Split Personality - Side-splitingly Funny ***½

The Farrelly brothers' Dumb and Dumber is probably one of the funniest films ever made, certainly no other movie has ever made me laugh so loud and consistently, and the prospect of watching the Farrelly brothers and Jim Carrey renew acquaintances in a new movie was certainly appealing.

Carrey is the best of the modern-day comedians, his performance in The Grinch cemented this, and he is the perfect person to bring the somewhat childish, definitely gross stories of the Farrelly brothers to life.

In Me, Myself and Irene, Carrey is given free reign to do as he wishes and the result is a hilarious, rollicking adventure that, although nowhere near as consistently funny as Dumb and Dumber, does provide numerous laugh-out-loud moments.

One thing you will have to do to enjoy this movie is to forget about the plot.  Heck, I didn't even know what was going on for most of the film but it does not matter because the plot plays a distant second fiddle to the over-the-top humour that is consistently shoved in our faces.

There is something liberating about a film where you don't have to worry about a plot (although, granted, you would not want to be "liberated" all that often) and can instead just sit back and enjoy the jokes.   This is such a film.

The jokes that do come are childish, crude and, quite often, totally disgusting (all Farrelly brothers' trademarks) but they are, for the most part, totally hilarious.

The main reason for this is definitely the performance of Jim Carrey.  He revels in the duel roles of Charlie, the mild mannered Rhode Island Trooper, and Hank, Charlie's aggressive, foul-mouthed alter ego.  Carrey's ability to slip in and out of the different characters is a delight to watch and the scenes that see Charlie and Hank fighting against "themselves" are quite hilarious.

Renee Zellweger is also good as the mild-mannered Irene who is the subject of both Charlie's and Hank's affection.  Her straight-down-the-line performance is the perfect foil for Carrey's off-the-wall antics.

To fully enjoy this film, it will probably help if you're are a fan of the Farrelly Brothers earlier work (Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, There's Something About Mary) as their brand of humour can be an acquired taste.  After all, you either embrace "gross-out humour" or you don't.

For those who do, then enjoy this latest offering from Carrey and Farrelly brothers for the totally hilarious film that it is.  For those who don't like the Farrelly brothers work........lighten up.

-Adam Matthews