Film Snail

3.4

Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective

PG·2009·93m

Comedy

Family

Adventure

Crime

Comedy

Family

Adventure

Crime

Summary

"I will try to be normal" 12-year-old Ace Ventura Jr. promises. Thats cool, except whats normal for him is finding missing mutts, kidnapped kitties or gone gators and creating hilarious chaos every step of the way.

Cast

Josh Flitter

Ace Ventura, Jr.

Emma Lockhart

Laura Wilson

Ann Cusack

Melissa Ventura

Cullen Douglas

Dr. Sickinger

Art LaFleur

Russell Hollander

Austin Rogers

A Plus

Reed Alexander

Quenton Pennington, Jr.

Carina Conti

Tara

Ralph Waite

Grandpa Ventura

Ashley Milchman

Emo Kid #1

Brooke Milchman

Emo Kid #2

Aubrey Shea

Daniella

Morgan Curschman

Girl Swimmer #1

Paige Huston

Girl Swimmer #2

Lisa Glaze

Teacher

Kendall Ganey

Little Girl at Spelling Bee

Tom Hillmann

Trooper

Trevin Lica

Bully

Jabari Ty'ree Shaffer

Boy

Jeff Chase

Pennington's Bodyguard

John Connon

Tour Guide

Veryl Jones

Museum Security Guard

Phil Ramirez

Prosecutor

Jim R. Coleman

Judge

Karel Wright

Tabby's Handler

Jeff Farley

Tabby's Security Officer

William Haze

Magician

Terry Loughlin

Horse Owner

Patrick Hoover

Party Kid #1

Haley Sehgal

Party Kid #2 (as Haley Boyle)

Connor Boyle

Overwhelmed Kid

Brian Patrick Clarke

Quenton Pennington Sr.

Adam Vernier

Agent #1

Tom Brooks

Agent #2

Shane Costa

Pennington's Bodyguard

Cristina Huang

Park Guest

Dakota Marooney

Kid at Party

Brandon Migliore

Crash Car Driver

Rhiannon Roberts

Park Guest

Chris Adler

Pennington's Bodyguard (uncredited)

Robie Alan

Special Government Agent (uncredited)

Christian Andreas

Guard in Dinosaur Chase (uncredited)

Karl Anthony

Laura's Dad (uncredited)

Jennifer Badger

Security Team Leader (uncredited)

Sam Bauso

FBI Agent (uncredited)

Jessica Blackmore

Assistant with White Horse (uncredited)

Ophelia Boxley

Pedestrian (uncredited)

Lisa Buckley

Miss Foster - Ox's Pet Store Clerk (uncredited)

Aaron Campbell

Agent (uncredited)

Chase "Uzzle" Carter

FBI Agent (uncredited)

Whitney Costner

Witness (uncredited)

Omar Elkalyoubie

Chinese Dignitary (uncredited)

Bayley Ellenburg

Witness (uncredited)

Jeff Ellenburg

Witness (uncredited)

Emily Rose Everhard

Additional Voices (voice) (uncredited)

Macaila Fernandes

Marina's Friend (uncredited)

Ciara Gari

Student (uncredited)

Wael Georgey

FBI Agent (uncredited)

Jen Halbert

Tabby's Entourage (uncredited)

Kelsie Erin Howell

Party Kid (uncredited)

Annie Kidwell

County Prisoner (uncredited)

Ariana Kollman

Spelling Bee Girl (uncredited)

Jesse Kozel

Neighbor (uncredited)

Noah Kronenberger

Park Guest (uncredited)

Jennifer Lonardo

Teacher (uncredited)

Sam Lonigro

Girls Swim Team Member (uncredited)

Leslie Maine

FBI Agent (uncredited)

Amari Marshall

Student (uncredited)

Tiffany Marshall

Crash Driver / Cafeteria Worker (uncredited)

Angel McBride

iPod Girl - Tara's Friend (uncredited)

