The effort is starkly laid out but the sincerity is lacking...

Rating: 7/10 (21 February 2007)

Just when we thought Jim Carrey was either taking an extended sabbatical or floundering, he reinvents himself again. He can't command his old US$20M paycheck by playing his usual characters, so taking a pay cut, he's freed himself to pursue other acting exploits.
As if to offer a smooth transition for the audience, The Number 23 starts out funny. It establishes a likable Walter Sparrow (Carrey), a loving husband/father/dogcatcher. He later becomes obsessed with a book relayed by a detective, Fingerling, who is uncannily too similar to him. Somehow, murder seems to be in the mix. Virginia Madsen plays his supportive baker wife Agatha.
Director Joel Schumacher fearlessly takes the plunge along with Carrey's reinvention with The Number 23. His intentions are very clear; his aim is to entertain, and that's what this film feels like, a trippy ride. While Schumacher develops his characters well, somehow the audience is not able to either suspend disbelief or relate emotionally with the characters.
Carrey displays his leading man side with the buff body, the sexy tattoos and the slicked back hair, but sadly, he still isn't able to translate into someone lust-worthy; you keep expecting him to distort his face into some gag. He just couldn't match Madsen, who plays the dowdy wife well, but just as delightfully goes back to her vixen roots by transforming into Fabrizia, the Italian temptress in Fingerling's story. The choice of "Tear You Apart" by She Wants Revenge played in the background during their seduction scene was very much inspired and added to the excitement.
The effort is starkly laid out but the sincerity is lacking; for some reason, you feel manipulated but you don't mind, because you don't care. The Number 23 feels longer than its 95 minutes, but watch it anyway for its interesting premise and entertainment value.