Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Information
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is a 1994 American comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Jim Carrey. It co-stars Courteney Cox, Tone Loc, and Sean Young, among others. Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino also portrays himself in a major role. Though this was Carrey's 14th film role, it is considered to be the one that launched his successful film career.[citation needed] Currently this film is the first of three collaborations between Carrey and Shadyac.
The film also did well at the box office, grossing $107 million worldwide with a budget of $11 million. Because of that, a sequel was made, entitled Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, as well as an animated series, which lasted for three seasons.
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Plot
Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey) is a private investigator (self-conferred as a "pet detective") from Miami, Florida, who specializes in cases involving animals. While his methods seem to work effectively, he does not often get work and thus is behind on his rent, in addition to being a laughingstock at the Metro-Dade Police Department.
At Joe Robbie Stadium, the mascot of the Miami Dolphins, Snowflake the Bottlenose Dolphin, is kidnapped in the middle of the night, two weeks before the team is due to play in the Super Bowl. Mr. Riddle, the team's owner, knows that football players can be superstitious, and therefore believes they will lose the Super Bowl for certain unless Snowflake is returned. He gives his Head of Operations Roger Podacter (Troy Evans) and Chief Publicist Melissa Robinson (Courteney Cox) the deadline of Super Bowl Sunday to find Snowflake, or they will be fired. Ace is hired onto the case, and he meets Melissa and Podacter before entering the dolphin tank in search of clues. Ace then searches the filter and finds his first clue: a rare triangular-cut orange amber stone. He eventually theorizes that the stone, a rare triangular-shaped amber piece, had fallen from a 1984 AFC Championship Ring. Ace then tries to find out whose ring is missing a stone by tricking players into showing their rings until his list of suspects is used up. Seemingly at a dead end, he mopes around Melissa's house while insulting her.
Melissa and Ace then learn that Roger Podacter has fallen to his death, and they go to the crime scene. Although Miami Police Lt. Lois Einhorn (Sean Young) insists it was suicide, Ace proves that it was murder. This embarrasses Einhorn and Ace is driven away because of it. While trying to figure out how Podacter's death is connected to Snowflake's disappearance, Ace learns of a former Dolphins player named Ray Finkle, whom Ace has not investigated. Melissa explains that Ray Finkle was a star kicker who was added to the team mid-season, whereas the photograph that Ace has used as a reference was taken earlier that same year. Finkle had missed the potential game-winning field goal kick at the end of the Super Bowl XVII that year, causing the Dolphins to lose to the San Francisco 49ers. After the season, Finkle's contract was not renewed and his reputation was destroyed. Later that night, Ace takes Melissa back to his apartment where they have sex, to the point of exhaustion.
The next morning Ace drives down to Finkle's hometown in Collier County, Florida to meet the football player's parents at their home, which is defaced with anti-Finkle graffiti written by irate fans over the years. Finkle's mother is senile, and his father is a suspicious, shotgun-wielding old man who confides to Ace that his son was put into a mental institution in Tampa after his career ended; Finkle later escaped from the institution and is still at large. Mrs. Finkle then shows Ace Ray's bedroom, which contains a shrine-like construction declaring his hatred of Dan Marino, and while in Ray's room, Mrs. Finkle also shows Ace footage of the missed kick from Super Bowl XVII. During the kick, Dan Marino held the ball after it was snapped; in the aftermath of Super Bowl XVII, Finkle blamed Marino for the miss, claiming he held the ball "laces-in" when he should have held it "laces-out." Ace then calls Melissa to warn her that Marino is in danger, but Marino is kidnapped before he can be alerted.
