It's Just A Number!

Ever see a movie that was utterly confusing yet simultaneously made perfect sense? I've seen such a movie. My dad and I caught the 7:30 showing of The Number 23 in Bardstown tonight, and I thought it was great. But it's so loaded with numerology, both obvious and subtle, that I almost got lost trying to catch it all. Though perhaps that's my fault for paying 100% attention to the plot.

The movie is greatly influenced by the 23 Enigma, which, if I understand it correctly, is the Discordian belief that just about everything can be connected in some shape, form, or fashion to the number 23. I was pretty much a stranger to the 23 Enigma prior to seeing the movie, so I got a real crash course in it. As I said, the movie is absolutely teeming with references to the number. Whether it be the numbers two and three appearing close to one another, a clock showing that it's 11:12 p.m. (11+12=23; 11:00 p.m. is 2300 hours in military time), street signs, bus numbers, or any other way-too-coincidental appearance, the number is everywhere. Everywhere! Joel Schumacher must have been working double-time to get what he did in there.

And like I said, I got so wrapped up in seeing where I could catch all of the number's appearances, I almost totally lost track of where the movie was going. See, I think that's where the home video format really comes in handy. People will watch it once for the movie itself, then watch it again to catch all the little references to 23. And a great special feature for the DVD: the movie edited down to where it's just every 23rd minute of the movie. Granted, that might only be three or four minutes long, but it'd be neat. I also think releasing a version of the book from the movie would have made for a great marketing gimmick. I'd totally buy that book.

You know, Jim Carrey isn't exactly the first name that pops into my mind when I think of people to star in a movie like this. I mean, the sheer number of goofy comedies on his résumé far outweigh the number of serious movies he's done. But you know what? He's actually pretty good here. And if you ask me, he completely blows away the rest of the cast. If he does any more movies like this, people are gonna thing he's more crazy than goofy. I thought he was great, and I hope he does do more movies like this. Maybe a sequel titled The Number 46?

The Number 23 wasn't the best movie ever, but I did like it a lot. I'll give it three and a half stars, with the possibility that I'll bump it up to four once I get the opportunity to see it again. And I have to tell this story before I wrap up this post. After seeing the movie, I started thinking about the number 23, and I noticed a few odd things. We have to take the Bluegrass Parkway to get to Bardstown, and to get to and from the Parkway, we have to take Highway 1796. 1+7+9+6=23. And if I'm not mistaken, Bardstown is 23 miles from my house. I live in the friggin' Twilight Zone.