Super famous movie star Jim Carrey has just announced that he’ll no longer be supporting Kick-Ass 2, the action-comedy sequel to Kick-Ass in which he stars. The first film is known for its strange blend of attributing adult themes to its young actors, who dished out enough violence and bad language to earn the film an ‘R’ rating. These inappropriately mature themes are what gives the movie its potent 1-2, action-comedy punch.
Carrey, who’s already made his opinion of gun violence in entertainment very clear in a Funny Or Die short, took to Twitter to post the following messages:
Mark Millar, the creator of the titular graphic novel, has released a public statement on the matter, which calmly states both his understanding and confusion regarding Carrey’s decision. “As you may know, Jim is a passionate advocate of gun-control and I respect both his politics and his opinion, but I’m baffled by this sudden announcement as nothing seen in this picture wasn’t in the screenplay eighteen months ago.” He goes on to explain the film’s violence is far from gratuitous, and rather it examines “the CONSEQUENCES of violence … Ironically, Jim’s character in Kick-Ass 2 is a Born-Again Christian and the big deal we made of the fact that he refuses to fire a gun is something he told us attracted him to the role in the first place.”
Carrey’s decision plays into a well-established discourse known as media effects theory, which follows a “monkey see, monkey do” philosophy toward violence and other mature themes in films. So do violent movies instill their viewers with the desire to do violence? Not according to Millar, who argues he’s “never quite bought the notion that violence in fiction leads to violence in real-life any more than Harry Potter casting a spell creates more Boy Wizards in real-life.”
To summarize: Jim Carrey renounced the film, in which his character refuses to fire a gun, 18 months after seeing the original script and, presumably, collecting a cheque. Heroic or selfish? Let us know what you think, and watch the NSFW trailer below.
[via The Star]
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Jeremy Schipper is an intern at Toronto Standard. You can follow him on Twitter at @jeromeoschipps.
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