonté, a black

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

with a genius-level IQ. Despite his friends warning him of Layla's infidelity, Charlie denies it, even after she gives birth to biracial

triplets A multiple birth is the culmination of one multiple pregnancy, wherein the mother gives birth to two or more babies. A term most applicable to vertebrate species, multiple births occur in most kinds of mammals, with varying frequencies. Such bi ...

, Jamal, Lee Harvey, and Shonté Jr., who also appear to be geniuses. A few years later, Layla leaves with Shonté, abandoning the children with Charlie, who raises them as his own. While they love and respect Charlie, the rest of the town continually abuses him. After years of such treatment, he develops a

split personality Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

named Hank Evans to deal with confrontations Charlie avoids. Emerging whenever Charlie is under extreme stress, Hank is an over-the-top, rude, and violent persona reminiscent of characters played by Clint Eastwood. A psychiatrist prescribes medication to keep Hank suppressed. Believing Charlie needs a vacation, his commanding officer orders him to escort beautiful Irene Waters from Rhode Island to

Massena, New York Massena is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. Massena is along the county's northern border, just south of the St. Lawrence River and the Three Nations Crossing of the Canada–United States border. The population was 12 ...

, where she reportedly committed a

hit-and-run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...

. Irene insists her mob-connected ex-boyfriend Dickie fabricated the accusation to keep her from revealing his illegal activities to the authorities. In Massena, Charlie turns over Irene to two

EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

agents. A

hitman Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may ...

with a contract on Irene kills one of the agents. She and Charlie flee, hastily leaving his medication behind, which causes Hank to emerge frequently. Charlie is unjustly blamed for the murder. FBI agents begin pursuing him and Irene, as do Boshane and Gerke, two crooked police officers on Dickie's payroll. The chase becomes a media spectacle, alerting Charlie's sons to his predicament. Charlie and Irene return to Rhode Island, bonding along the way. Although Irene is taken by Charlie's personality, Hank worries her, as his aggressive personality and overestimation of his own toughness often gets them into trouble. Along the way, they pick up "Whitey", an

albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

waiter who claims to have killed his entire family. While stopping at a motel, Hank convinces Irene to have sex with him by impersonating Charlie. When Charlie realizes what happened the next morning, he is incensed and begins fighting with Hank. They are almost ambushed by Boshane and Gerke, but Charlie's sons, having found them, steal a police helicopter and call in a false report, stating Charlie and Irene have been apprehended in the woods nearby. Charlie and Irene leave Whitey at the motel and board a train to Rhode Island. Dickie boards the same train, having been ordered by his police allies to "get his hands dirty". He kidnaps Irene, and Charlie chases him, working together with Hank to save her. Hank balks when Dickie heads onto a bridge, but Charlie finally faces his fears, thus permanently nullifying Hank. As Charlie tries to disarm Dickie, Dickie shoots off his thumb. Whitey then throws a lawn dart at Dickie, hitting him from behind and killing him. Charlie and Irene fall from the bridge into the river below, where his sons arrive to rescue them. Regrouping with Whitey, Charlie apologizes for making him kill again, but Whitey reveals he made up his backstory, fearing Hank. The police arrive, quickly learning of Irene's plight. Gerke and Boshane are arrested, Charlie is praised for bringing them to justice, and Irene is cleared of the charges against her. Irene prepares to leave Rhode Island when the police pull her over, but this is only a diversion so Charlie can propose, which she happily accepts. In a post-credits scene, everyone looks for Charlie's thumb in the river. Whitey finds it, but a fish eats it.

Cast

* Jim Carrey as Charlie Baileygates / Hank Evans *

as Irene P. Waters *

as Lt. Gerke *

as Colonel Partington *

as Agent Boshane *

Zen Gesner Zen Brant Gesner (born June 23, 1970) is an American television and movie actor. He is perhaps most recognized for his roles as Sinbad in the syndicated television series ''The Adventures of Sinbad'', and was a regular cast member on the ABC d ...

as Agent Peterson * Michael Bowman as Casper ("Whitey") *

Rob Moran Rob Moran (born May 12, 1963) is an actor and producer. He has appeared in the Farrelly brothers' films ''Dumb and Dumber'', '' Kingpin'', ''There's Something About Mary'', ''Shallow Hal'', and ''Hall Pass''. Moran also played the Carlin family p ...

as Trooper Finneran * Daniel Greene as Dickie Thurman *

as Jamal Baileygates ** Jeremy Maleek Leggett as nine-year-old Jamal Baileygates * Mongo Brownlee as Lee Harvey Baileygates ** Andrew Phillips as nine-year-old Lee Harvey Baileygates * Jerod Mixon as Shonté Jr. Baileygates ** Justin Chandler as nine-year-old Shonté Jr. Baileygates * Tony Cox as Shonté Jackson - Limo Driver * Steve Tyler as Delivery Room Doctor *

