Narrated in voice-over by the hero, the movie is an object lesson in the dangers of having a storyteller who manufactures his own logic.
The Number 23 (2007)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:184
Fresh:15
Rotten:169
Average Rating:3.5/10
Consensus: Jim Carrey has been sharp in a number of non-comedic roles, but this lurid, overheated, and self-serious potboiler is not one of them. The Number 23 is clumsy, unengaging, and mostly confusing.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for violence, disturbing images, sexuality and language
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Genre: Mystery, Occult, Thriller, Murder, Theatrical Release, Fantasy Worlds
Theatrical Release:23-02-2007
Synopsis: In Joel Schumacher's psychological thriller THE NUMBER 23, Jim Carrey takes on another dramatic role. Carrey's character is similar to his roles in THE TRUMAN SHOW and ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE... In Joel Schumacher's psychological thriller THE NUMBER 23, Jim Carrey takes on another dramatic role. Carrey's character is similar to his roles in THE TRUMAN SHOW and ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND: he portrays an average man thrust into quite extraordinary situations after a series of strange events cause him to question everything he's ever taken for granted. On his birthday, Walter Sparrow is given a mysterious and tattered book called THE NUMBER 23 by his loving wife, Agatha (Virginia Madsen). As Walter reads the book, he quickly notices its alarming similarities to his own life. Rather than stop reading, he continues, unknowingly inviting the book to take over his life. The deeper Walter gets into the plot, the more he sees himself in its protagonist, Fingerling, whom we see through highly stylized sequences in which Carrey appears as the seedy detective character. Madsen is also present in these scenes, cast as Fingerling's pain-loving girlfriend Fabrizia. As Fingerling and Fabrizia's love affair inches towards its fiery conclusion, we learn the role the number 23 has played in their story and will play in Walter's future if he cannot keep his growing obsession with it at bay. While Carrey and Madsen are adept at playing a man gone mad and a headstrong wife in crisis, they are most fascinating as their dark counterparts, and Schumacher succeeds in creating a truly intoxicating noirish underworld of sex and death through those sequences. [More]
Starring: Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen, Logan Lerman, Danny Huston
Starring: Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen, Logan Lerman, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins, Rhona Mitra
Director: Joel Schumacher
Director: Joel Schumacher
Screenwriter: Fernley Phillips
Producer: Tripp Vinson, Beau Flynn
Studio: New Line Cinema
Reviews for The Number 23
No one wants to watch a by-the-numbers hack job -- even if the movie is called The Number 23.
Having seen the movie, allow me to throw one additional calculation into the equation: The Number 23 is a zero.
It cannot abide ambiguity or abstraction, feels a desperate need to square all corners and turn over all stones -- it refuses to embrace the very supranormal scariness it wants us to consider...
Don't freak out, but as I write this review there are exactly 23 paper clips in the drawer of my desk.
Twenty-three reasons to avoid wasting your time with "The Number 23."
They could have saved time and money and simply given paying customers cards reading, 'You have a small penis,' or 'Those pants make you look fat.' Surely that's an easier and more cost effective way to insult the audience.
Glaring flaws in the story makes it silly and too contrived to be a good thriller.
By the end, you'll want to stick around, if only to crack the Jim Carrey code: Is he a real actor after all, or is the rabid urgency with which he keeps trying to be the most real thing about him?
There are at least 23 reasons to avoid this snoozer of a stinker. ... Our audience started laughing in derision and yelling at the screen.
The movie isn't sufficiently lurid or campy to be enjoyable on an exploitative level and it's not well enough crafted to work as a more serious form of entertainment.
One of the many mysteries about the number 23 is why Jim Carrey and director Joel Schumacher thought audiences would share their fascination over the mysteries about the number 23.
Contrived, incomprehensible gibberish that exists for the sole purpose of exposing a miscast star in a career stretch for which he is pathetically unprepared. It’s the worst kind of flop, a flop for its own sake.
Gimmicky numerology plus Jim Carrey minus narrative coherence equals The Number 23.
I can say I was never bored with The Number 23...so I guess that's a good sign that it works as a piece of entertainment if nothing else.
It's kind of amusing to watch Joel Schumacher trying to be David Fincher or David Lynch and failing miserably due to the weak material.
There are probably at least 23 reasons why this thriller doesn't work.
There's a mess of things wrong with this suspense thriller. Start with the fact that it's neither suspenseful nor thrilling.
Shot by computer-enhanced shot, The Number 23 is impressive, but those shots don’t come from anywhere or build on one another.
Latest News for The Number 23
February 28, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Semi-Pro Set To Slam Dunk The Competition
A triumvirate of films opens this weekend, but all will bow to the power of the mighty Will Ferrell and his latest outrageous comedy, Semi-Pro. More...
February 21, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Vantage Point Aims For #1 Debut
A terrorist attack is played out through multiple perspectives in the high-octane political thriller Vantage Point which leads the four-pack of new openers which also includes... More...
February 19, 2008:
Wolverine Cast Gets Bigger
Now that filming has finally begun on the first X-Men prequel, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, details of who will be joining Hugh Jackman on his latest trip down Adamantium Way are... More...
January 22, 2008:
I Know Who Killed Me, Norbit, Daddy Day Camp Lead Razzie Noms
No awards season -- even a strike-tainted one -- would be complete without the Razzies, right? Of course not. And that's why we've thoughtfully assembled all of this year's... More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 67% 67% | Public Enemies |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 95% 95% | The Cove |
| 85% 85% | World's Greatest Dad |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- The Number 23 at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Number 23 at IGN
- The Number 23 at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

