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Jim Carrey seeks a sketchy rescue with ‘SNL’

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It’s hard to imagine an actor with a more peculiar career than Jim Carrey. Few comedians have succeeded in reinventing themselves so many times. And yet none seem as perpetually in a state of uncertainty.

It’s a thought that came to mind when Carrey was tapped as a ‘Saturday Night Live’ host for Jan. 8, the first time he’s appearing on the show since 1996.

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For many years, Carrey fluidly alternated between roles that required dramatic chops and those that made him money — ‘The Truman Show’ and ‘Man on the Moon’ sandwiched between ‘Liar, Liar’ and ‘Me, Myself and Irene.’ Or ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Mind’ (which earned him nominations from more than a half-dozen award groups) right after ‘Bruce Almighty.’

But the ability to toggle has failed him lately. After 2005’s ‘Fun with Dick & Jane,’ Carrey didn’t do mentally unhinged very convincingly in the psychological thriller ‘The Number 23.’ After ‘Yes Man’ two years ago, he took on a more beloved character in ‘A Christmas Carol.’ That didn’t work either.

This season he’s turned in one of the more eyebrow-raising performances as a gay con man in ‘I Love You Philip Morris,’ a black comedy that about six people have seen and even fewer have embraced. Carrey’s trademark wild-eyed and loose-limbed acting manner is on full display, but it gets in the way more that it illuminates or entertains. ‘[He] never gets beyond his Jim Carrey-ness to let us discover the character,’ wrote The Times’ Betsy Sharkey.

The ‘SNL’ appearance seems like a pretty obvious attempt to get the actor back to his roots. He has no movie to promote (‘Phillip Morris’ may still be hanging on in a few theaters, barely), so it’s really just about the one-time ‘In Living Color’ star showing himself in a way that we came to like him in the first place — as a sketch comedian. (A highlight from his much-embraced first ‘SNL’ appearance below.) And it sets the stage for another return to a safe haven, the actor’s summer 2011 movie, the family comedy ‘Mr. Popper’s Penguins.’

Carrey should at least be given points for trying to tackle more interesting characters, something fellow broad-appeal comic actors like Adam Sandler don’t do nearly enough. It would be a shame if the recent failures would mean Carrey stopped trying, since he clearly has skills. It’s just that lately he hasn’t been very good at showing them.

— Steven Zeitchik

twitter.com/ZeitchikLAT

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