Carrey

For those who haven't been able to watch a Jim Carrey movie since suffering through "The Cable Guy," Fox offers a reminder of how funny he can be."Mad About You" (8 p.m.-8: 30 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- The birth of Baby Buchman draws ever nearer, so Paul and Jamie grow ever more frantic. Tonight, the goal is to impress their birthing class instructor, played by Marsha Warfield of "Night Court." Meanwhile, why are Paul's mother and sister so reluctant to sign a release for the "Buchman" documentary?

Michael Jackson's drug history to be probed Detectives investigating the death of Michael Jackson are looking at his prescription drug history and trying to talk with his numerous former doctors, the Los Angeles police chief said. Jackson's father, Joe Jackson, told ABC News in an interview that he believed "foul play" was involved in his son's death. But in the interview aired Friday on Good Morning America, Jackson did not elaborate. Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton told CNN that police are waiting for the coroner's report before ruling out any possibilities in their "comprehensive" investigation into the sudden death of the 50-year-old pop star two weeks ago. The coroner's report will determine the cause of death and hinges on time-consuming toxicology tests.

"Saturday Night Live" rolls out its biggest gun of the year to close out the season tonight."The Bottom Line" (11 a.m.-noon, WBAL, Channel 11) -- Jodie Ulrich, the teen-ager expelled from Baltimore County's RTC Chesapeake High School for possession of pepper spray, is the guest of substitute host Ron Shapiro."Television's Greatest Performances II" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- Who decides these, anyway? The "classics" include the final episode of "M*A*S*H" (in a Reader's Digest version, one supposes, since the original was a two-hour movie)

Should you see Yes Man? Well, maybe. Let's be clear: If ever a movie mistook a premise for a plot, it's this one. Some films suffer from a surfeit of one-liners. This picture evaporates midway through because the story itself is a one-liner. Yet it also has a cast that gets into the silliness. This film's lead actors can turn odd curves into dynamite goofballs. It's all about the grooviness that descends on a negative guy, Carl Allen (Jim Carrey), a bank loan officer in Los Angeles, when he makes a covenant with self-help guru Terrence Bundley (Terence Stamp)

Four years ago, when he was a rising young comic actor thought by many to be on the verge of a career breakthrough, a determined Jim Carrey sat down and wrote himself a check for $10 million.He scribbled on the bottom of the check, "For acting services rendered," then tucked the check in his wallet. It was one of those admirable but often useless attempts at self-inspiration.On a recent Sunday afternoon, sitting in his Los Angeles hotel suite, Mr. Carrey twisted around his body to expose his back pocket, which he patted confidently.

Welcome to the movies, Ace Ventura.Or, perhaps more to the point, welcome to the movies, Jim Carrey.And, one suspects, the movies will never be the same again. Carrey, heretofore mainly visible on Fox's "In Living Color," is one of those grotesque off-earth phenomena like Jerry Lewis or Robin Williams at full toot, probably irreducible to mere language.He hears different rhythms, speaks a different language, has a different system of musculature, hair architecture and bone construction. He is either devolved or evolved, but he is not what the rest of us are, that I guarantee you. His teeth are bigger, his face as prehensile as an ape's thumb.

"Dumb and Dumber" is funny and funnier. It's even funniest, as in "funniest movie of the year."But the best thing about it is the refusal to romanticize its idiotic heroes, Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunn (Jeff Daniels). It grants them no conditional grace, no last-second reprieve from the consequences of their mega stupidity; it portrays them, at the fullest extension of their disconnection from the way the world actually operates, as truly irritating.Here's the premise of the movie: These two guys are really stupid.

Let's hope that for Jim Carrey, the fate of The Number 23 doesn't mean that his number is up. He doesn't give much of a performance in this hollow trick thriller. Nobody could. The Number 23 (New Line Cinema) Starring Jim Carrey (left), Virginia Madsen, Danny Huston. Directed by Joel Schumacher. Rated R. Time 95 minutes.

Canadian Jim Carrey took a star-spangled turn in a recent interview to promote his new movie, The Majestic. The comic actor who earns more than $20 million a film (in U.S. dollars) said he was becoming an American citizen. "I love this country," he said. "This country defined me. This country allowed my dreams to come true." Star: The often-frenetic comedian turns more reflective. Carrey did not say where he was in the process, but joked that he was learning the state capitals. The soon-to-be-40-year-old, known for his rubbery face and manic schtick in such hits as Liar Liar and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, was downright serious in pledging his allegiance to the United States.

