Hollywood screenwriter Peter Appleton (Carrey), a staff writer at HHS Studios in 1951, is an ambitious up-and-comer. His first produced screenplay, a 'B' movie swashbuckler entitled "Sand Pirates of the Sahara," has just opened on a double bill with
John Huston's adventure, "The African Queen," at Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.
Not only is Appleton enjoying professional success, he has a hot starlet girlfriend, Sandra Sinclair (Detmer), the female lead in his big screen debut.
However, life is full of 'what if's...'
What if Appleton were suddenly targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee for suspected Communist leanings uncovered during his college years?
What if Appleton lost not only his job and his girl, but his identity as well in a serious car crash in which the young writer developed amnesia?
What if Appleton, unsure as to who he really is, stumbles into a charming little town on Northern California's coast and is mistaken for one of the town's long lost World War II heroes?
i`ve just read 3 negative reviews of this movie after watching it for the third time and agree with my wife .this is one of the most underrated movies ever. reviewers mentioned things about it didn`t achieve this and that failing to realize the only thing fictional movie makers hope to achieve is to entertain you and make a buck doing it, not to change your life with some deep hidden meaning. i give it a 4 out of 5 and highly recomend it to anyone not looking for car chase, bus jumping, gas stations blowing up action
Great movie! I`m not a fan of dramatic pieces, but I am a fan of Jim Carrey, even if he wasn`t Mr. Rubberface this time! I really liked the story. It seemed almost fairy tale-like to me. The most difficult part was getting used to Jim Carrey NOT being funny or at least, weird.
The movie was originally to be titled The Bijou but was changed to The Majestic when it was found that the calls coming in to inquire about production repeatedly mistook the title as "The Bayou."