Traylor Howard Traylor Elizabeth Howard is an American actress. Her roles include Sharon Carter on the television series ''Two Guys and a Girl'', and Natalie Teeger on the USA Network series ''Monk''. Early life Howard was born in Orlando, Florida, to Peg ...

as Layla Baileygates *

Richard Tyson Richard Tyson is an American actor. He is best known as Kaz in '' Hardball'' (1989–1990) as well as his film roles in '' Three O'Clock High'' (1987), '' Two Moon Junction'' (1988), ''Kindergarten Cop'' (1990), ''Bound to Vengeance'' (2015), and ...

as Gun shop owner * Rex Allen Jr. as the Narrator *

Ezra Buzzington Ezra Buzzington is an American character actor in film and television. A figure in underground cinema, Buzzington is also the founder of the Seattle Fringe Festival and co-founder of the New York International Fringe Festival. Career With ov ...

as Disabled guy *

Shannon Whirry Shannon Whirry is an American actress. Career A native from Green Lake, Wisconsin, where she was the salutatorian of her 1983 high school graduating class, in 1985 Whirry was accepted to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, one of onl ...

as Breastfeeding mom *

Lin Shaye Linda Shaye (born October 12, 1943) is an American film, television, and theater actress. In a career spanning over forty years, she has appeared in more than a hundred feature films. She is perhaps best known for her starring role as Elise Rain ...

(

deleted scene A deleted scene is footage that has been removed from the final version of a film or television show. There are various reasons why these scenes are deleted, which include time constraints, relevance, quality or a dropped story thread. A similar o ...

s) as Mrs. Caleron * Lina Teal as Bikini girl *

Anna Kournikova Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova ( rus, Анна Сергеевна Курникова, p=ˈanːə sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvnə ˈkurnʲɪkəvə, a=Anna_kournikova.ogg; born 7 June 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player and American televisi ...

Cam Neely Cameron Michael Neely (born June 6, 1965) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. Neely played right wing for the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 1996. Nicknamed "'Bam ...

and

Brendan Shanahan Brendan Frederick Shanahan (born January 23, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player who currently serves as the president and alternate governor for the Toronto Maple Leafs, having previously served as the direct ...

appear in

cameo roles A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

as Stand-Up Comedian on TV (archive footage) (uncredited) * Chris Rock as Stand-Up Comedian on TV (archive footage) (uncredited)

Music

The film's original score was written by

Pete Yorn Peter Joseph Yorn (born July 27, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first gained international recognition after his debut record, '' Musicforthemorningafter'', was released to critical and commercial acclaim in 2001. He is ...

, while the movie's soundtrack contains eight covers of Steely Dan songs. # " I'd Like That" –

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

# " Breakout" – Foo Fighters # " Do It Again" –

Smash Mouth Smash Mouth is an American rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994, and was originally composed of Steve Harwell (lead vocals), Kevin Coleman (drums), Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul De Lisle (bass). With Harwell's depa ...

* # "

Deep Inside of You "Deep Inside of You" is a song by American rock band Third Eye Blind from their second studio album, ''Blue'' (1999). It was released as the fourth and final single from the album on July 10, 2000, by Elektra Records. According to frontman Stepha ...

" –

Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label reco ...

# " Totalimmortal" –

The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guit ...

# "The World Ain't Slowin' Down" –

Ellis Paul Ellis Paul (born Paul Plissey; January 14, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born in Presque Isle, Aroostook County, Maine, Paul is a key figure in what has become known as the Boston school of songwriting, a literate, ...

# " Any Major Dude Will Tell You" –

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...

* # "Only A Fool Would Say That" –

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

* # " Can't Find The Time to Tell You" –

Hootie & The Blowfish Hootie & the Blowfish are an American soft rock band that were formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. The band's lineup for most of its existence has been the quartet of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld. The band w ...

# "Bodhisattva" –

Brian Setzer Orchestra The Brian Setzer Orchestra (sometimes known by its initials BSO) is a swing and jump blues band formed in 1990 by Stray Cats frontman Brian Setzer. In 1998, for their breakout album '' The Dirty Boogie'', the group covered Louis Prima's " Jump, ...

