Return to the Main Page

Summary:
Walter Sparrow is given a book by his wife called "The Number 23". The book oddly parallels moments in his life, and he becomes obsessed with the number 23, seeing the number in everything around him, including his birthday, birth date, social security number, key historical events, etc...

Review:
Joel Schumacher's best is when he's doing thrillers. The Lost Boys and Flatliners are two great examples of his abilities as a capable director. I won't throw in the biggest glare in his directing past, because everyone probably already knows about it and refrences it. Well, I just did mention Batman and Robin without saying it, didn't I?
The Number 23 is a decent movie in which the premise is the best part. I couldn't imagine writing a screenplay like this; I'd start to go crazy myself seeing twenty-threes everywhere I go. It might seem fun finding all the hidden numbers in the movie that add up to 23, but the biggest flaw in this treasure hunt is that they are glaringly obvious. Perhaps I missed some that I wasn't looking for, but even when I wasn't looking I still saw them. It's one thing to be clever and whitty, but another thing altogether when you're shoving the number right in our faces. Every street address, license plates, and more all add up to "23". I get it.
With this ubiquitous number comes a supernatural undertone, but the logic of it all falls flat in the final reveal. It's possible that they went out of their way with the number to give the audience a sense of how much the main character is influenced by the number. Because it's everywhere for US to see, it helps make us feel a little bit of Walter's issues. If that's not the purpose of all those numbers being in Walter's reality, then saying that it's anything beyond coincidence becomes too far fetched for my tastes.
Jim Carrey did a good job playing it serious in his first thriller. He has a few seconds of comedic outburst, but that's good because it was MEANT to be funny. He's fairly straight laced and earnest as Walter Sparrow. Virginia Madsen wasn't too bad herself. I wouldn't say their performances were particularly standout, but it got the job done and didn't hinder my viewing pleasure.

It's only obvious that the final act brings together all the clues and solves the mystery of the book and Walter's obsession. Along the way there will be a red herring or two to throw off the part of the audience that isn't already familiar with this formula. Most important is whether the ending makes sense after all that's happened beforehand. With 23, it passes, but definetely leaves gaping plot holes that I won't delve into here to save from spoilers. I still found it to work better than it could have, but in the end I couldn't help wanting a little more.
The Number 23 isn't nearly as bad as it could have been. It moved along at a decent pace, provided no scares but at least it didn't try to go the 'boo scare' route. I'd rather no scares than countless ear shattering noises. I recommend not thinking too hard about the movie's logic, go in for a good time and come out at least mildly entertained.

This is the written review for the radio spot on the "Mad Movie Man" show.

On Walter Sparrow’s birthday (the 23rd of course), his wife Agatha buys for him a book called “The Number 23’, in which many of the events of that character eerily parallel moments within Walter’s life. Soon, Walter becomes obsessed with the book and its fictional characters and the number 23 itself, seeming to find the number in the most mundane and minute of circumstances. He eventually starts acquiring traits of the main character in the book the more he reads it. And of course the book eventually leads to – duh duh DUHHNN! – MURDER!
The trailer for The Number 23 totally rocked, but I had this nagging intuition telling me that the trailer would be better than the movie itself. I was looking forward to this one, but not without a bit of trepidation.
The Number 23 isn’t a complete disaster, but the ubiquitous number in this movie divides my overall attitude of the film. Street addresses, license plates, and so on, are all composed of numbers that add up to ‘23’. It might be a little amusing at first, but eventually becomes tedious and silly, providing the impression that there’s a higher force at work with the book he’s reading.
By the end credits, that supernatural vibe didn’t add up to anything, making me change my onscreen number-witnessing formula to something more simplex. Perhaps all those numbers are onscreen for two reasons that aren’t metaphysical: first, to keep the audience’s interest piqued in a Where’s Waldo kind of way, looking for all the 23s that are thrown at us in each scene to hold our attention. The second reason could be an attempt at making the audience feel some of the frustration and mystery that Jim Carrey’s character feels. We see it everywhere, providing a small fraction of the dread and confusion of Sparrow’s predicament.
If it was either – or both – of these reasons, it came across as a trivial annoyance, subtracting my involvement to the story, with the deduction that all those numbers add up to a story problem at a screenplay level.
Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen both performed competently. I wouldn’t say their roles called for particularly demanding or standout performances, but they didn’t detract or distract the movie as a whole. The biggest flaw of “The Number 23” is that it tries too hard to be something more than what it is.
At the movie’s finale, there are of course the obligatory red herrings to throw the less experienced moviegoers off the scented trail (or the Steps to Heaven), and the final reveal is somewhat satisfactory, but I couldn’t help but think that there should have been more to it.

The Number 23 isn’t a complete loss, and if you’re in the mood for a moderately paced unscary thriller in which the awesome premise overshadows any kind of intrigue you’d get from the movie itself, then you might not be too disappointed.

I give it two and a half out of four stars. Not great, but not bad, either.

GRADE: C+

Reviewed: 2/23/07