The LA Times reports that the forthcoming suburban caper remake, "Fun with Dick and Jane," has somehow rung up a $100 million production tab despite a lack of enormous special effects or complicated filmmaking usually involved in big-budget films.
"Dick and Jane" is a remake of the 1977 laffer of the same name that starred George Segal and Jane Fonda as a suddenly indebted upper-class couple who turn to armed robbery to maintain their lifestyle. This time around, Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni play the thieving duo, forced into a life of crime when an Enron-esque scandal lands them in the red. Among the reported "special effects" are voice-distortion devices the robbers use in their heists.
That being said, it’s rather perplexing that such a low-concept movie could spend quite so much money. Some speculate that last-minute scenes, improvised gags and reshoots explain the insane budget boom. That, or the 40-odd takes perfectionist producer-star Carrey demanded during his own scenes.
"Fun with Dick and Jane" opens in wide release December 21, and is directed by TV/film vet Dean Parisot ("Northern Exposure," "Galaxy Quest"), written by Peter Tolan ("Analyze This," "Just Like Heaven") with a screenplay by Nick Stoller and Judd Apatow ("Freaks and Geeks," "The 40-Year Old Virgin").
