Ep. 37: Ace Ventura, Pet Detective
03/29/22 • 42 min
1 Listener
The Should They Watch It ladies are changing it up this week and dial the way back machine to 1994 to rewatch the Jim Carrey classic Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
Does it hold up?
In case you missed it, Ace Ventura is about an off-kilter pet detective who is on the case of a missing Miami Dolphins mascot named Snowflake. An early-career Courteney Cox is featured as his love interest, with rapper, Tone Loc, and superstar QB, Dan Marino, also dipping their toes in the acting pool. It’s peak mid-90’s high energy, slapstick Jim Carrey.
Laura remembers loving and quoting the movie as a kid along with her peers, while Kara, on the other hand had a very different opinion from day one! Early career comedy Jim Carrey was not her style, though both agree that, as a serious actor in movies like Eternal Sunshine and Truman Show, he was excellent. Kara recounts a story about her first date with an overly persistent wannabe Jim Carrey that ended in her walking out.
While the butt-talking still makes Laura laugh, and Kara’s son Michael finds it hysterical, there is round agreement that this one is frozen in time. For a PG-13 movie it does not translate to today’s culture, so neither would show it to their kids. In addition to sexual themes and vulgar language, the hosts note objectification of women, ableism, transphobia, and harmful messages about mental health. Ace also comes off unlikeable and at times overly mean-spirited!
In the end, this is a big NO from both hosts as they cannot recommend this show for young viewers, or for anyone in 2022 for that matter.
Side conversations:
Laura is a flavor saver, sticking her gum on the sides of cans if it has anything left to it. Kara is disgusted by her “gum slugs” and can’t deal. Laura explains her behavior away by saying that she spends half her time as a supermom and the rest as a 15-year-old boy. Kara wishes she could use her 45-year-old brain inside her 20-year-old body to raise her kids while on her dog’s sleep schedule.
A housecat in Australia is caught stealing toys from all over her neighborhood. Kara’s cat Simon does this same thing with socks and shoes and on one occasion showed up with a pair of Mickey Mouse house shoes. Simon also drops her findings in the food bowl inside the house which will elicit screeches from the male cat, Shuffle, who refuses to eat with them in there.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please be sure to subscribe and leave a review on your favorite platform. Follow us on Instagram and check us out at shouldtheywatchit.com
The Should They Watch It ladies are changing it up this week and dial the way back machine to 1994 to rewatch the Jim Carrey classic Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
Does it hold up?
In case you missed it, Ace Ventura is about an off-kilter pet detective who is on the case of a missing Miami Dolphins mascot named Snowflake. An early-career Courteney Cox is featured as his love interest, with rapper, Tone Loc, and superstar QB, Dan Marino, also dipping their toes in the acting pool. It’s peak mid-90’s high energy, slapstick Jim Carrey.
Laura remembers loving and quoting the movie as a kid along with her peers, while Kara, on the other hand had a very different opinion from day one! Early career comedy Jim Carrey was not her style, though both agree that, as a serious actor in movies like Eternal Sunshine and Truman Show, he was excellent. Kara recounts a story about her first date with an overly persistent wannabe Jim Carrey that ended in her walking out.
While the butt-talking still makes Laura laugh, and Kara’s son Michael finds it hysterical, there is round agreement that this one is frozen in time. For a PG-13 movie it does not translate to today’s culture, so neither would show it to their kids. In addition to sexual themes and vulgar language, the hosts note objectification of women, ableism, transphobia, and harmful messages about mental health. Ace also comes off unlikeable and at times overly mean-spirited!
In the end, this is a big NO from both hosts as they cannot recommend this show for young viewers, or for anyone in 2022 for that matter.
Side conversations:
Laura is a flavor saver, sticking her gum on the sides of cans if it has anything left to it. Kara is disgusted by her “gum slugs” and can’t deal. Laura explains her behavior away by saying that she spends half her time as a supermom and the rest as a 15-year-old boy. Kara wishes she could use her 45-year-old brain inside her 20-year-old body to raise her kids while on her dog’s sleep schedule.
A housecat in Australia is caught stealing toys from all over her neighborhood. Kara’s cat Simon does this same thing with socks and shoes and on one occasion showed up with a pair of Mickey Mouse house shoes. Simon also drops her findings in the food bowl inside the house which will elicit screeches from the male cat, Shuffle, who refuses to eat with them in there.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please be sure to subscribe and leave a review on your favorite platform. Follow us on Instagram and check us out at shouldtheywatchit.com
Previous Episode
Ep. 36: Turning Red AND Shimmer And Shine
Shimmer and Shine: "Fluffier than a cake cloud raining gumdrops."
The ladies are back from spring break! They start off with a quick chat about the highly-discussed Turning Red, and then it's time for Laura to indoctrinate Kara into the world of Shimmer and Shine!
Turning Red:
The Disney/Pixar flick Turning Red is a coming-of-age movie with a nod to the inevitability of menstruation, which is causing some discomfort among some parents. The ladies feel any controversy behind this one is overblown. There is some minor mature language and themes of defiance from the main character. The defiance is nothing new in popular movies, however, considering that Little Mermaid, Lion King, and plenty of Disney movies featured similar plots. The kids haven’t pick up on the menstruation topics; Kara's like the panda, and Laura's like the music.