Ace meets with Lt. Einhorn and alleges that Marino and Snowflake's kidnappings were connected and that Finkle was involved, claiming that the Dolphins gave Snowflake Finkle's old number and taught him how to kick a field goal, which Finkle took as an insult, and that Finkle has waited for years until the next time the Dolphins return to the Super Bowl to extract his vengeance on the Miami Dolphins franchise. Einhorn then comes onto Ace. The two share a kiss (during which Ace feels something that he assumes to be Einhorn's gun digging into his hip) and tells him she will now handle the rest of the investigation. Ace, still not satisfied with Einhorn's efforts to find Marino and Snowflake, pretends to be mentally challenged to gain access to the institution that Finkle escaped from. There, Ace discovers an old newspaper amongst Finkle's discarded belongings, stating that Lois Einhorn was a missing person whose body was never recovered. This bombshell eventually leads Ace to the realization that Einhorn not only killed Podacter, but Lois Einhorn is Ray Finkle in disguise. His sense of triumph is quickly replaced with disgust after realizing that he had kissed someone he perceives as a man, and that the "gun" he felt digging into his thigh earlier was actually the Lt.'s erection.
Super Bowl Sunday arrives. Ace follows Lt. Einhorn to a remote warehouse by the docks, and the two engage in a short struggle before all the Miami Police force arrives to arrest Ace on Einhorn's orders. They are stopped by Melissa, who has Emilio held hostage at gunpoint. Einhorn screams at the police officers that Ace is behind it all and that he kidnapped Snowflake and was trying to kill Marino and her. Ace explains Einhorn's motives and claims that Einhorn is actually Ray Finkle. Einhorn denies Ace's accusation, which leads to Ace trying to find proof by first trying to remove the Lt.'s hair thinking it to be a wig - it turns out to be real. Next, he rips open the Lt.'s blouse to find perfect feminine breasts. In a last ditch effort, Ace rips off the Lt.'s skirt assuming there to find his penis, but instead appears the normal figure of a woman. Just as Ace is about to give up, Marino alerts Ace of something he can see behind Einhorn. Ace then spins the Lt. around to reveal Einhorn's/Finkle's penis tucked between her/his legs. It is revealed that Einhorn killed Podacter because he discovered that Einhorn's true identity is indeed a man. The whole police force reacts in disgust, apparently because she had made out with all of them as she did with Ace. In a rage, Einhorn makes one last attempt to kill Ace but he flips her into the dolphin's tank. Einhorn is then arrested for all of her crimes.
The movie ends with both Marino and Snowflake returning to the Super Bowl game between the Miami Dolphins and the Philadelphia Eagles at halftime. Ace suddenly spots the albino pigeon he was chasing earlier in the film on the Dolphins' sideline, perched on top of a cooler of Gatorade. He attempts to capture it but Swoop, the Eagles' mascot, scares it away. Enraged, Ace argues with the mascot and the two end up in a fist fight whilst Ace is thanked, on the JumboTron, for saving Marino and Snowflake.
Cast
- Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura
- Courteney Cox as Melissa Robinson
- Sean Young as Lt. Lois Einhorn/Ray Finkle
- Tone Loc as Emilio
- Dan Marino as Himself
- Noble Willingham as Riddle
- Troy Evans as Roger Podacter
- Raynor Scheine as Woodstock
- Udo Kier as Ronald Camp
- Frank Adonis as Vinnie
- Tiny Ron as Roc
- David Margulies as Doctor
- John Capodice as Aguado
- Judy Clayton as Martha Mertz
- Bill Zuckert as Mr. Finkle
- Alice Drummond as Mrs. Finkle
- Rebecca Ferratti as Sexy Woman
- Mark Margolis as Mr. Shickadance
- Antoni Coroner as Reporter #1
- Randall "Tex" Cobb as Dognapper
- Florence Mistrot as Neighbor
- Will Knickerbocker as Manager
- Gary Munch as Director
- Terry Miller as Assistant Director
- John Archie as Reporter #3
- Don Shula as Himself
- Scott Mitchell as Miami Dolphins Player
- Cannibal Corpse as themselves
- Nosey (Miami Seaquarium, Florida) as Snowflake the dolphin
Box office
Ace Ventura did very well at the box office, grossing $12,115,105 in 1,750 theaters in its first week. When it stopped showing in theaters in the US, the total gross was $72,217,396. It went on to gross $35,000,000 internationally. The total box office gross worldwide was $107,217,396.
