10 Movie Scenes That Would Never Have Been Shot Today
4. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Can't Handle Crossdressing
Coming off of a decent stand-up run and a regular gig on In Living Colour, Jim Carrey was poised to break into the silver screen. The rubbery-faced actor had shown little of the range we'd come to see, but he could clearly carry a picture based on impressions, wacky jokes and abrasively loud punchlines.
Enter Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. The idea came from a script from director Tom Shadyac, but much of it was left on the floor once Carrey was cast. He was left free to improvise and shot for the moon, assuming it would either destroy his career or make it. Thankfully (in most cases), it did the latter, and the film generally holds up as a goofy caper, tracking the eccentric detective on the trail of the missing Miami Dolphins mascot.
What doesn't hold up is the ultimate reveal, that the chief of police (Sean Young) is, in fact, a former Dolphins player out for vengeance after being stripped of her career. She got a sex change, though not before making out with Ventura, who must bathe himself and weep at the very notion of kissing a former man.
When it's made clear to the rest of the force, every officer has a similar reaction, Tone Loc himself wiping his tongue clean (not, as previously believed, being down with a "Wild Thing").