Annie Walton Doyle
People watching Ace Ventura for the first time are saying that the film would never be made today.
The comedy movies from the 1990s star Jim Carrey as the lead character, a pet detective.
The films were surprise box office hits that helped launch Carrey’s career to superstardom and it spawned iconic catchphrases and scenes.
But those watching the movies for the first time now have taken issue with large swathes of the films’ humour.
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Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, released in 1994, grossed over $107 million at the box office worldwide.
The movie was made on a budget of $15 million, making it a massive commercial success.
It tells the story of Ace Ventura, a pet detective who is tasked with tracking down the missing Miami Dolphins’ mascot, a bottlenose dolphin named Snowflake.
Eventually, he discovers that Snowflake has been taken by a former Miami Dolphins player called Ray Finkle, who turned his back on the team after being ridiculed for missing a potentially game-winning kick.
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Ace later learns that the former football star transitioned to become female, adopting the name Lois Einhorn and becoming a lieutenant in the police force.
However, as time has passed, the movie’s humour has been called into question.
Some viewers who have recently watched the movie for the first time have noted that the transphobic jokes in the movie do not hold up in modern times.
For instance, jokes about Ace furiously brushing his teeth after sharing a kiss with Einhorn and Ace undressing the lieutenant to prove his point at the end of the movie are no longer seen as funny by modern audiences.
Twitter users have expressed their disappointment in the movie’s handling of the transgender storyline, with one person tweeting: “Watched Ace Ventura for the first time today and my god the transphobia is rampant.”
Another user notes: “Watched Ace Ventura: Pet Detective for the first time last night.
“And towards the end of the movie, it was hella transphobic.”
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Even Joe Rogan’s podcast has discussed the movie’s problematic elements.
Speaking to guest Bari Weiss, Rogan shared his experience of rewatching the movie with his children and realising how transphobic it is.
He comments: “I didn’t realise how transphobic that f***ing movie is.
“It’s off the charts.”
Ace Ventura isn’t the only piece of media that hasn’t aged well, either.
Recently, people have been calling out the misogynistic and sexist elements in Grease, drawing attention to the uncomfortable nude scenes Brooke Shields performed as a child in Blue Lagoon, and calling out one particularly problematic episode of Only Fools and Horses, too.
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