Me, Myself & Irene is one of those movies that almost seems to get funnier after viewing.

Indeed, you may find it difficult to sleep after seeing it because certain scenes or images may pop in your head and cause a spontaneous giggle fit.

Call it Post-Farrelly Brothers Movie Syndrome. Peter and Bobby, the two brothers-from-another-planet who gave us Dumb and Dumber and There's Something About Mary, can officially be acknowledged as masters of the rude comedy. And they are back to show those mediocrities who made Road Trip and American Pie how it's done.

Of course, they have formidable help in Jim Carrey, who makes a welcome return to flat-out physical comedy after hit-and-miss diversions with more serious material. (The Truman Show being the hit and Man on the Moon being the miss.)

Carrey returns to the fruitcake fold as Rhode Island highway patrolman Charlie Baileygates.

Charlie is a sad case. His wife abandoned him for the dwarf who drove their wedding limousine. Before leaving him, Mrs. Bailygates also delivered triplets to Charlie, all of whom bear a suspicious resemblance to that aforementioned chauffeur, who is black and a chapter president of MENSA.

Charlie's reaction is to suck in all the pain and abuse. He becomes a laughingstock and a doormat in his community. When he can stand no more, he explodes.

The explosion manifests itself in another personality within Charlie: Hank.

Charlie is sweet, gentle, meek. Hank is coarse, violent, aggressive. Like Mr. Hyde, he can appear every time Charlie finds himself under extreme stress.

Both personalities fall in love with Irene Waters (Renee Zellweger), a woman arrested for being a fugitive from a hit-and-run accident. Charlie must escort Irene to another town where she is, in fact, being sought as a material witness in a case involving wide-scale political corruption and murder.

Irene is a target. And it falls on Charlie/Hank to protect her from an unexpected assassin, while both personalities compete for her affection.

Of course, all that is just a hook on which to hang a few astonishing comic inventions. Remember the stuck zipper in There's Something About Mary? The Farrellys match that degree of outrageousness in a few scenes, including:

Hank spies a beautiful nursing mother (Shannon Whirry), and ... ah, you have to see it.

Charlie wakes up unaware his alternate personality has been enjoying sexual relations with Irene. He figures it out during his morning ablutions ...

Charlie and Irene come across an injured cow lying in the road. The goodhearted Charlie tries to put the animal out of its misery. The cow doesn't go quietly.

Much has been made of the misrepresentation of "schizophrenia" in the movie. Suffice it to say that such controversy is akin to protesting the movie Dinosaur because it misrepresents prehistoric creatures by giving them the ability to speak perfect English.

The movie is likewise best viewed as a cartoon ... a rude, appalling, hilarious cartoon. It's a particular pleasure to see Carrey in less serious mode. (It must be said Carrey owes no small comic debt to Steve Martin's dual personality performance in All of Me.)

Is it offensive? Well, yes, sometimes the Farrellys dance on the line (they cast a real albino to play a character called "Whitey" whom Hank first refers to as "Q-Tip.") Sometimes they cross the line. They know surprise is the essence of comedy and so they occasionally go a little farther than usual to get the extra laugh. (We didn't really need to see that quick shot of Ben Stiller's zipper-tangled manhood in There's Something About Mary, but most of us are glad we did.)

Fortunately, the Farrellys also balance the outrage with a redemptive sweetness in tone. Little people, albinos, animal rights activists, mental health advocates and nursing mothers all may find reason to picket Me Myself & Irene.

But when they're done picketing, I know a good place where they can unwind and have a few laughs.

(This film is rated R)

More Movie Reviews