Both hosts notice a recent theme of generational trauma in Disney movies, with Turning Red experiencing success after Encanto exploding on the scene.
Onto Shimmer and Shine!
This children's show is about two glittery genies in training who do all the fun things that the girliest of little girls dream about in a magical setting inspired by the middle east. Laura initially thought her young daughter was the target audience, but Kara's young son also loved the show! Inspired by the genies, Michael ended up calling Kara the "wish granter”, which is just another word for mom, right? If only they were limited to three wishes a day!
Potentially problematic themes:
Kara feels that the show is a bit whitewashed, considering the middle eastern aesthetic. She also takes issue with the glamorization of little girls. Growing up as a tomboy, she didn't care for Barbies or anything pink, so the style of the show isn’t for her, but does agree that the storylines are cute and simple.
Laura describes it as Rainbow Brite on steroids. She doesn’t love that the show sometimes borders on giving the girls a bit of a dumb girl trope when they get the wishes wrong.
On a positive note, the show passes the Bechdel test, which measures the depth of fictional female characters.
The criteria of the test are:
At least two women are featured
They talk to each other
They discuss something other than a man (in this case a boy)
While Laura acknowledges the intensity of the “girliness” in the show, she expresses that this show can exist along with the Ada Twists of the world, as long as it’s not being prioritized over other representations of femaleness. She also appreciates the absence of toxic femininity (competing over boys and focusing on looks) in the show. Otherwise, we might be having a completely different conversation! Instead the plot focuses on adventure, friendship, and personal growth.
Also, Gretchen from Mean girls (Lacey Chabert) is the voice of the likable villain Zeta who has a chaotic neutral pet Nazboo. What a pleasant surprise!
Should They Watch It?
Laura: If you want to watch this dopamine-fueled girl-fest, then have Ada Twist: Scientist for dinner and save this for dessert. This one's purely for the sweet tooth.
Kara: A resounding and angry No!
If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on your favorite platform. Follow us on Instagram and check us out at shouldtheywatchit.com.
about generational trauma, after Encanto had so much success. Kara was able to relate to Encanto more and Laura wasn’t a huge fan but both ladies appreciated the importance of both movies.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please be sure to subscribe and leave a review on your favorite platform. Follow us on Instagram a
Next Episode
Ep. 38: Larva and Larva Island
“Larva would have been a better fit for Adult Swim- where the mushroom eaters go to watch their shows”
The ladies are back in the studio to review the children’s show Larva, based on the adventures of two gassy gutter-dwelling...you guessed it...larva! Each season takes place in a different location, with season 4 leaving us on Larva Island. Based on the show’s popularity, we can only guess where they will end up next, but Laura puts her money on Larva in Space.
Will adults like it?
Laura is particularly annoyed with the show and sends Kara into fits of laughter with her stank face. The amount of fart humor (minus the humor) is too much to bear, which is surprising given her love for hyuck hyuck comedies like Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore. The scenes are short, but there are tons, which provides one exasperating scenario after another. The only redeeming skits, in Laura’s opinion, are the parodies of other movies. If you want to know what she means, check out Larva’s take on Frozen’s Let It Go.
What about the kids?
Like a moth to a flame, if you give children fart jokes, they will have your loyalty. And Larva capitalizes on gag jokes...literally. Get ready for boogers, gas, and saliva...so much saliva.
If your kids like gross, Oh Yuck is still our top pick, because it has some educational value. Go here for the link to that episode.
SHOULD THEY WATCH IT?
Kara: Nah
Laura: Adamant No
Side Conversation
Daniel Radcliffe will be playing Weird Al Yankovic in an upcoming biopic. Kara describes her experience spending an afternoon with Weird Al when she was a 20 year old host at Radio Disney. She says he was a total gentleman who even allowed her to pull on his hair to prove it wasn’t a wig. He’s one of her favorite people in the world. During her experience at Radio Disney, she met a variety of stars, including Joey Fatone (more handsome than expected), Dolly Parton (sweet and charismatic) and Clint Black (he ok’d her using one of his songs for her wedding dance). The most memorable was the flamboyant and wildly energetic exercise superstar Richard Simmons, who jumped off the elevator and gave Kara a full body hug. Laura proposes a few sources of his incredible child-like energy.
Tune in next week for Making Fun, where the ladies hope to break their streak of disappointments.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on your favorite platform. Follow us on Instagram and check us out at shouldtheywatchit.com.
Should They Watch It? - Ep. 37: Ace Ventura, Pet Detective
Transcript
The views and opinions expressed by the should they watch it podcast are those of two moms who happen to be a registered play therapist and a voice actor for cartoons. So while they may feel their opinions come from a knowledgeable place, they are still in fact just opinions. Should they watch it? A podcast that takes the task of reviewing your kid's favorite shows up your to do list Hello and welcome to this should they watch a podcast I'm Ka
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