Movie Review with Jeff McCullough: "Dumb and Dumber To"
By Jeff McCullough on November 20, 2014 from Movie Review
“We got no food, we got no jobs, our pet’s heads are falling off!” — Lloyd Christmas
Dumb and Dumber is one of comedy’s iconic films, a magnum opus for stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, duel comedic master minds the Farrelly brothers, and a treat for anyone who’s a fan of the crude, rude, and sometimes vulgar side of humor. Starring dimwitted pals Harry and Lloyd, it’s an epic tale of two best friends who’d never be considered the sharpest knives in the drawer. Or even anywhere near the drawer really. Traveling across the country to deliver a cash filled suitcase, the jokes hit hard and often, delivering two of the stupidest, crudest, and most hilarious characters in cinematic history.
Twenty years later Carrey and Daniels reprise their roles as the older, if none the wiser, dimwitted duo ready to go across the country again to find Harry’s long lost daughter and her potentially lifesaving kidney. And while at times overly safe and with a tendency to stick a little too close to the original, Dumb and Dumber To provides a great throwback for longtime fans and enough laughs to draw in newcomers. It’s not a perfect film and at times it can be pretty dumb (har har), but like the original, there’s enough perverse charm to warrant a watch.
The plot to both Dumb and Dumber movies are, for all intents and purposes, exactly the same. Both are largely a means to an end to provide the audience as many jokes, puns, slapstick, and sight gags as can fit in a two-hour time slot. And while that’s all fine and dandy there’s still too many similarities to ignore, and without spoiling the details, déjà vu is a constant companion as the film goes on. Intentional or not, it feels a little lazy and more than a little half-baked. Plot isn’t key in a film like this, but there certainly could’ve been a stronger effort to tell a less derivative story.
Likewise, many of the jokes could’ve used another round of polish. Carrey and Daniels delivery is spot on as ever, but for every gag that hits there are one or two more that miss the bulls-eye and a couple that miss the dartboard entirely. The scenes without Lloyd and Harry hurt the hardest, lacking the charm the lovable morons bring with them. Thankfully the script never strays for too long, leaving plenty of sidesplitting moments.
Whether or not you laugh at Dumb and Dumber To depends on how much you laughed at the original. The jokes are tasteless, childish, borderline ridiculous, and filled with enough potty humor to make even the most sullen of five year olds let out a grin. Like so many great things in life, comedy is subjective, but for me it was pure gold.
Carrey and Daniels are close to qualifying for pension by now, but with the energy of their performances you’d never know. Jim’s been playing the same shtick to perfection for two decades by now, but seeing the more often times serious (and now Emmy winning) Daniels in a performance this surreal is hilarious. It’s nice to see that he never forgot where he came from, and the roles slips on like a well-worn glove.
Dumb and Dumber To isn’t the most original movie of the year, nor is it the funniest, and I doubt it will win any awards. Still, it’s a fun second look at two of films funniest (and dumbest) characters, and a worthy follow up to the classic original. Whether you want a film that will occasionally make you laugh at a dumb pun, another look at these iconic characters, or just to see Jim Carrey in a Santa hat and a diaper, Dumb and Dumber To largely delivers.
3 stars out of 5
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