Reception
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective received mixed critical reviews. It holds a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it was much more popular with the general public, making back over six times its budget at the U.S. box office and embedding itself, the Ventura character, and his catch-phrases in pop culture. Along with The Mask and Dumb and Dumber, the film is widely credited with launching the career of actor Jim Carrey, who won the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance. The film's popularity spawned a 1995 sequel, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, with Carrey returning in the lead role.
TV version
When aired in syndication, several scenes are either edited, or completely removed. To make up for this, several deleted scenes are added, such as Ace posing as the official dolphin trainer to the press.
The following were not included in the DVD:
- A short scene where Ace asks for directions to the pigskin sports bar, followed by a scene at the pigskin sports bar where Ace finds out where Finkle's parents live.
- Ace calls Emilio from the mental hospital, followed by a scene where Ace drops Melissa off at home.
- Ace visits his hippie friend again, followed by a scene where he gets up on stage with Cannibal Corpse.
- A short scene of Melissa being blamed for Marino's disappearance.
- Snowflake getting hold of Einhorn's gun.
Cultural references
- Ray Finkle's missed kick is loosely based on Scott Norwood's missed game winner in Super Bowl XXV. In reality, the 49ers defeated Miami easily in Super Bowl XIX, 38-16, not by one point as established in the film. They did in fact lose Super Bowl XVII as well, but at the hands of the Washington Redskins.
- During the Dolphins coach Don Shula's cameo, the ring Ace inspects on his finger is actually the one he received for winning Super Bowl XIII in 1974. [1]
- Snowflake the dolphin is based on the 60s Miami Dolphins mascot Flipper.
- In Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, the titular character suggests sending a client to Ace after hearing that the case involves strange animals.
- Progressive rock band The Fall of Troy has a song titled "Laces Out, Dan".
- D &B / Alt Rock band Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (USS) has a song titled "Laces Out" which they have stated is inspired by Ace Ventura.
- Metalcore band The Judas Cradle has a song titled "Laces Out Marino".
- Grindcore band Tower Of Rome have a song titled "Does He Have A Name, Or Should I Call Him Lawyer?", a reference to a line Ronald Camp says in the film.
- In the World of Warcraft dungeon of Upper Black Rock Spire there is a character named Finkle Einhorn, a reference to the character in the movie.
- In The Office episode "New Boss", Pam says "I can tell Michael's mood by which comedy routine he chooses to do -- the more infantile, the more upset he is -- and he just skipped the Ace Ventura talking butt thing. He never skips it."
- The character of Ace Ventura bears a strong resemblance to Detective Lawrence "Larry" Zito that appeared on NBC's TV show Miami Vice from 1984 to 1987. Both characters are detectives in the Miami area, with similar dress and hair styles.
- When Ace investigates Roger Podacter's death, he admits defeat when he apparently has no evidence that Podacter's death was a murder instead of a suicide. As he walks off, he dramatically stops in his tracks and utters the phrase "Oh... there is just one more thing..." before presenting his evidence. That phrase, and the mannerisms leading to it is a direct reference to Columbo, in which the titular character is famous for uttering the phrase when he confirms his suspicion on the suspect he interrogates.
External links
| Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective |
- Ace Ventura: Pet Detective at the Internet Movie Database
- Ace Ventura: Pet Detective at Allmovie
- Ace Ventura quotes at MovieWavs.com
- Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Script at Simply Scripts
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Categories: 1994 films | English-language films | 1990s comedy films | Ace Ventura | American comedy films | Detective films | Directorial debut films | Films set in Miami, Florida | Films shot in Miami, Florida | Miami Dolphins | Morgan Creek films | Transgender in film and television | Warner Bros. films
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