Ace Ventura - When Nature Calls

Even though Jim Carrey has as many detractors as supporters, there's no denying his breakthrough hit Ace Ventura: Pet Detective exuded a barmy charm, but this silly sequel is often just plain irritating. For this adventure, Ace is off to Africa where he gets mixed up with warring tribes and the hunt for a rare bat. The slim plot is just the flimsiest of excuses for Carrey's wacky grimaces and elasticity, while the slapstick is relentlessly juvenile and director Steve Oedekerk's direction lacks the surreal inspiration of the original. Visiting Britons Ian McNeice and Simon Callow struggle to bring a little dignity to the proceedings.

Carrey extends his range of lavatorial humour to include spit and vomit, and an exit from the anus of a mechanical rhinoceros. The bad-taste episodic narrative, resembling a very old version of King Solomon's Mines, has no other function than to gi