[Jim Carrey] Related to Dick and Jane's poverty plot

from Contact Music

JIM CARREY was drawn to new movie FUN WITH DICK + JANE, because its plot about a desperate bankrupt couple reminded him of the financial fallout when his father lost his job.

As a teenager, comedian Carrey experienced first-hand how having little money can affect people's confidence and behaviour.

In Fun With Dick + Jane, Carrey and TEA LEONI play a couple who turn to robbery to pay the bills.

Carrey, 43, says, "My father lost his job when he was 51 and I saw how that affected my family. We hit the poverty line and everything changed.

"I was angry and later on I had to work in a factory after school. It became clear to me that the troubled kids in the back of the classroom, who aren't concentrating, were generally being affected by their home life.

"I went from being an A-grade student to being someone who couldn't even understand what my teacher said any more."