Fun with Dick and Jane

Amazon.com

Remakes are always a gamble, so it's a pleasant surprise that Fun with Dick and Jane pays off with unexpected dividends. It's as entertaining as the 1977 original starring George Segal and Jane Fonda, and the teaming of Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni makes this a safe bet for comedy fans, in spite of a slapstick screenplay that fails to achieve its fullest potential. Rather than attempt a darkly comedic send-up of the Enron scandal that left thousands of stockholders in financial ruin, director Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) opts for a lighter, more accessible (read: commercial) satire of corporate greed and cynicism, beginning in the year 2000 when Dick (Carrey) gets a plum promotion as a mega-corporate communications director just as his boss (Alec Baldwin) is preparing to bail out before stock prices plummet. Dick's wife Jane (Leoni) has quit her job as a travel agent, so the corporate bombshell leaves them penniless and desperate, resorting to petty thievery and, eventually, plotting high-stakes revenge against the greedy executives who ruined their lives. As a send-up of financial distress in a ravaged post-Enron economy, Fun with Dick and Jane delivers laughs with just enough pointed humor to give it a strong satirical edge, and Carrey's reliable brand of zaniness is controlled enough to balance nicely with Leoni's more subtle (and woefully underrated) skills as a screen comedienne. And while the "special thanks" end-credits hint at the sharper, more biting satire this might have been, there's enough fun with Dick and Jane to make this recycled comedy worth a look. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Fun With Dick And Jane provides comic relief alongside a relevant look at today's corporate scandals. In the film, Dick Harpers' (Carrey) years of hard work finally pay off when he is promoted to vice president of Globodyne, a worldwide business leader. After exactly one day at his new job, Globodyne is destroyed, leaving him and his loving wife, Jane (Leoni) without financial security. This sudden reversal of fortune has left them both unprepared to give up their comfortable lifestyle and Dick comes up with the brilliant idea of turning to robbery to pay the bills. Utilizing newfound skills, Dick and Jane exact hilarious revenge while teaching big business a lesson.

Customer Reviews:

Amusing, not great but enjoyable.......2007-09-02

If a remake was to be done I would haveliked to see more changes. Except for the corrupt business executive plot, the film is very much like the original. There are no big laughs but it isn't long and it's okay to pass the time with. I found the original a bit better although it was not the best Seagal nor Fonda comedy. I can see this movie as an episode of a current sitcom as the characters are not well formed. In fact it may make a better tv sitcom since tv emphasizes characterization.

Dot Coms Spoof.......2007-08-27

Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni play Dick and Jane. When Dick gets promoted to a VP for Telecommunications he tells his wife to quit her job, which she does. But his timing is bad as his company is found to be out of money because of the President of the company selling all his shares, and the stock tanks. Dick along with the rest the company find themselve unemployed without severence or pensions. Dick and Jane try to manage the best they can at first, but once all the household items are repossessed they decide it is time to make crime pay. They start small with a quicky shop hold up but soon they are tackling banks and anything else. Once they have all their possessions back and things look up it becomes a question of how to get even with the President of his former company and help the employees. A running joke throughout the movie has one of his co-workers always missing out as Dick benefits. Fairly amusing movie but not quite on the scale of some of Carrey's other works. I still highly recommend it for at least a rental.

Being Nice To Give It 3 Stars.......2007-08-24

I have to say that I am disappointed with the movie. I have been a fan of Jim Carrey since the beginnings of his rise to fame in the movie business, and I have to say, that this is just boring. Fun with Dick and Jane is a movie that has shown almost all of the funny scenes on the commericals, but there were a few other times that made me laugh. For the rest of the movie, it was actually kind of dull. It did have it's laughs here and there, but overall it was dull. Once again, speaking as a Jim Carrey fan, it doesn't measure up.

Not a big Carey fan, but I loved this movie.......2007-07-16

I'll admit, i'm not the biggest fan of Jim Carrey's work...in fact, I haven't been a real fan of his since the "In Living Color" days and I only liked 3 of his films (Cable Guy, Liar Liar, and this one) and i'd put this one as my favorite of the three. I went to the movies to see this with some family when it hit the theaters. I wanted to see something else, but they talked me into seeing this movie instead and I must say I thought it was hilarious! Jim Carrey & Tea Leoni had great chemistry and I got a kick out of the whole gag with their son speaking Spanish, but my favorite part of the entire movie was Dick Harper doing the "corporate puppet" impersonation at the bar...funny stuff!! I never saw the original version with Jane Fonda, but the remake was very entertaining.

Carey and company smash another homer.......2007-05-09

A very economical film that mixes satire with goofy slapstick. Leoni gives
a decent performance, but has good chem w/ Jim. The film is exquisitely
paced and features an excellent soundtrack and songs. Odd twists such as the immigration adventure, working at "costmart", the final bank switcharoo and others keep the movie lively. Carey once again
plays his character to the tee and does not over act when required. Rack 'em! PS - See the toy store extra in the deleted scenes, I have no idea why this hilarious romp was cut!

Average customer rating:

Briliiant Movie
The Original
Upper-Class Citizens Become Crime Royalty.
Fun with Dick & Jane - the original
best thing about this movie is checking out the interiors/furniture,etc

Fun with Dick and Jane
Starring: Selma Archard , John Brandon , Walter Brooke , Burke Byrnes , and William Callaway
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BITVA6
Release Date: 2005-12-06

Amazon.com

Jane Fonda was so respected as a serious actress that her comedy chops sometimes were overlooked. But it should be remembered that her first real hits (Barefoot in the Park, Cat Ballou) were comedies. This underrated 1977 outing also played for laughs, though it had social-satire underpinnings that still ring true. Fonda and George Segal play an upwardly mobile couple in the time before yuppies--think of them as protoyuppies. But their status-oriented existence suffers what could be a fatal blow when hubby is maneuvered out of his job. Broke and unemployed, they become armed robbers--and discover that crime can pay for them to live in the style to which they've become accustomed. Segal and Fonda have a breezy ease as confused suburbanites who bring the same neurotic thoroughness to crime that they do to their careers. But the script (whose authors include Jerry Belson and Mordechai Richler) never uses either the Robin Hood angle or any other angle that could sustain a sharp edge; as a result, the comedy winds up more cute than knowing. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

Briliiant Movie.......2007-08-09

This one of my all time favourite comedy movies.
I saw it originally at the movies in 1977, I bought a copy on Betamax (yes, I did have one of those!) I then bought a copy on VHS and now have one on DVD.
The Jim Carrey remake is rubbish. Avoid it like the plague! Stick to the original
The George Segal and Jane Fonda chemistry works well (a bit like Grant & Hepburn in the 1940's)
Buy the movie and prepare for a couple of hours of nice simple fun!

The Original.......2007-03-30

Long before Jim Carey starred in the remake, George Segal and Jane Fonda played the roles. Dick and Jane have an ideal life until Dick loses his job. As Dick's quest for a suitable new job drags on, the two must start to face the facts of just how bad their financial situation is. Their lawn has been repossessed and other creditors are banging on their door. But things change for the better when they are in a loan office that gets robbed. Jane pockets some of the stolen money. Suddenly Dick and Jane know how they can get more. It takes a while to get started but finally their criminal career begins and money is flowing in. Things are looking good.

But then one of their jobs goes a little wrong and they have to abandon their take in order to escape. The close call makes then give up their new criminal ways. But only for a bit. The opportunity rises to get back at Dick's boss and score a huge take. A little planning, some training, and the new game is afoot. Of course there are complications but Dick and Jane manage to rise to the occasion. As the tag line states, they lost everything and now they are stealing it back.

I had forgotten much of this film since I saw it decades ago. I was surprised to see how close the remake was to this original (i.e. the repossessed lawn and immigration trouble). But like with The Thomas Crown Affair, the original had a grittier ending. There is some harsh language but no nudity (although Fonda does use the toilet while talking to Segal). Segal and Fonda are delightful to watch as they go through their various disguises. Segal may not be as clownish as Carey but he carries the role very well and Fonda comes across as a much more competent Jane (despite being a homemaker to Tea Leoni's office worker). Strong acting and good comedy make this just as good as the remake although less wacky. Check it out.

Upper-Class Citizens Become Crime Royalty........2007-01-30

Things were really tough in the mid and late-1970s. All around the country companies were laying people off. Union workers went on strike only to have their jobs given to scabs. Gas prices shot up at an incredible rate. Meanwhile, rich executives retired with huge bonuses or bankrupted their companies through seeming legal embezzling. FUN WITH DICK AND JANE is a social comedy commenting about everyone's foibles.

Dick Harper (George Segal) is an executive aeronautic engineer at an important company, Taft Aerospace. Dick has paid his dues. He has risen through the ranks and is on the verge of becoming a top man in the company. Dick's also a nice guy who is living beyond his means. He and his family live in a really nice home and only have the best of everything. When he goes to meet his boss, Charlie Blanchard (Ed McMahon), he's expecting to get a promotion. Instead, he gets fired. It's later revealed that Charlie has been tipping from the till and had to cut corners somehow. Dick and his beloved wife Jane (Jane Fonda) think that they will be able to get by, but they soon learn that getting a job is much more difficult than keeping one and that it's a lot easier to be poor if you already more than it is to become poor. An unexpected turn of events reveals to the couple how easy stealing money can be and soon Dick and Jane become a couple of wealthy thieves set on getting back at the man who caused all their misfortunes to begin with, Charlie Blanchard.

FUN WITH DICK AND JANE is a movie from the 1970s, but unlike many films of the era it has aged rather well (and thus was ripe for remaking). Some of the jokes won't make much sense anymore, such as when the couple robs the phone company only to be applauded by the customers. George Segal fits quite well in the shoes of Dick Harper while Jane Fonda actually displays that she had a little bit of talent (in fact, this is the movie that revitalized Fonda's career).

I enjoyed watching FUN WITH DICK AND JANE. It's a short and fun film. For a bit of trivia, look for Jay Leno's film debut as a carpenter working at the floor of the Harper home about four minutes into the film.

Fun with Dick & Jane - the original.......2007-01-06

A very good movie with good acting. The story was very funny. I have watched it several times and still get a good chuckle. George Segal at his best, Jane Fonda was good too - and I really don't like her politics.
Enjoy it!

best thing about this movie is checking out the interiors/furniture,etc.......2006-07-20

This movie is pretty much a dud. The directing and camera work is lifeless. Segal and Fonda, although animated, have zero chemistry and the story never has a real feel to it. It's more like a dream sequence. The humor is dated and many jokes fall so flat you hardly realize they are attempts at humor. Despite this, the array of 70s interiors, furnishing, and autos was interesting and brought back repressed (for obvious aesthetic reasons) memories from my childhood. 70s must be the worst design and fashion decade ever, totally off the reservation.
Anyway, Ed McMahon give an interesting performance, definitely not the straight man he's ubiquitously known as. However, one can see the story had potential, and timeliness, for the recent remake, which overall was definitely better (although not great).

Fun With Dick & Jane (2005) (UMD Mini for PSP)

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Fun With Dick & Jane (2005) (UMD Mini for PSP)
Starring: Rob Schneider , and Eddie Griffin
Manufacturer: Columbia/Tri-Star
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: UMD for PSP

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Accessories:

ASIN: B000ELL1P8
Release Date: 2006-04-11

Average customer rating:

Fun with Dick and Jane

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

ASIN: B000KFCXP0

Average customer rating:

Briliiant Movie
The Original
Upper-Class Citizens Become Crime Royalty.
Fun with Dick & Jane - the original
best thing about this movie is checking out the interiors/furniture,etc

Fun with Dick and Jane
Starring: George Segal , Jane Fonda , Ed McMahon , Richard Gautier , and Allan Miller
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00009AVA7
Release Date: 2003-07-01

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Briliiant Movie.......2007-08-09

The Original.......2007-03-30

Upper-Class Citizens Become Crime Royalty........2007-01-30

Fun with Dick & Jane - the original.......2007-01-06

best thing about this movie is checking out the interiors/furniture,etc.......2006-07-20

Fun With Dick and Jane (2005) DVD / Fun With Dick and Jane (2005) (UMD Mini for PSP)

Average customer rating:

Amusing, not great but enjoyable
Dot Coms Spoof
Being Nice To Give It 3 Stars
Not a big Carey fan, but I loved this movie
Carey and company smash another homer

Fun With Dick and Jane (2005) DVD / Fun With Dick and Jane (2005) (UMD Mini for PSP)
Starring: Jim Carrey , Téa Leoni , Alec Baldwin , Richard Jenkins , and Angie Harmon
Director: Dean Parisot
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Universal Media Discs | Stores | DVD | Video

Comedy | Universal Media Discs | Stores | DVD | Video

( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Mini-DVD | Formats | DVD | Video

Comedy | Mini-DVD | Formats | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000ELL1PI
Release Date: 2006-04-11

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Amusing, not great but enjoyable.......2007-09-02

Dot Coms Spoof.......2007-08-27

Being Nice To Give It 3 Stars.......2007-08-24

Not a big Carey fan, but I loved this movie.......2007-07-16

Carey and company smash another homer.......2007-05-09

Average customer rating:

Fun With Dick & Jane / Mr Deeds
Starring: Adam 2pak Sandler
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000F9RBAS
Release Date: 2006-06-13

American Pie 2 & Fun With Dick And Jane - 2 Comedy DVDs In Set

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American Pie 2 & Fun With Dick And Jane - 2 Comedy DVDs In Set

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

American Pie 2 & Fun With Dick And Jane - 2 Comedy DVDs In Set
American Pie 2 - Comedy DVD
Jason Biggs, Alyson Hanigan, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Chris Klein, Seann William Scott,Shannon Elizabeth, Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas
Fun With Dick And Jane
Jim Carrey, Tea Leoni

ASIN: B000U6FAUE

Product Description

American Pie 2 & Fun With Dick And Jane - 2 Comedy DVDs In Set DVD 1. American Pie 2 - Comedy - The horny teen heroes of American Pie (1999) return for further raunchy antics in this comedy sequel written by the first film's creator, Adam Herz. Returning home following their freshman year of college, old friends Jim (Jason Biggs), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Oz (Chris Klein), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Stifler (Seann William Scott) rent a summer house on Lake Michigan where they hope to score romantically. However, complications ensue due to Jim's relative lack of experience, requiring an interlude with a fellow student and a visit to his old friend Michelle (Alyson Hanigan), who's now a band camp counselor, all in preparation for the return of Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth). Oz is separated from Heather (Mena Suvari) by a trip abroad, Finch has another encounter with Stifler's mom (Jennifer Coolidge), & Jim's dad (Eugene Levy) is as clueless as ever about his son's love life. Director: J.B. Rogers 111 minutes, Audio: English Dolby 5.1 or DTS 5.1, Francais Dolby 5.1, Closed Cations: English, Dual Layer + Many Bonus Featurettes! DVD 2. Fun With Dick And Jane -COMEDY SATIRE ON CORPORATE JOBS & SUBURBS LIFESTYLES-AUDIO& SUBTITLES: English, Francais Dolby5.1-When Dick Harper (Jim Carrey) is terminated as Globodyne Corp. V.P. Of Communications, he assurs his wife, Jane (Tea Leoni) , he'll find another job in no time. Months later, their lawn is repossessed, Jane has sold her body to Science, and Dick's career as a day laborer ends in deportation to Mexico. Madder than ever and not taking it any more, Dick and Jane turn to armed robbery as they become upscale Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich and giving to themselves and scamming Globodyne's stock swindling Ex-President into refunding the bancrupt empolyye retirement plan and acknowleding it on TV! BONUS:Gag Reel,Deleted Scenes,PublicityOuttakes,Filmaker's Commentary!

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