Jim Carrey on the Origin of “Alrighty Then”

(upbeat drum music)

I have to tell you about my father

because he is one of the greatest humans ever.

He was a musician and also just the funniest guy on earth.

Rodney Dangerfield would be like

how's your dad man, that fucking guy is hilarious.

(laughing)

First time he ever met him after like a minute

he said who the fuck is this guy?

(laughing)

He was my champion, absolutely my champion.

I was working at a factory at the time.

(coughing)

He said there's these things called comedy clubs

where you could get up and do the thing you do all the time.

So we wrote a really horrible 15 minute routine

that was just me imitating people on the Carol Burnett Show.

(laughing)

And uh, I showed up to the hippest club in Toronto,

which was Yuk Yuks, it was downtown in Yorkville

and it was just tragically hip down there.

The stench of Bob Dylan still fresh in the air

(sniffing)

(laughing) in the sixties.

It was a disaster, it was a disaster.

My mother dressed me in a polyester suit

and I said are you sure about this

and she said I saw it on Donahue.

(laughing)

Soon after you moved um to Hollywood

in 1983?

If we could have a look at

a clip of you on Johnny Carson when you were 21.

Oh my god.

On Thanksgiving day.

God help me.

Clint Eastwood.

(laughing)

(applauding)

James Dean.

(laughing)

(laughing and applauding)

(applauding)

It makes me wonder actually so do you still,

like work on new ones?

Do you add to your repertoire or is that basically

like done at this point?

Yeah, I don't have a great desire,

but if I'm on Saturday Night Live or something like that,

that's the wondrous part about that kind of stuff

is that I can employ that talent

which I don't generally get to do.

It's been a growth situation where

I get to a certain point where people go

oh my god you're really great, that's what you are!

And I go nope.

I'm something different and because I

want to constantly be you know

fashioning new limbs to this avatar.

I get a lull in popularity

and a little bit I kind of go away

and I learn a new swing and this time

I learned how to paint and I learned how to sculpt

and I became a political cartoonist for some reason.

You said that the Ace Ventura character

was based off of a bird.

And so I guess--

Do the walk for you

and you'll see the whole thing.

[Colin] Please.

Basically it's just smart bird at the edge of the pond.

(laughing)

(applauding)

All righty then.

(applauding)

The story of the ten million dollar check,

which I know but I was wondering

if you might be able to share with everybody.

Yeah, I'm doing the comedy clubs and

you know why not try to implore a little,

explore a little magic in you know in this.

And my thinking was when I remembered again

oh my gosh you know I've been manifesting my whole life

why don't I just do it now?

I'm in Hollywood, I'm starving to death

and I live in a single apartment

with a brand new baby in a basket on the ground.

And so I used to go up

after doing three comedy clubs a night

I'd go up to the top of Mulholland Drive

and sit on the side of the road

and look out at all the lights

and dream up my life

and dream myself a millionaire

and uh, a great artist

and someone who's work would last

and keep introducing itself to people again

and look what happened, it was amazing.

I went up there recently and I tried to do it again

and I got a ticket.

(laughing)

I got a ticket

and I just started laughing when the cop gave me

the sixty dollar ticket.

You have no idea what a great investment this place is.

(laughing)

But uh, anyway, I made myself a check

for ten million dollars for acting services rendered

payable to the date of Thanksgiving 1995

and I put it in my wallet

and it slowly deteriorated over the next four years

and six months before the date was due

I made ten million dollars on a film and uh,

yeah that was incredible, yeah.

(applauding)

You gotta work though.

(laughing)

You actually got to walk through doors

when they open and show up for meetings

and do all that stuff but.

So perhaps um,

we could take a look at some of Jim's cartoons.

I've got a slideshow.

(applauding)

I've got a clicker.

You got the clicker man.

Yeah.

So this is the first one we're gonna have a look at.

Wow, there you go.

The Great Spewdini, The Great Spewdini,

the escape artist that is Donald Trump

being mocked by the Twitter bird and uh

using the American flag as a prop

and uh losing what little hair he has left.

Um, so here's another one.

This one I believe is from today.

Yeah!

(laughing)

Oh that will be a breakfast to remember.

(sniffing)

[Colin] Seems, yeah, I feel like the flavor

would be appalling.

Yeah.

[Colin] Yeah.

Yeah, oh, yes.

You know you can hope, you can dream.

You can dream.

[Colin] The tile of this one, Trump is Toast.

Trump is Toast.

(laughing)

That's right.

Now, I think.

Yes?

Is the time for some questions from the audience.

Cool.

[Audience Member] Hi Jim, I'm a comedian from Boston.

Good to see you man.

[Audience Member] And you mean everything to me.

Aw, thank you.

[Audience Member] And I made the trip

just to Boston to see you tonight.

Oh wow, thank you so much man.

[Audience Member] And I'm in the same boat,

working the clubs every night.

Right.

[Audience Member] And it would mean so much to me.

I mean I don't really have a question, but

(sniffling)

(laughing)

Awww, dude.

[Audience Member] I just want to see

if I could get a picture with you and then that's it,

but if you don't have time that's--

Aw, sure man.

(applauding)

Boston, right?

Yeah.

(laughing and applauding)

(indistinct talking)