Celestial McBride

Spelling Bee Contestant - Marina's Friend (uncredited)

Melody McCraney

Teacher (uncredited)

Nicole Mills

Miss Letterblair - Ox's Dog Collar Saleslady (uncredited)

Freddie Forward Mitchell

Magic Show Stage Hand (uncredited)

Jennifer Paige Moralez

Student / Party Dancer (uncredited)

Tom Myers

Security Guard (uncredited)

Katarina Noel

Student - Talent Show (uncredited)

Headley Oliver III

Park Guest / Party Dancer (uncredited)

Jeremy Palko

CSI Agent (uncredited)

Jason Nathaniel Powers

Park Guest (uncredited)

Summer Raine

Car Driver / Pedestrian / Neighbor / Prisoner (uncredited)

Michael M. Rummel

Basketball / Wrestling Referee (uncredited)

Noah Schnacky

Swim Team Boy (uncredited)

David W. Scott

Pennington's Bodyguard (uncredited)

AJ Semiday

Teacher (uncredited)

Adonis Stevens

DJ the Security Guard (uncredited)

Andy Ussach

Pennington's Butler (uncredited)

Nelitza Vallellanes

Teacher (uncredited)

Trevis Waters

Courtroom Attendant (uncredited)

Steve Wickersham

Gatorland Patron (uncredited)

Elizabeth Rose Young

Park Guest (uncredited)

Kevin B. Young

Man on the street (uncredited)

Justin Brown

Churro Guy (uncredited)

Crew

Director, Screenplay

David Mickey Evans

Screenplay

Jeff Sank

Screenplay

Jason Heimberg

Screenplay

Justin Heimberg

Reviews

FilipeManuelNeto

August 15, 2023

**It's not as bad as they say, but it's also far from being a good movie.**

There are characters that seem to stick to the skin of the actor who plays them, and that's what happened with Ace Ventura. He stuck with Jim Carrey. Conceiving a film with this character without the actor who brought him to life in two consecutive films would always be a bad idea, but that's precisely what they decided to do. And how did they do it? How did the studios get around the problem? Making a movie about Ace's son rather than the father, who is conveniently killed.

The film was the target of a veritable hate campaign. People who didn't like the Carrey movies obviously had nothing to like here, and people who liked those movies might have been disappointed by his absence. I'm not going to go into campaigns or vilify the film just because. I'm going to be honest and say what I think, no matter who it hurts (that's what I always do). And I think that the film is not as bad as they say it is, and it is frankly better than “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls”, which was for me the worst film in this trilogy. It's not a good movie, but it's not a piece of garbage either.

The secret to trying to understand this film is to peacefully accept Carrey's absence and understand that this is not a dishonest job: it doesn't seem to me that the production has tried to take advantage of the success of previous films to make money off of it. The character Ace Jr. is very similar to his father, but we also cannot assume that he will behave and act in the same way (even if this is rehearsed and the similarities are noticed). And the humor is much more familiar and friendly than before, with no embarrassing moments or situations for parents who decide to see this with their children, and that's always something I value in comedies of this type.

The film's problem turns out to be the script, very weak and incapable of detaching itself from what we've already seen in Carrey's films. Animals mysteriously disappear, stolen by malevolent minds, and Ventura will have to go find them and return them to their home. It would have been much better to have a film with something new, trying to think outside the box. Filmed in 2009, when there was already so much talk about endangered species, environmental problems and human damage to fauna, why weren't these hot topics used for a different script, more airy, different from what we've already seen?

Justin Flitter did a satisfying job in the lead role. The boy has charisma, he has sympathy, he manages to model the character, but he is obviously too young. His partner Emma Lockhart, who has stopped doing work as an actress, is limited to being a friendly face and a possible romantic partner. Ann Cusack can't do much, but she has the necessary presence, and Ralph Waite only appears because the script needed him in some very concrete moments.