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By
LESLIE ATWATERS
Jim Carrey stars as Walter
Sparrow, a dog catcher, who gets bitten by a dog
called Ned, and so he's late to a date with his
wife Agatha (Virginia Madsen), who buys a book
called The Number 23, which she reads and then
gives to her husband, who becomes obsessed with it
and decided that it's a diary if a life that's
similar to his own, despite the fact that the
story is a noirish trifle about an obsessive
detective who becomes murdered.
The key to what's really happening is supposed to
be the magical number 23, which is the date or sum
or product of any number of calculations that
invlove dates, names, etc.
No, none of it is very coherent. Perhaps with a
different director than Joel Schumacher, whose
signature is to make slick but mediocre flicks,
The Number 23 could have generated some supense
before the inevitable twist. But it doesn't. The
very premise, of a number that occures more
frequently than any other, is so easily debunked
that is never generates any interest. Besides, itr
seemsm well, besidse rthe point: I could detect no
connection between obsessing with the number and
the deeper mysteries of going mad and discovering
you may be a murdered.
This is an Infinifilm and contains both the
theatrical verison and an unrated one -- the
former has a commentary by Schumacher. Other
specials are under the All Access Pass section,
which contains 14 minutes of deleted and alternate
scenes, a 22-minute making-of featurette with
interviews with Schumacher, producer Beau Flynn,
screenwriter Fernley Phillips, Carrey, Madsen, and
others, and another featurette about the
production design and special effects. The
theatrical trailer is also included. In the Beyond
the Movie section we get a 25-minute feature on
the number 23 and a 10-minute mumerology thing.
Overall, I have to say that the thing I enjoyed
best was the very nice arts & crafts house the
Sparrows shared. |