Doing a sequel to The Mask without Jim Carrey sounds like a really bad idea. As Son of the Mask proves, it is. Jamie Kennedy (Malibu's Most Wanted) stars as cartoonist Tim Avery, a forlorn, unappreciated drone in an animation studio whose wife (Traylor Howard) desperately wants a child. Tim is averse to the idea, he says, because he wants the sort of job that would make his child proud of him, but really it's because he's too much of an arrested adolescent to shoulder anything like responsibility.

Lisa Lampanelli is an equal-opportunity basher. Blacks, whites, Asians, Jews and Hispanics are all in the cross hairs of this up-and-coming insult comic. The only demographic she doesn't lampoon on stage? Europeans. "You only hurt the ones you love," she said. "That's why I don't make fun of French people and Europeans - because they smell and I hate them. They do. Try smelling one. I have. Horrible." Tomorrow, Lampanelli brings her stinging stand-up act to Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. She has about a week to refine her live routine before she tapes a one-hour special for HBO at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, Calif.

The original Noah had a job of what might be called biblical proportions - cubits this way, cubits that way, animal uprisings, cat dander. But at least he didn't have to follow Jim Carrey. Steve Carell doth. Evan Almighty, the Old Testament-derived comedy opening today and starring Carell as God's handmaiden, is director Tom Shadyac's quasi-sequel to his ridiculously successful Bruce Almighty, the 2003 Carrey-driven farce that became one of the most lucrative comedies ever (close to $500 million worldwide)

THE QUESTION Jim Carrey's new movie is The Number 23. What is your favorite Carrey movie, and why? WHAT YOU SAY Despite his crazy and peculiar antics in most of his movies, my favorite Jim Carrey movie is Liar Liar. Some of his actions were true to form, but he also displayed a great deal of compassion toward his young son while trying to appease all the disappointments that befell him. Freda Garelick, Baltimore THE NEXT QUESTION Samuel L. Jackson's new movie, Black Snake Moan, hits theaters today.

Let's hope that for Jim Carrey, the fate of The Number 23 doesn't mean that his number is up. He doesn't give much of a performance in this hollow trick thriller. Nobody could. The Number 23 (New Line Cinema) Starring Jim Carrey (left), Virginia Madsen, Danny Huston. Directed by Joel Schumacher. Rated R. Time 95 minutes.

NEW YORK -- Tea Leoni isn't one of those actors who becomes whatever she is playing. But roles tend to rub off on her a bit. "It does affect you," she says, her sky blue eyes widening for emphasis. That residual effect is one of the reasons she was so happy to act opposite Jim Carrey in Fun With Dick and Jane. In the comedy, opening Wednesday, they play an upper-middle-class couple who, after Dick's sleazy boss absconds with all the company's funds, resort to robbery to maintain their lavish lifestyle.

Doing a sequel to The Mask without Jim Carrey sounds like a really bad idea. As Son of the Mask proves, it is. Jamie Kennedy (Malibu's Most Wanted) stars as cartoonist Tim Avery, a forlorn, unappreciated drone in an animation studio whose wife (Traylor Howard) desperately wants a child. Tim is averse to the idea, he says, because he wants the sort of job that would make his child proud of him, but really it's because he's too much of an arrested adolescent to shoulder anything like responsibility.

Should you see Yes Man? Well, maybe. Let's be clear: If ever a movie mistook a premise for a plot, it's this one. Some films suffer from a surfeit of one-liners. This picture evaporates midway through because the story itself is a one-liner. Yet it also has a cast that gets into the silliness. This film's lead actors can turn odd curves into dynamite goofballs. It's all about the grooviness that descends on a negative guy, Carl Allen (Jim Carrey), a bank loan officer in Los Angeles, when he makes a covenant with self-help guru Terrence Bundley (Terence Stamp)

NEW YORK -- Tea Leoni isn't one of those actors who becomes whatever she is playing. But roles tend to rub off on her a bit. "It does affect you," she says, her sky blue eyes widening for emphasis. That residual effect is one of the reasons she was so happy to act opposite Jim Carrey in Fun With Dick and Jane. In the comedy, opening Wednesday, they play an upper-middle-class couple who, after Dick's sleazy boss absconds with all the company's funds, resort to robbery to maintain their lavish lifestyle.

You can't help but feel sorry for Steven Kovacs (Matthew Broderick), the unfortunate architect who becomes the target of The Cable Guy (10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., TBS). The cable guy (Jim Carrey) does Kovacs a favor, giving him free premium cable. In return, he asks only that Kovacs hang out with him. Some "only." At first, the cable guy is just overbearing, calling all the time, giving his new friend presents, showing up uninvited. But then he becomes dangerously "helpful," helping Kovacs win back his girlfriend by beating up her date.