The Number 23 would be a much better movie if it weren't about the number 23. That's a problem, considering that the numerological hook is supposed to be its selling point. Jim Carrey plays an animal-control officer -- an auspicious start -- who recognizes unmistakable parallels to his own life in a mysterious book he finds in a book store. But when the script tries to make the number 23 the key to it all, things go haywire. As Carrey races around, using bizarre and ungainly mathematical formulas to produce each instance of the number, it's difficult to stifle the laughter. So after the first act, a potentially chilling and atmospheric thriller becomes just another one of director Joel Schumacher's patented misfires.
It's tempting to applaud Carrey's first appearance in a thriller as signs of personal growth, but his performance comes unraveled in tune with Fernley Phillips' script, especially when he's playing Fingerling, his gothic alter ego from the novel. In most thrillers, his lunatic ravings would get him nowhere until he could prove their validity -- a classically structured hero's burden. But here, his son is on board the entire time, and his wife (Virginia Madsen) offers only a couple of raised eyebrows before she capitulates as well. It's a shame The Number 23 couldn't focus on the eerie existential questions implied by the novel, because there is some creative filmmaking going on here. A particular example involves the breathtaking montage of Walter Sparrow's childhood, in which the camera (with CG assistance) travels deeper and deeper into the frame, as if plunging three dimensionally into a storybook. But when one three-minute sequence is the best reason to recommend The Number 23, it means that number lovers -- and all other viewers -- should look elsewhere for a good dose of the spooks.