Me, Myself & Irene

Me, Myself & Irene is a 2000 American dark comedy drama film directed by the Farrelly brothers, and starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger. Chris Cooper, Robert Forster, Richard Jenkins, Daniel Greene, Anthony Anderson, Jerod Mixon and Mongo Brownlee co-star. The film is about a Rhode Island state trooper named Charlie who, after years of continuously suppressing his rage and feelings, suffers a psychotic breakdown that results in a second personality, Hank. This was also Carrey's first role in a 20th Century Fox film. Also, Farrelly brothers reunited with Carrey in 6 years after Dumb and Dumber was released in 1994.

Plot
Charlie Baileygates (Jim Carrey) is a veteran Rhode Island state trooper who has been taken advantage of by those around him, including his ex-wife Layla (Traylor Howard). Despite his friends warning him of Layla's infidelity, Charlie refuses to accept it, even after she gave birth to black triplets. Layla leaves with her dwarf genius black lover, Shonté, abandoning her children. Charlie raises the triplets: Jamal, Lee Harvey, and Shonté Jr. (Anthony Anderson, Jerod Mixon, Mongo Brownlee), likewise geniuses. While Charlie is loved by the boys, he is continually abused by the rest of the town. As a result of years of such treatment, Charlie develops a split personality named Hank to deal with the confrontations Charlie avoids. Emerging whenever Charlie is under extreme stress, Hank is an over-the-top, rude, and violent persona reminiscent of characters played by Clint Eastwood. A psychiatrist prescribes medication to keep Hank at bay.

Believing that Charlie needs a vacation, his commanding officer (Robert Forster) orders him to escort Irene Waters (Renée Zellweger) from Rhode Island to Massena, New York, because she reportedly committed a hit-and-run. Irene insists the accusation is a lie told by Dickie (Daniel Greene), her mob-connected ex-boyfriend, to keep her from revealing his illegal activities to the authorities. In Massena, Charlie turns over Irene to two EPA agents. A hitman with a contract on Irene's life kills one of the agents. Irene and Charlie flee, leaving his medication behind in their haste and allowing Hank to emerge frequently. Charlie is unjustly blamed for the murder. FBI agents begin pursuing him and Irene, as do two crooked police officers in Dickie's pay, Boshane (Richard Jenkins) and Gerke (Chris Cooper). The chase becomes a media spectacle, alerting Charlie's sons to his predicament.

Charlie and Irene return to Rhode Island, developing a bond along the way. Though Irene is taken by Charlie's personality, Hank's worries her, as his aggressive personality and overestimation of his own toughness often gets them into trouble. Along the way they pick up "Whitey" (Michael Bowman), an albino waiter who claims to have killed his entire family. While stopping at a motel, Hank convinces Irene to have sex with him by impersonating Charlie. When Charlie realizes what happened the next morning, he is incensed and begins fighting with Hank. They are almost ambushed by Boshane and Gerke, but Charlie's sons, having found them, steal a police helicopter and call in a false report, stating Charlie and Irene have been spotted in the woods nearby.

Charlie and Irene leave Whitey at the motel and board a train back to Rhode Island. Dickie boards the same train, having been ordered by his superiors to "get his hands dirty". He kidnaps Irene, and Charlie gives chase, working together with Hank to save her. Hank balks when Dickie heads onto a bridge, but Charlie finally stands up for himself against his fears, thus permanently nullifying Hank. As Charlie tries to disarm Dickie, Dickie shoots off his thumb. Dickie is then hit from behind by a lawn dart thrown by Whitey, killing him. Charlie and Irene fall from the bridge into a river below. Charlie's sons arrive to rescue them. Regrouping with Whitey, Charlie apologizes for making him kill again, but Whitey reveals he made up his backstory for fear of Hank. The police arrive, but quickly learn of Irene's plight. Gerke is arrested, Charlie is congratulated for bringing him to justice, and Irene is cleared of the charges against her.

Irene prepares to leave Rhode Island when she is pulled over by the police, but this proves only to be a diversion to allow Charlie to propose marriage to her, which she happily accepts. In a post-credits scene, everyone looks for Charlie's thumb in the river. Whitey finds it, but a fish eats it.

