Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

Plot

In the Himalayas, after a failed rescue mission results in a raccoon falling to its death (a parody of Cliffhanger), Ace Ventura undergoes an emotional breakdown and joins a Tibetan monastery. Once he has recovered, he is approached by Fulton Greenwall, a British correspondent working for a provincial consulate in the fictional African country of Nibia. Because Ace's presence is troublesome to the monastery, the Grand Abbot gives Ace excuses to justify his departure, and sends him off with Greenwall.

Thereafter, Greenwall takes Ventura to Africa, and warns him about the hostility of gorillas as it is mating season. Greenwald then asks Ventura to find the white bat 'Shikaka', a sacred animal of the Wachati tribe, which disappeared shortly after being offered as dowry of the Wachati Princess, who is set to wed the Wachootoo Prince to form armistice and peace between the two people. After arriving in Nibia and meeting with consul Vincent Cadby, Ace begins investigating his case, but must overcome his intense fear of bats in order to succeed.

Accompanied by his capuchin monkey, Spike, Ace travels to Africa to search for the missing bat. He eventually befriends the tribe's princess, who tries to seduce Ace. However, Ace admits his oath to celibacy, but quietly masturbates in a hut afterwards. Ace then befriends the tribal prince, Ouda, who assists Ace throughout the film. Thereafter much of Ace's activity involves eliminating obvious suspects—animal traders, poachers, and a Safari park owner among others—and enduring the growing escalations of threat between the Wachati and the Wachootoo. After being attacked with drugged arrows, Ace suspects the medicine-man of the Wachootoo of taking the bat, as he strongly disapproves of the wedding. He travels to the Wachootoo tribal village, with Ouda translating the chief's words, rather poorly. The Wachootoo mistake Ace as the "White Devil", and have him go through many dangerous and humiliating challenges to gain their trust. He eventually does when his pain makes the chief, entire tribe, and even Ouda laugh for the first time in years. Despite this, if the bat is not returned in time, the Wachootoo will declare war on the Wachati tribe.

Confused by the case, Ace consults the Grand Abbot via astral projection. Advised by the Abbot, Ace deduces that Vincent Cadby has taken the bat and hired Ace to divert suspicion from himself, having planned to let the tribes destroy each other so that he can then take possession of the numerous bat caves containing guano to sell as fertilizer worth billions. When Ace confronts Cadby with this knowledge, Ace learns he was hired as Cadby's alibi, and he is arrested by tribal security chief, Hitu. Shortly after, Ace calls an elephant to escape, and summons herds of jungle animals to destroy Cadby's house. Cadby then tries to shoot Ace, but is defeated by Greenwall who punches him in the face. Cadby escapes with the bat in a car, but Ace follows him in a monster truck. In pursuit, Ace destroys Cadby's car, leaving the bat cage lodged in a tree.

Ace, despite his chronic fear of bats, bravely yet dramatically returns the bat just as the tribes are about to meet on the battlefield, until they notice the bat and kneel before it. Cadby is watching nearby, but is discovered by Ouda. Ouda then calls him the "White Devil" to give Ace more time, and Cadby pursued by both tribes. After escaping both tribes, he encounters a female gorilla that mistakes him for a mate and is subsequently raped. The Princess is married to the Prince, who is revealed to be the man who humilited Ace during one of the Wachootoo tribal challenges earlier. Moments later, it is discovered that the young bride is no longer a virgin, apparently on Ace's account. Despite this, peace between the once-separate tribes is achieved, by having everyone joining together and furiously chasing after Ace. Rightfully upset as well, Ouda leads the chase, & Greenwall is nowhere to be seen. Ace runs through the jungle fearfully, concluding the movie.

Cast

Production

Filming began under Tom DeCerchio, who later directed Celtic Pride (1996). Because of the success of the first film, Morgan Creek Productions gave lead-actor Jim Carrey the power to decide the director. In April 1995, Carrey had DeCerchio replaced with Steve Oedekerk, who had worked on the film's predecessor as a script consultant and wrote the screenplay for this film, but had no previous experience with directing feature films. Spike Jonze wanted to direct the film, but Carrey turned him down as he also had no experience and wasn't familiar enough. Carrey claims this to be one of his biggest regrets.. However, Carrey doesn't regret enlisting Oedekerk to direct as they were friends with creative similarities, which included improvising, changing scenes during filming, and had a vast understanding of the main character. In June 1995, scenes were shot in South Carolina. The following month, filming took place near San Antonio, Texas.

Part of the film was also shot in British Columbia, Canada. The film was shot in Super 35. Carrey was paid $10 million for his role.

Box office

The film grossed $37,804,076 during its opening weekend, taking the #1 spot. In the U.S. and Canada, the film grossed $108.3 million, and in other territories, it grossed $104 million. The worldwide gross was $212.3 million. Against its $30 million budget, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls was a major financial success.

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film gained a 33% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 4/10, and the consensus reading: "Nature Calls in this Ace Ventura sequel, and it's answered by the law of diminishing returns." On Metacritic, the film received a 45 out of 100 based on 17 reviews.

1996 ASCAP Award

1996 American Comedy Award

1996 Kid's Choice Awards

1996 MTV Movie Awards

1996 Razzie Awards

1996 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards