The Number 23 * Review *
The Number 23 (Trailer)GRADE: D+
Oh, poor director Joel Schumacher. He’s been on a downfall with bombs and misses for a number of years now. He’s had films that had potential but just never found the right audience or fan-base. The Number 23 is predictable, random, strange, dumb, and wrong on many levels. First, you have a psychological thriller with Virginia Madsen, which is fine and believable since she’s an actress who has her highs and her obvious lows. Then, you have Jim Carrey, who I understand has had his major hits outside of comedy such as; Man on The Moon, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and The Truman Show, but this film is not a genre he should continue to pursue. The Number 23 builds dreadfully, full of predictable scenes, gratuitous sex scenes that make no sense, until the story’s revealing point that sheds some light on the film overall.
The Number 23 was made by New Line Cinema, Contra Film, and Firm Films. The MPAA handed an easy “R” rating to this film with an unrated DVD release. The film tells the story of Walter Sparrow, a friendly dog-catcher, who takes a call that leaves him bitten by a dog and late to pick up his wife. His wife has just browsed a bookstore, finding a blood-red-covered novel, a murder mystery that constantly loops around the number 23. The book mesmerizes Walter: he dreams about it, he notices aspects of his own life that can be rendered by the number "23." He investigates and searches for the author, and even at one point stays in a hotel (in room 23, of course) where events in the novel took place, and he begins to believe it was not just a novel. His wife and son try to help him, sometimes in sympathy, and sometimes to protect him. Slowly, he closes in on the truth and true meaning behind #23.
The Number 23 wasn’t recognized in festivals or any caliber of award worthy status. I saw strengths in the film even if it took a great deal to find them. The vast amount of weaknesses overpowered the unseen strengths. Though very meaningless to the overall film, the opening title sequence was fresh and different than the usual basic title openings in film. It had loads of special effects though film buffs will find them incredibly Unoriginal. The film used a rewind effect to a “T” yet the best use of the effect is seen in the film The Butterfly Effect. An interesting effect used in this film that brought some originality was a reflection shot of a mirror showing something that isn’t real. It is very basic, yet effective. The Number 23 has it’s thrills and surprises but is overshadowed by the great deal of predictability and scares that come off a bit comedic.
The Number 23 plotline comes from the background of the mythological fable around the so-called “23 Enigma.” It is a belief that events are in some form linked to the number 23, given enough skill and creativity on the part of the analyst. Some authors who’ve studied this background believe this as an outcome of the “Laws of Fives. In an interview one acknowledged the self-fulfilling nature of the 23 enigma, implying that the real value of the Laws of Fives and Twenty-threes lie in the mind's power to perceive "truth" in nearly anything.
The Number 23 has some intriguing points that some may find interesting, yet the overall status of this film will be viewed as more of a failure than even a profitable film. Those that enjoyed calculating all the 23 aspects in and or around the film may find of interest that this was director Joel Schumacher’s 23rd film, the character Jim Carrey plays has an obsession with the saxophone that has 23 keys, and so many other 23’s in the film that became more laughable than scary. Virginia Madsen became the unlucky supporting female character over the originally cast Elisabeth Shue who had to decline the role since she was pregnant at that time. Jim Carrey can pull off many different types of serious roles but this just wasn’t quite the right fit. He does it well, sort of, but there are many others that can do better. As for the writing; Fernley Phillips does a superb job and definitely should stay in the psychological thriller genre or something of that nature. He has the style to create a great freaky story if given full freedom and imagination to do his own thing. In closing, I’d tell ALL to skip this film, unless you have some freaky infatuation with the #23.
----Written by: Noel Petok
