Film

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

Name: Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
Genre: Crime, Comedy, Adventure
Released: 1995
Cast: Jim Carrey, Ian McNeice, Simon Callow, Maynard Eziashi, Bob Gunton

Comedy
Treasure hunt
Light-hearted

Ace Ventura returns as a pet detective summoned to Africa to find a sacred animal before tribal war erupts. It's pure Jim Carrey—physical comedy cranked to eleven, absurdist logic, and a plot that exists mostly as scaffolding for increasingly unhinged set pieces. For anyone who loves comedians doing whatever they want without a net.

TMDb rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love physical comedy pushed to cartoonish extremes, where Jim Carrey's rubber-faced mugging and loud, silly set pieces are the whole point and the plot is just a clothesline.

Skip it if you find Carrey's shtick grating after the first act, since the jokes lean on repetition, bodily gags and a jungle-safari plot that rarely tightens.

What it asks of you: Ninety minutes of nonstop volume, with little room to breathe; you give it your full attention for the gags to land, and the tone stays loud and light throughout.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Pink Panther1963

Peter Sellers as an incompetent detective solving crimes through accident and obliviousness. Physical comedy that's clever and silly in equal measure, with a detective premise that's essentially a framework for set pieces.

But The pacing is languid by modern standards, and the humour relies on slapstick rather than jokes—some find it tedious rather than charming.

Coming to America1988

Eddie Murphy at peak charisma, playing a fish-out-of-water fish across cultures. Adventure, comedy, and genuine heart mixed with absurdist situations and multiple roles. Similar energy to Ace's mayhem.

But It's longer and warmer than you might expect; if you want pure joke velocity this meanders into actual character development.

Beetlejuice1988

Tim Burton and Michael Keaton unleash genuine weirdness onto a comedy framework. Chaotic, visually inventive, populated by creatures and characters who operate on dream logic. Pure anarchic energy.

But The plot is secondary to the vibe; if you need a coherent story this will feel messy and frustratingly thin.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

King Kong vs. Godzilla1962

Both create comedy through extreme commitment to premise over plausibility. Here the absurdity emerges from translation and era; with Ace it's pure choice. Same effect: you watch in disbelief that anyone greenlit this.

A Japanese monster film dubbed into English where the dialogue is completely unmoored from the action—creating accidental comedy. Not trying to be funny, which somehow makes it hilarious. The chaos is genuine rather than performed.

But It's a straight monster movie with pacing problems; if you need jokes delivered as jokes rather than found in dubbing confusion, you'll be frustrated.

Beverly Hills Cop1984

Eddie Murphy as a fish-out-of-water cop solving a crime through charm and improvisation. Fast-paced, genuinely funny, with an adventure plot that actually moves. The template for comedians doing action.

But The action sequences are serious in a way that can feel tonal whiplash if you're purely after comedy.

Ghostbusters1984

Four comedians given full freedom inside a plot about catching ghosts. Smart-funny rather than slapstick, with genuine thrills and world-building that makes the absurdity land harder.

But It's trying to be a real film as well as a comedy, which means less room for pure chaos than Ace gives you.

Dumb and Dumber1994

Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels as two idiots on a cross-country quest. Zero restraint, relentless gags, the same year as Ace's first film but even more committed to stupidity. Pure energy.

But It's deliberately aggressively dumb; if you want any intelligence in your comedy this is the opposite of that.

Police Academy1984

Ensemble comedy with characters who can barely function solving crimes through accident. Silly, good-natured, full of character-based humour. Similar premise energy: incompetent people somehow saving the day.

But It's very of its era in ways that can feel dated, and the humour is gentler—less manic than Carrey's approach.

The Mask1994

Jim Carrey with even fewer brakes, transformed by a magical mask into pure cartoon physics. Wildly inventive, visually creative, completely uninterested in plausibility. Maximum Carrey.

But The CGI hasn't aged well and the plot is thin even by these standards—it's basically Carrey doing impressions for ninety minutes.

Johnny English2003

Rowan Atkinson as an incompetent spy bumbling through action scenes. Physical comedy and character-based humour, fish-out-of-water premise, adventure plot. Gentler than Ace but the same DNA.

But It's PG-rated and aimed at families, which means the chaos is more restrained and predictable than you're probably looking for.

Paddington 22017

Both are adventure comedies where an unusual hero solves an impossible problem. Where Ace is manic energy, this is deadpan commitment. Same structure, completely opposite register—a mirror that shows what Ace could have been if sincerity had entered the room.

A comedy that never winks at the camera but somehow becomes hilarious through character, warmth, and the genuine strangeness of its world. Adventure plot with real stakes played completely straight. Proves you don't need Carrey's velocity to sustain chaos.

But It's notably smarter and gentler than Ace, with actual emotional resonance—if you're after pure silly this might feel like homework.