Jim Carrey's new book is a lie.
Well, it's almost a lie. The satirical autobiography is aptly named "Memoirs and Misinformation", which is exactly what it is. The book is partly an accurate portrayal of Jim's experiences in Hollywood and his rise to fame, but it's also a complete work of fiction. Sure, it mentions how he came from absolute poverty and became rich and successful, but it also features a battle between Gwyneth Paltrow and a group of aliens.
Jim Carrey wrote it (with help from Dana Vachon) hoping that readers would find the deeper truth in his experiences rather than laying out the autobiographical facts.
Recently, Jim went on The Howard Stern Show, via Zoom, to promote the book and was greeted with endless compliments. This is big given that Howard isn't a big fiction reader. But the book had just enough fact to make it truly engaging.
After all, part of the fun is determining what's real and what's an over-the-top exaggeration.
Jim Carrey Co-Wrote A Book About Jim Carrey, The Character In Hollywood
Jim Carrey is hyper-aware of everything in Hollywood including all of the criticism that's leveled at him. This became the root of the idea for the book. It's ultimately about the need for relevance and how celebrities create a persona that can dwell in the minds of audiences for decades. It can cause fans to believe they know what goes on in their private lives. That persona can paint a celebrity into a corner that they may not always want to be in. This is something Howard Stern could relate to as he too has gone through a major metamorphosis over the last two decades.
The idea of a celebrity persona became the central thesis of the book. Jim Carrey just made it entertaining, weird, and sometimes nonsensical. Almost like a dream.
But within dreams are the deeper truth.
According to Howard, the book ended up being an excellent portal into Jim's mind... And thus a deeper way of understanding him, albeit a more complicated one.
Howard even claimed that despite all of the fantasy, he learned more about Jim Carrey from this book than any interview.
Jim seemed to understand what Howard was saying and said, "Well, Norman Mailer (the American Novelist) said that 'Exaggeration helps a writer explore things that are bigger than himself' ...And then he stabbed his wife..."
Jim Created Fake Versions Of Other Celebrities In The Book
Jim didn't only detail fictitious elements of himself for his book, he also did the same with some of his celebrity colleagues. Once again, Howard Stern wasn't entirely sure how honest or dishonest Jim's portrayal of these people was.
Nic Cage's character was the most striking to Howard. As he came across as seriously demented. But given how close Jim and Nic are in real life, chances are Jim felt comfortable taking liberties with Nic's Hollywood persona.
In the book, Jim paints Sir Anthony Hopkins as "bats*** crazy". Although Jim claimed that he loves the Silence of the Lambs actor. And that he was just playing around with the character in unexpected ways, even if it wasn't exactly flattering. He did the same with Sean Penn, Kelsey Grammer, Katie Holmes, and Tom Cruise (who he never mentions by name as his character is "too litigious"). Then there's Kanye West, who he calls a "superhuman artist" but "an alien adversary to the human race".
The great comedian Rodney Dangerfield takes up the most room in Jim's book, in terms of celebrity appearances. But his representation feels the most authentic. This is because Rodney was like another father to Jim. Every time Jim fell down as a comedian, Rodney was there to pick him up. Rodney saw something funny in Jim when nobody else did. Howard pointed out that Rodney represented Jim's real-life father if he had become a successful comedian.
Writing Rodney into the book in some exaggerated ways also allowed Jim the chance to continue to get to know him long after he passed IRL.
Love-Life Revelations
The book also dives into Jim's love-life. Mostly, it focuses on a mysterious character named "Georgie". The character is a compilation of all of the women who used Jim for his celebrity status. She encapsulates all of the toxicity that dwells within the pursuit of a Hollywood career. A toxicity that warps any meaningful connection with others and the self. In the book, Georgie feels the brutal sting of this when she gets too much botox to cover up a tiny wrinkle before a casting opportunity with Quentin Tarantino.
The book's biggest love-life revelation had to do with Renee Zellweger, who Jim claimed was the love of his life. The two only dated for a year about twenty years ago, but Jim still holds her deep in his heart. This, of course, made huge news.
Beauty, Truth, And Evolution Through Cynical Self-Reflection
While the book is an exploration of self and the hopes and dreams we all have, it has a cynical vibe. As Howard stated, Jim clearly loves Hollywood and being an actor, but may also look at the world with a lot of disdain. And this disdain isn't just for society, it's also for himself.
There are moments in the book where he paints his Jim Carrey character in a horrible light. Some of the things, Jim actually did. Others are purely there to shed light on people's perception of Hollywood and how it's not entirely accurate. Through each of these thoughtless or narcissistic moments, Jim finds a way of threading in a sort of "hope" that the character may change. This is the type of honest self-reflection that may only have been achieved through a complete work of fiction.
