Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are back in their roles as Lloyd and Harry – two of the dumbest guys you will ever have the chance of watching on the big screen. Dumb and Dumber, originally released in 1994 was an ode to physical comedy and slapstick humour. Despite the fact that it was not especially well written or original in any shape or form wore the viewer down with its stupid antic after even stupider antic. In other words it was moderately successful in that it eventually made us laugh. Twenty years later and it seems like someone thought it was a good idea to put out a sequel. It seems like a desperate attempt by the people involved to put themselves back in the spotlight. The Brothers Farrelly, who have not met a fart or kick in the gonads joke they don’t love, have not had a hit since There’s Something About Mary so are in desperate need of making themselves relevant once again the comedy arena. Even Jim Carrey has not had a hit or critical acclaim since 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And Jeff Daniels…well….he seems to be willing to do just about anything for a paycheck.
This time we are twenty years in the future and Harry Dunne has found out some life changing news – he has a daughter. His best friend and equally not the sharpest knife in the drawer takes one look at a photo of Harry’s daughter and falls head over heels in love. Needless to say, he convinces Harry to seek out the young woman using the you need a kidney transplant angle. A road trip filled with odd encounters, a couple of assassins, a young wife with a devious plot, an invention worth a lot of money and not the smartest moves ensues. Simply the film is about two morons acting moronically. Point finale.
Watching the film, which was waaaayyyy too long at nearly two hours, and becoming rather bored by the infantile and not funny humour my mind began to wander and I started thinking of things like who out there is the target audience for a film like this? Whose mind can tolerate or even further, enjoy humour of this variety. I have been known to like a good fart joke myself but this even denigrates that hallowed comedy vehicle. Apparently there is a section of the population out there that finds chipped teeth, sex with octogenarians, farting and castration funny. I need to have talk with these people and ask them “Really?”.
Carrey and Daniels are all in. You have to give it to them as they are not just going through the motions to pick up their paychecks. They are all in. No matter that the humour and jokes falls flat. It doesn’t matter what nonsensical dialogue the six screenwriters (having that many on one film is usually the first sign of trouble) make them say the two actors never let it show in their performances that they are embarrassed to be there.
There are a few moments, few and very far between, in which they just stick to simple physical comedy and they do get a giggle but it doesn’t happen enough to make the film bearable. Dumb and Dumber To is a one trick pony that is stretched out painfully to 110 minutes. It is almost like Chinese water torture sitting through it.
