"Number 23" Zero Box-Office Potential

Jim Carrey teams with Joel Schumacher once again in the mind-numbing thriller "The Number 23". (Carrey and Schumacher's first collaboration was the abysmal Batman Forever). Unlike Carrey's inspired turn in 1995's Batman Forever, where he delighted audiences with his unique comic flare as Batman's nemesis The Riddler, Carrey cannot overshadow the torpid, pseudo-psychosis that Joel Schumacher mistakes for dark thrills in "The Number 23". The combined efforts of Fernley Phillips' nonsensical script and Joel Schumacher's skewed sense of horror turn Jim Carrey's best efforts sour.

The premise of the "The Number 23" relies heavily on the fabled 23 enigma which claims that anything of significance, be they dates, people, events, or places can be distilled to the number 23. This lofty thesis is only part of the exposition required to even begin to understand the plot within "The Number 23". The film also takes a look into the mind of Walter Sparrow (Jim Carrey) who becomes obsessed with the number 23 after reading a book by the same name that bares striking similarities to his own life.

Walter Sparrow's mundane life as local dog-catcher takes an unexpected turn when he receives a book titled "The Number 23" as a gift from his wife, Agatha (Virginia Madsen). Despite his wife's positive recommendation, Sparrow is initially skeptical of reading the novel, but quickly becomes engrossed in the dark crime novel. The novel features a twisted detective, Fingerling, (also played by Carrey), immersed in a world of sex and crime, who loses his hold on reality as the number 23 takes over his life. Sparrow too begins seeing 23 everywhere, from his social security number to his birthday. His initial excitement quickly turns to paranoia as Fingerling's world begins to bleed into his own. As Fingerling becomes more violent and unpredictable, Sparrow's fears the dangers he poses to himself and his family, and he takes steps to avoid this fate. He soon learns his fate is already written in the pages of his novel and every decision he makes to avoid the consequences brings him closer to finding out its terrible secrets.