'Number 23' all sixes and sevens

By Megan Becwar, Movie Columnist; mhbd32@mizzou.edu

Published Feb. 27, 2007

In Joel Schumacher's "The Number 23," Jim Carrey plays two characters. The first character, Walter Sparrow, is a goofy, happily married dogcatcher who adlibs a lot and has less in common with Ace Ventura than you might expect.

The second character, Detective Fingerling, exists in a book. He is a serious, obsessive murderer who speaks like a Frank Miller character, makes love like Ace Ventura and is in every other way like Val Kilmer's character in "The Salton Sea."

Here's my conspiracy theory: Fingerling's similarity to Danny/Tom in "Salton" cannot be mere coincidence. Fingerling has the tattoos, the habit of playing his instrument in burning buildings (trading the trumpet for a sax) and the general feeling of a good guy gone dark.

All signs point to "Batman Forever," which was directed by Schumacher and starred both Carrey and Kilmer, and dealt with split personalities. Let's see, "Batman Forever" was released in 1995. One plus nine plus nine plus five is... 24? Damn it, I suck at this game.

I'm stalling because "The Number 23" is a difficult film to discuss. There isn't much to say without giving a lot away. I don't want to do that even if the secrets don't deserve to be kept.

Walter is given a book about Fingerling, a man obsessed with the number 23. He starts seeing the number in his own life. Moreover, the events in the book echo his life somewhat, and it freaks him out. So he tries to solve the mystery.

That's as far as I can go before it gets all "The Ring"/"The Da Vinci Code"/"The Sixth Sense" on us.

The film skips back and forth from upbeat joking to utter despair — like a van that keeps stopping at friendly small town gas stations on its way to Wes Craven's Elm Street. At times, the paranoia is like a funny game to Walter; at others, it is a nightmare.

This would be easier to bear if the descent into madness became more and more inexorable. The pit stops make it seem like Walter's going to be OK. But he's not. Or is he?

The movie's success hinges on whether the twist is worth the excruciating buildup. It isn't.

Starting at about the 10th major clue, everyone should be screaming "Oh, come on." It's a tired twist. I would compare it to other films, but I just can't bring myself to give it away.

I'll move away from the plot. The cinematography is great. Carrey is good as Walter and awful as Fingerling. Virginia Madsen, as Walter's frustrated wife, is lost in the plot.

If you can tell before seeing the movie why Topsy Kretts is a lame pen name, you won't be impressed. If you are obsessed with numbers or like playing "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," you might be. You might also be a weirdo.