It's been kind of a mixed bag recently for Jim Carrey. On the one hand, his latest comedy, "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," did an amazing disappearing act at the box office last month. On the other hand, he's been building up a lot of buzz for his scene-stealing role in the upcoming superhero satire "Kick-Ass 2." And on the third hand, he got himself embroiled in controversy yet again thanks to an unabashedly anti-NRA skit over on Funny Or Die.

But while Carrey has been up and down recently, he's about to get some big ups, as according to The Hollywood Reporter Carrey has just signed on to headline the new comedy "Ricky Stanicky."

Of course, we use the word "new" here loosely, as "Ricky Stanicky" has been stuck in development hell for years over at Summit. In fact, as far back as 2010, James Franco was attached to headline this farce about a group of guys who create a imaginary friend named Ricky Stanicky to blame all their problems on and then have to hire an actor to portray Ricky when they finally get called out on their bullhockey.

It's safe to say that "Ricky Stanicky" could use the kind of help a big-name comedian like Carrey can bring. And while production has been troubled on the project so far, things seem to be looking up all around, as Carrey's long-time collaborator Steve Oedekerk ("Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls," "Brice Almighty") has recently signed on as director.

That no doubt was a major reason Carrey signed on. But will "Ricky Stanicky" be another up or another down in Carrey's current career roller coaster ride? Either way, we're looking forward to finding out.