* # " Bad Sneakers" – The Push Stars* # "

Reelin' In The Years "Reelin' In the Years" (sometimes entitled "Reeling In the Years") is a song by American rock band Steely Dan, released as the second single from their 1972 debut album, ''Can't Buy a Thrill''. It peaked at #11 on the US '' Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

" –

Marvelous 3 Marvelous 3 is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. They are best known for their 1998 song "Freak of the Week." History Marvelous 3 was formed by lead singer/guitarist Butch Walker, bass guitarist Jayce Fincher, and drummer Doug Mitche ...

* # "

Strange Condition "Strange Condition" is a song by American musician Pete Yorn. Produced and recorded by R. Walt Vincent and Brad Wood, it appears on his first studio album ''Musicforthemorningafter''. It also appears on Yorn's 2000 '' Sunset EP'' as well as on the ...

" –

# "Barrytown" – Ben Folds Five* # "Razor Boy" – Billy Goodrum* # "Where He Can Hide" –

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

* Steely Dan cover "Motherfucker" by

The Dwarves The Dwarves are an American punk rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois and based in San Francisco, California as of 2009.Gentile, John (2009)Interview: Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves, ''The A.V. Club'', April 13, 2009, retrieved February 7, 2010 ...

, " Fire Like This" by

Hardknox Hardknox is an English electronic music duo consisting of producer and instrumentalist Steve Proctor and vocalist Lindy Layton. They have released two singles and a self-titled album. Their style of electronica features heavy beats with powerful ...

, " Don't Say You Don't Remember" by Beverly Bremers, "The Perpetrator" by Hipster Daddy-O and the Handgrenades, "Love Me Cha Cha" by Jimmy Luxury, " Hem of Your Garment" by Cake, and "Highway Patrol" by

Junior Brown Jamieson "Junior" Brown (born June 12, 1952) is an American country guitarist and singer. He has released twelve studio albums in his career, and has charted twice on the '' Billboard'' country singles charts. Brown's signature instrument is t ...

were included in the movie but not on the soundtrack. Pete Yorn's "Just Another" can also be heard in the background, during the scene where they discuss Hank's idea. Alta Mira's "El Capitan" can be heard in the background during the scene where Hank fights Charlie at the train station.

Home media

The film was released on VHS on January 9, 2001, and on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on January 23, 2001. It was later released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

on February 5, 2008.

Reception

Box office

The film opened at No.1 on the weekend of June 23, 2000 ahead of ''

Chicken Run ''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 stop-motion animated comedy film produced by Pathé and Aardman Animations in partnership with DreamWorks Animation. Aardman’s first feature-length film and DreamWorks Animation's fourth film, it was directed by ...

'', making

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

24.2 million in its opening weekend. The film earned $90,570,999 in the United States, and a further $58,700,000 internationally, for a worldwide total of $149,270,999.

Critical response

Review website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gave the film a score of 48%, based on 101 reviews, and an average rating of 5.4/10, with the consensus that "While Jim Carrey's comedic skills earn some laughs, ''Me, Myself and Irene'' sports a tired, unsatisfying plot." Online review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

states the film has a score of 49 out of a possible 100, based on 35 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B-" on an A+ to F scale. Carrey included the movie in his top five favourite movies of his own, coming in second behind ''

The Cable Guy ''The Cable Guy'' is a 1996 American black comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, written by Lou Holtz Jr. and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. It was released in the United States on June 14, 1996. The film co-stars Leslie Mann, Jack ...

''.

Controversy

On June 9, 2000, the

National Alliance on Mental Illness The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a United States-based nonprofit organization originally founded as a grassroots group by family members of people diagnosed with mental illness. NAMI identifies its mission as "providing advoc ...

(NAMI) sent a letter to 20th Century Fox, arguing that the film contains an inaccurate portrayal of

Dissociative Identity Disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

. In the letter, NAMI executive president Lauire Flynn argued that "''Me, Myself & Irene'' perpetuates a myth that schizophrenia—a severe, biologically-based brain disorder—is a split personality", and criticized how Fox was "seeking to dismiss such concerns with claims that the film is 'only a comedy'", stating that "for millions of Americans, schizophrenia and other mental illnesses are no laughing matter". NAMI asked Fox to release

Public Service Announcements A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

explaining real-life schizophrenia and DID, as well as Jim Carrey to explain the differences between schizophrenia and DID during interviews promoting the film.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Me, Myself and Irene 2000 black comedy films 2000 comedy films 2000 romantic comedy films 2000s comedy road movies 2000 films 20th Century Fox films Albinism in popular culture American black comedy films American comedy road movies American romantic comedy films Films about dissociative identity disorder Fictional trios Films directed by the Farrelly brothers Films set in Rhode Island Films shot in Rhode Island Films shot in Vermont Films with screenplays by the Farrelly brothers 2000s English-language films 2000s American films