Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)

Jim Carrey squeezing out of a mechanical rhino under the African sun is the only thing most people remember from When Nature Calls, and there’s a reason. That bit still works. The problem is everything bolted around it. The sequel ships Ace to a made-up African country, and its jokes about the two tribes lean on lazy stereotypes that look worse with every rewatch. Carrey bends his spine into question marks and talks out of the side of his mouth, and the monastery scenes are the funniest stretch. Ian McNeice plays Fulton Greenwall as a polite, sweaty Brit who slowly realizes what he’s hired, and Simon Callow gives the consul a butler’s smile with something behind it. The fear-of-bats gag runs out of flap fast. Even at 90 minutes, it feels padded. Critics gave it 23% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it still made $212.4 million worldwide on a reported $30M. A 4.2 because one rhino can’t carry a whole movie. $75.12 says you answer your next boring email with a slow, squinty ’alrighty then’ and hit send.

What works: The rhino scene is a slapstick landmark, and the monastery opening shows Carrey at full rubber-faced speed.

What doesn’t: The jokes about the African tribes are built on tired stereotypes, and the mystery is so thin the movie forgets it for long stretches.

Who it’s for: Carrey completists who already know the rhino scene by heart and want to see the rest of the movie around it.