Joel Schumacher’s 23rd film “The Number 23” is an effective but overwrought psychological thriller about a man whose obsession could potentially lead to danger.

“The Number 23” is a frightening tale of paranoia and those baring any resemblance to the characters should stop reading or watching it immediately. Walter Sparrow [Jim Carrey] gets this warning when he starts reading the book that his wife, Agatha [Virginia Madsen] gave him for his birthday.

Pretty soon, he starts making connections with himself and the main character in the book. Then he discovers the relevance of the number 23 and realizes it is everywhere in his life.

He was born on Feb. 3 [2/3], he met his wife on Sept. 14 [9 + 14 = 23] and the numbers keep adding up to 23. It’s not just him. The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima at 8:15 [8 + 15 = 23], the Waco, Texas and Oklahoma City tragedies both happened on April 19 [4 + 19 = 23], and when the numbers in 9/11/2001 [9 + 11 + 2 + 1 = 23] are added together, the answer is obvious.

Understandably, this makes Sparrow go a little crazy; he is convinced that the number has him, and it will make him do terrible things.

This film doesn’t have any reality in it. Indeed, if Sparrow were in touch with reality, he would throw the book away as soon as he sensed it getting to him. However, Sparrow kept reading and audiences not only accept it, but actually desire it, because if he stopped reading, we would have no movie to enjoy.

Where Schumacher goes wrong is in the ending. Of course there will be shocking revelations, but the movie explains far too much, as if it doesn’t trust our imagination to fill in the blanks with more sinister and memorable possibilities. Leaving questions unanswered in a movie like this can haunt people’s dreams. Unfortunately, there are no questions left in this film worth thinking about.

The actors seem to have fun with their roles. Carrey in particluar has some early scenes to remind us that he is still a funny guy, contrasted with darker scenes in which he plays surprisingly well.

The great film critic Pauline Kael once said, “There is so little art in the movies these days, if we can’t enjoy great trash, why go to the movies at all?”

Schumacher is known for making “trash” and that is not necessarily a criticism. I do not know if “The Number 23” can be considered great trash like other Schumacher films such as “Flatliners” and “Phone Booth,” but it’s good trash, worth your time and money.

And to top it all, when I walked out of the theater and got into my car and looked at the clock, which is set to military time, it read 17:06. Then I turned on the radio and the station was set to read 106.7. You do the math. Maybe the number has me and everyone else after all.

Reviewer: Andrew Prince - 03/01/07