Can you think back to a time when Jim Carrey was not the funny man he used to be? I say used to be on purpose since these days he’s kind of taken on a much different path that enables him to slam people through art rather than through the comedy that people are used to, but hey, everyone’s got their thing. But back in the mid-80s it was possible to see him in roles that didn’t have him talking out of his backside yet and didn’t feature him as the green-faced trickster that would make him so famous. In fact this was even well before Carrey took on the varied roles he had in on In Living Color. You could say that he was almost ‘normal’ back in these days since he played a pretty straight role that didn’t require him to be entirely crazy and so whacked out that people had to wonder what he was doing.
The whole gist of the movie revolves around a female vampire that’s been alive for centuries and has remained that way by feasting on virgin males three times on a certain night. Well of course Jim Carrey fits the bill since he wants to have sex but his girlfriend has made him wait for a while until they’re both ready. That seems to have been the narrative for a lot of films like this and it sets up the plot nicely since not only does the female vampire need him to remain a virgin so that she can retain her youth, but she wants him to be her next in a long line of young men and women that she’s taken over the years. As he’s bitten twice though it becomes quite evident that he’s changing as the power she holds over him grows stronger, enough to the point that his girlfriend finally decides to fight back and tries to win him over.
What’s really funny about this movie however is WHERE she bites him since even now it would suggest a very sexual and even sensual connection between them. She bites him on the inner thigh, somewhat close to his southern reaches but not quite there. Somehow it seems that if she bit him there it might ruin the whole experience, as guys might wince just thinking about anything sharp going down that direction. Ladies, you go through childbirth and I get it, no pain equals that, but there’s still something cringe-worthy about having ANYTHING sharp that close to your genitals.
Anyway, the vampire’s whole plan is ruined when Carrey and his girlfriend find a convenient coffin and finally do the deed, thereby breaking the vampire’s hold over him and aging her horribly as she begins to show the wear and tear of the centuries. The movie does end on a decent note since now that the main character has been allowed to experience what sex is all about he and his girlfriend go right back to it as the rest of the cast exits the screen. And the vampire, well, her assistant assures her that there’s plenty of young virgin men still to be found, even in the 80s.
That’s kind of amusing really since if you remember the promiscuity of the 80s was something of a running joke even if it was also very real. People didn’t seem to hold to the old ways anymore when it came to sexual relations, and honestly if they had been for the past couple of decades it was something that a lot of people missed. This movie was kind of interesting since it definitely tried to push the whole value of waiting on sex but made it an urgent matter after a while, thereby kind of dispelling the whole idea that waiting was all that great. Maybe that’s just one perspective though, as there are likely a lot of people that might think differently about it. One thing was evident though, this was one of the last times that you would ever see Jim Carrey in a film where he was actually a sane and non-wacky person. By the time he hit In Living Color he’d turned on the crazy and allowed it to flee the coop, and people loved him for it.
Since that time Jim has undergone a lot of changes and has shown people a very different side of himself that some people like and others can’t stand. Personally I think the guy is a legend for all he’s done, but trying to stand on a moral high ground at this point is not the best idea for anyone, him included. He’s made some valid points throughout the years concerning his stance on politics, but he’s also gone off the reservation a time or two while swinging for the fences.
Follow Us
