From the mirror neurons that fire at both the performing of an action and the observing of a similar act, to the joyous feeling of elevation, that comes when we witness inspiring, virtuous acts in others, Shadyac weaves together research findings and his interviewees' interpretations to suggest that we are wired for empathy and connection and that mutuality and kindness is as least as much the natural order of things as competition and strife. It sounds like a "spiritual" message, but Tutu aside, it's primarily delivered through the language of science. It's a version of what the Dalai Lama calls "selfish altruism" – if you want to be happy yourself, help others to be happy. Therefore, happiness can best be cultivated through generosity, motivated by awareness. The answer he discovers is as old as the hills – we act like separate entities who must compete with and dominate others to thrive, when actually we're interconnected beings whose wellbeing is inextricably bound up with the whole. It's a question that was eating away at Shadyac even as success and riches poured his way – he describes noticing with interest how, contrary to the cultural expectations he'd swallowed, moving into a 17,000 square foot mansion made him no happier – and its urgency intensified when a bike accident left him with post-concussion syndrome, incapacitated and contemplating death. The intention behind I AM is no less than to identify the sources of and solutions to human suffering, asking a range of thinkers if there's an underlying root to our problems that goes beyond external manifestations of poverty, environmental destruction, war and materialism. So, while I Give It A Year was premiering with the usual glitz at the Vue West End in Leicester Square last Thursday, Shadyac was in a small theatre at the Empire next door, explaining without fanfare why he sold his Beverly Hills home, gave away most of his money and made Desmond Tutu, Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn the stars of his latest documentary film, I AM. But since bringing Jim Carrey to the big screen, and grossing nearly $2bn with a subsequent string of blockbusters including The Nutty Professor, Liar Liar and Patch Adams, Hollywood filmmaker Tom Shadyac has had quite a change of heart. For an evaluation of the world's woes and what to do about them, most people probably wouldn't turn to the director of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
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