49ers quarterback Steve Young breaks the single game record with 6 touchdowns in Super Bowl XXIX,Friends is the number one show on TV and Jim Carrey becomes the yearly box office king with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (estimated 72.2 million), The Mask (estimated 119.9 million) and then… the cult comedy classic that will stand the test of time.
Dumb and Dumber (estimated 127.2 million).
20 years later, our favorite pair of comedic stupidity is back at it again and I’m happy to say that I’m glad to see them again in Dumb and Dumber To. Yes, it’s still hilarious even if its story is disposable.
Carrey and Jeff Daniels fit back into their low IQ but likable alter egos Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne like a glove. When these two are on the screen, it makes you think of the classic slapstick team of Abbott and Costello. While it may sound like a stretch, hear me out. What made them so unique was their ability to play their characters straight when caught in comedy situations. Carrey and Daniels adopt the same idea. It’s always been my favorite kind of hilarity.
It’s also the writing by the Farrelly Brothers and Sean Anders (Horrible Bosses 2) that is chock full of creative one-liners, mispronounced words, and nostalgic slapstick that alone is the strength that made the original memorable and quoted by its fanbase daily. Of course, that script can only be said and perfectly done by the unique pairing of the ageless Harry and Lloyd.
Honestly, the story is never the reason to watch Dumb and Dumber To, but it is taken out of a badDynasty episode mixed in the Farrelly Brothers’ blender of crude humor. Just like in the original, it is only an excuse to move the film along and throw a one-liner or slapstick at the screen. It’s not a bad thing, but it has to be said.
The story is simple. Remember Fraida Felcher, the woman that Harry got the blues from and sent him a John Deere letter? It turns out that Harry may or may not be the father of Fraida’s daughter. Well, she’s finally revealed… as Kathleen Turner? Yeah, she’s game for age 54.
Excuse me, while I think of how sexy she was in the 1981 Lawrence Kasdan thriller Body Heat.
That’s more like it.
Also, there is another “been there, seen it before” golddigger that is plotting to kill her husband and collect a million dollars. See? Right out of a soap opera.
There’s more but it’s not important.
Don’t get me wrong, I love easter eggs in films. One of my favorites is Toy Story when Sid has a Binford toolbox, the company Tool Time was sponsored by on the TV series Home Improvement. Here it’s blatant manipulation that I bought into, but felt rushed.
We see Lloyd have another dream hero sequence, Lloyd missing the spray near his mouth, and a quick cameo by Mutt Cutts.
That’s just a smattering of how many others I found.
12, to be exact.
Grade: B
Dumb and Dumber To is another nostalgic road trip movie that delivers the laughs and, thanks to Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, dead-on comic timing and slapstick. It glides over its flaws enough to recommend all 90’s enthusiasts to spend some money and say goodbye to Harry and Lloyd rightfully. I hate goodbyes, heh-heh.