Ace Ventura Sequel Misses Jim Carey

Junior Pet Detective Rehashes Old Jokes

Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective is a poorly done rehash of what made the original Ace Ventura: Pet Detective so good. Back in the early 90s the irreverent "humour"/ silliness of Jim Carey (better known then as "the white guy from 'In Living Colour'") was original and, to a degree, fresh. Especially since there wasn't anything from funny man Mel Brooks circa 1994.

Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective follows Ace Sr's 12-year-old son as he assumes his father's unique personality. As it turns out, the hair is genetic. Ace Sr. was lost over the Bermuda Triangle, thus explaining Jim Carey's absence. Nothing explains why Courtney Cox is absent.

Ace Jr's mom (remember Melissa?) gets wrongly arrested for kidnapping a baby panda. Ace Jr. has been proving himself to be a natural born pet detective like generations before him. Unfortunately, due to his eccentric love of animals, his mother made him promise to be "normal." Enter Grandpa Rex Ventura who encourages the young lad to embrace his calling to crack the case.

The biggest flaw with this movie is that it deviates from the original in so many ways. Ace Ventura is the wrong vehicle to deliver the message, "It's okay to be weird." Ace Ventura had more bravado: "I can act the way I want because I'm the best at what I do. Deal with it."

David M. Evans, who brought us the Sandlot movies (yes, there's more than one) as well as Beethoven's 3rd and Beethoven's 4th brings another "gem" to us once again. Is it collection worthy? No. Is it a bad movie? Technically, yes. Don't rush out to watch it with your children or pets unless you are as desperate as this film studio was.