He's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Jim Carrey is on the case to find the Miami Dolphins' missing mascot and quarterback Dan Marino. He goes eyeball to eyeball with a man-eating shark, stakes out the Miami Dolphins and woos and wows the ladies. Whether he's undercover, under fire or underwater, he always gets his man… or beast!
Only a child could love Mr. Carrey's character, but that may be the point. The movie has the metabolism, logic and attention span of a peevish 6-year-old.
– Stephen Holden,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
rotten:
The most obnoxious case of masculine swagger since Andrew Dice Clay, with just a tad of Paul Lynde thrown in for spice, Jim Carrey defies you not to bolt for the exit.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
8 Nov 2010
rotten:
Unlike famous bumbling sleuths such as Inspector Clouseau and Lt. Frank Drebin, there's no consistency to the "Ace" character, and the whole movie shifts in tone from social satire to sophomoric pranks and traditional copshow plotting.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
8 Nov 2010
rotten:
[Carrey's] comic language is made up of accent marks, not characters; instead of inhabiting a scene, he swallows it up and spits it out in manic doodles.
– Michael Sragow,
New Yorker,
8 Nov 2010
rotten:
Carrey suggests an escaped mental patient impersonating a game-show host.