This is one of those rare occasions where a sequel
outdoes its predecessor (which happened to be Ace Ventura: Pet Detective).
I saw the first movie once, with that whole dolphin thing and some chick actually being
a transexual, and it was funny, but not enough to make the collection.
The plot, such as it is, is that Ace has retired from detecting pets and entered a monastery,
where his *ahem* unusual ways drive even Buddhist monks to distraction. A veddy British fellow
with a limp talks him into abandoning his quest to become a "child of light" in order to
find an African tribe's sacred animal. The monks celebrate his departure with booze, dancing and
nudity in the background while Ace assures himself that they'll get over their sorrow in time.
I couldn't say that Ace as a character is exactly expanded upon from the first movie,
but the jokes are
flat-out funnier overall. To list them all would be ridiculous (just see it!), but his affinity with animals
is played up even more than in the first film in many wonderful scenes, my favorite of which was in
the "lovely room of death." Pitting Ace against the Big White Hunter mentality of
rich white men in Africa was a wonderful idea.
For those who don't already know, the sacred animal that Ace must find is a white bat - the only
animal on earth that truly terrifies him. This from a man who wrestles a crocodile into submission.
So I suppose if there's any character development, it's that Ace must overcome his fear of bats in
order to grab the beast and return it to the tribe. Well... he sort of overcomes it.
