Let’s get one thing straight: “Fun With Dick and Jane” is not fun. In fact, it’s slow and torturous, like a never-ending dental appointment. In the midst of the cinematic torment, there are a few laughs, but they’re awkward and strained, due largely to the fact that “Dick and Jane” is unsure of its own identity. Is it a slapstick comedy filled with pratfalls and the standard Jim Carrey antics? Or is it a sweeping social satire, deftly commenting on the corporate scandals and middle-class excess of the late 1990s and early 2000s?

Both premises seems ripe with possibilities, comedic and satirical. Dick (Carrey) is an upwardly mobile corporate-type working for Globodyne. His promotion to the company’s head spin-doctor is a dream come true, until he’s thrust onto live television to explain how the company pulled an Enron and went bankrupt overnight. That’s bad news for Dick and his wife Jane (Tea Leoni), who, facing destitution, must sell all their possessions in order to get by. Dick first hooks up with some immigrant laborers and Jane tries medical experiments in a bid for cash. Eventually, they turn to robbery—first convenience stores and head shops, and later, private homes and banks—and while that pays the bills, Dick has bigger plans. Namely, revenge on his old boss Jack McAllister (Alec Baldwin), the corporate shark who tanked Globodyne.

Along the way, there’s slapstick a-plenty and nods to “Fight Club” and “Ocean’s 11.” There are also plenty of jabs at CEOs and a sly George W. Bush joke. Ralph Nader even makes a tiny cameo appearance. But these disparate elements just don’t seem to mesh. Any time there’s a hint of cleverness in “Dick and Jane,” Carrey starts mugging and falling down and the film careens into worthlessness. There are a few last-ditch efforts to save the picture, including a groan-worthy Enron joke and a section of the end credits dedicated to “thanking” Ken Lay, Dennis Kozlowski and other corporate bandits for inspiring the film. But after the lame ending, those efforts fall flat, too.

The usually brilliant Judd Apatow and co-writer Nicholas Stoeller are credited with the screenplay. Apatow, whose previous credits include “Freaks and Geeks” and “The 40-year-old Virgin,” is typically successful in blending absurd comedy with fleshed-out characters. The problem is that “Dick and Jane” lacks those characters and the over-the-top comedy distracts from the very real absurdity of all those corporate scandals. Do yourself a favor and rent Alex Gibney’s “Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room” instead. You won’t get to hear Jim Carrey belt out “I Believe I Can Fly,” but you will get a better film that manages to be both smart and funny.

starring: Jim Carrey, Tea Leoni, Richard Jenkins and Alec Baldwin
directed by: Dean Parisot
rated PG-13 for some naughty language, occasional drug references and a few sexual innuendoes.