LOS ANGELES - A coalition of mental health advocacy groups sees nothing funny about Jim Carrey's new movie, ''Me, Myself & Irene,'' and wants some changes in its advertising.
Carrey plays a Rhode Island police officer who has two personalities, one of them violent.
That appears to be a negative portrayal of the mentally ill, says the head of the National Mental Health Association, which represents about 350 organizations nationwide.
The movie's distributor, Twentieth Century Fox, declined to comment.
Carrey's character is incorrectly identified as having schizophrenia instead of multiple personality disorder, said Michael Faenza, the coalition's president and CEO. Most sufferers are nonviolent and many can control their symptoms through medication, according to the association.
''Having a famous, gifted movie star make fun and portray schizophrenia in ways that are inaccurate, funny, and then spooky is a big step backward,'' Faenza said Friday.
The association wants Fox to remove the line ''From Gentle to Mental'' and the word ''schizo'' from advertising before the movie's June 23 release. It also wants public service announcements telling moviegoers where they can get help for mental illness.
''I hope they find creative ways to give back to the community that helps people with mental illness, instead of making fun of them,'' Faenza said.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment