Jim Carrey's Favorite Movie Isn't Some Cheesy Comedy but This 93%-Rated Drama: "It's Fantastic"

Jim Carrey's comedic talent has captivated millions of fans worldwide. However, behind this outward chaos is a man who has demonstrated remarkable depth and an interest in philosophical questions throughout his career.

He has discussed the nature of madness, the fine line between absurdity and darkness, and the difficulty of staying true to oneself in a world where reality is constantly replaced by illusions.

Jim Carrey Revealed His Favourite Movie Is Sidney Lumet's 'Network'

In one of the interviews, Carrey discussed his favorite movie, and contrary to what one might expect, it's not a lighthearted comedy, but rather Sidney Lumet's dark, poignant, and frighteningly relevant satirical film Network, released in 1976:

“My favourite movie? Network. It's fantastic. Every scene in that movie is a smorgasbord.”

The actor, whose career was built on his ability to make people laugh, admitted that he revisits this movie every year. Faced with the inevitability of aging and the finiteness of life, he finds new meanings in it:

“Now that I'm a little older too, you can look back on that movie and see William Holden and Faye Dunaway in the kitchen scene, and he's saying, ‘I'm closer to the end than the beginning,’ and ‘Death has become a real thing with definable features’, I mean, f*ck, who writes that? That is incredible.”

What Is 'Network' About?

The story revolves around Howard Beale, a legendary UBS TV news anchor, who one day discovers on air that he's being fired due to falling ratings. Instead of leaving quietly, he tells viewers that he will commit suicide on air the following week.

After this scandalous announcement, however, the channel's ratings skyrocket. Management, accustomed to thinking solely in terms of profit, decides not to fire Beale, but rather to capitalize on his newfound popularity.

Howard becomes a "mad prophet," unleashing a torrent of raw anger, fear, and despair on viewers in every episode.

'Network' Is a Prophetic Satire That Remains Relevant Today

Five decades later, Network remains frighteningly relevant. The film predicted the era of infotainment, where the lines between news and entertainment are blurred, the cult of personality created by TV, and the cynical exploitation of human emotions to boost ratings.

Howard Beale became the voice of popular anger but turned out to be both a victim and a manipulator – his tragedy is that he doesn't fully understand where his sincerity ends and the game begins.

Sidney Lumet, one of the greatest directors of his time, created a movie that exposes a system in which everyone, from the presenter to the viewer, is complicit in this grand deception.

Paddy Chayefsky wrote a brilliant screenplay and gave his characters lines that sound like prophecies about a world where people lose the ability to distinguish truth from fiction, compassion becomes scarce, and death becomes entertainment.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'Network'?

• Network has 90% from critics and 93% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the movie has a score of 8.0/10.

• On Letterboxd, Network scored 4.3/5.0.

Where to Watch 'Network'?

Network is available to buy or rent on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.