Movie Review: Dumb and Dumber To

1.5 stars out of 5

It’s weird to think how much has changed since I saw the original Dumb and Dumber for the first time, which was about two weeks ago on Comedy Central. You see, back in 1994, I avoided Jim Carrey movies. I’d enjoyed him in the short-lived 1985 TV series The Duck Factory, but on In Living Color I found his style of comedy to be a bit too broad, too easy, too “look at me!” So I skipped the big trifecta of Ace Ventura, and The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber, which all seemed like more of the same.

When D&D creators the Farrelly Brothers returned sans Carrey with Kingpin in 1996, I gave it a shot and enjoyed the hell out of it. Same with There’s Something About Mary in 1998. Then everything by them kind of sucked until The Three Stooges a couple of years ago, which I actually liked very much.

Then I saw that a Dumb and Dumber sequel was arriving, with the Farrellys on board, and I thought, hmm, maybe I should finally see that first one. And… it was funny. I laughed several times. Sure, Jim Carrey was being Jim Carrey, but it was tempered with a sweetness. At their best, the Farrelly boys do have a soft side.

Dumb and Dumber To is not the Farrelly Brothers at their best. Far from it. To be blunt, this movie pretty much blows.

Oh, details, you want? First and foremost, the writing is horrendous. There are six screenwriters credited: the two Farrellys, Bennett Yellin (who co-wrote the first film with them and hasn’t done much since), and three other idiots. That group-write is a bad sign; I’d guess they just kept asking people to come up with “bits.” But instead of being clever, the jokes too often rely on sexism, racism, ageism, and scatology. I certainly don’t mind crude humor, but it has to be—you know, funny—and this isn’t.

Jim Carrey doesn’t help things at all. Where in the original, Lloyd Christmas is dumb but also innocent and well-meaning, here he’s cruel and brash and stupid. (Maybe more like the real Jim Carrey?) And there are no remaining traces of his physical-comedy brilliance. Sure, he says “I like it a lot” and he sprays the breath spray the wrong way, but you feel like he’s just going through the motions.

Jeff Daniels does a far better job. He slides into his old character Harry Dunne with much greater ease. We still like sweet, dumber Harry.

Kathleen Turner shows up and they just make fun of her looks. Real classy, guys.

Rob Riggle wriggles out a few laughs but it’s not enough.

Kudos on getting little blind Billy and Boston Bruins great Cam Neely to reprise their roles. But I guess Lauren Holly isn’t returning Jim’s calls.

And where you’d think maybe the film would at least look much better than the original, with the Farrellys two decades of experience and also the zillions of dollars they’ve earned, it actually looks cheaper, done on crummy sound stages.

But, maybe I’m being too harsh. After all, I’m not the same bright-eyed kid I was two weeks ago.