Cast

 * Jim Carrey as Charlie Baileygates/Hank Evans
 * Renée Zellweger as Irene P. Waters
 * Chris Cooper as Lt. Gerke
 * Robert Forster as Colonel Partington
 * Richard Jenkins as Agent Boshane
 * Zen Gesner as Agent Peterson
 * Michael Bowman as Casper ("Whitey")
 * Rob Moran as Trooper Finneran
 * Daniel Greene as Dickie Thurman
 * Anthony Anderson as Jamal Baileygates
 * Jeremy Maleek Leggett as nine-year-old Jamal Baileygates
 * Mongo Brownlee as Lee Harvey Baileygates
 * Andrew Phillips as nine-year-old Lee Harvey Baileygates
 * Jerod Mixon as Shonté Jr. Baileygates
 * Justin Chandler as nine-year-old Shonté Jr. Baileygates
 * Tony Cox as Shonté Jackson
 * Steve Tyler as Delivery Room Doctor
 * Traylor Howard as Layla Baileygates
 * Richard Tyson as Gun shop owner
 * Rex Allen Jr. as Narrator (voice)
 * Ezra Buzzington as Disabled guy
 * Shannon Whirry as Breastfeeding mom
 * Lin Shaye (deleted scenes) as Mrs. Caleron
 * Lina Teal as Bikini girl
 * Anna Kournikova, Cam Neely and Brendan Shanahan appear in cameo roles
 * Richard Pryor as Stand-Up Comedian on TV (archive footage) (uncredited)
 * Chris Rock as Stand-Up Comedian on TV (archive footage) (uncredited)

Music
The film's original score was written by Pete Yorn, while the movie's soundtrack contains eight covers of Steely Dan songs. The film's score was composed by Stewart Copeland.

* Steely Dan cover
 * 1) "I'd Like That" – XTC
 * 2) "Breakout" – Foo Fighters
 * 3) "Do It Again" – Smash Mouth *
 * 4) "Deep Inside of You" – Third Eye Blind
 * 5) "Totalimmortal" – The Offspring
 * 6) "The World Ain't Slowin' Down" – Ellis Paul
 * 7) "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" – Wilco *
 * 8) "Only A Fool Would Say That" – Ivy *
 * 9) "Can't Find The Time to Tell You" – Hootie & The Blowfish
 * 10) "Bodhisattva" – Brian Setzer Orchestra *
 * 11) "Bad Sneakers" – The Push Stars *
 * 12) "Reelin' In The Years" – Marvelous 3 *
 * 13) "Strange Condition" – Pete Yorn
 * 14) "Barrytown" – Ben Folds Five *
 * 15) "Razor Boy" – Billy Goodrum *
 * 16) "Where He Can Hide" – Tom Wolfe

"Husband and Wife" by The Dwarves, "Fire Like This" by Hardknox, "Don't Say You Don't Remember" by Beverly Bremers, "The Perpetrator" by Hipster Daddy-O and the Handgrenades, "Love Me Cha Cha" by Jimmy Luxury, and "Hem of Your Garment" by Cake were included in the movie but not on the soundtrack. Pete Yorn's "Just Another" can also be heard in the background, during the scene where they discuss Hank's idea. Alta Mira's "El Capitan" can be heard in the background, during the scene where Hank fights Charlie at the train station.

Home video
The film was released on VHS on January 9, 2001, and on DVD on January 23, 2001.

Box office
The film opened at #1 on the weekend of June 23, 2000, making US$24.2 million in its opening weekend.

The film earned $90,570,999 in the United States, and a further $58,700,000 internationally for a worldwide total of $149,270,999.

Critical response
Review website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 47%, based on 99 reviews, and an average rating of 5.4/10, with the consensus that "While Jim Carrey's comedic skills earn some laughs, Me, Myself and Irene sports a tired, unsatisfying plot." Online review aggregator Metacritic states the film has a score of 49 out of a possible 100 based on 35 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".