Dumb and Dumber To review

After years of speculation, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels have finally reunited for Dumb and Dumber To, a sequel to the popular 1994 comedy about two lovable dimwits…

Harry Dunne (Daniels) needs a new kidney and, conveniently enough, has just discovered he has an adult-age daughter (Rachel Melvin) who was given up for adoption. He hits the road with his best friend, Lloyd Christmas (Carrey), to find her. Lloyd has ulterior motives as he has the hots for Harry’s daughter.

Instead of simply allowing us to spend time with the characters, directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly and a team of four writers spend too much trying to recreate the plot and jokes of the first film. Once again, Lloyd and Harry inadvertently, and obliviously, find themselves involved in a crime plot and are on the road with someone who wants to kill them (Rob Riggle).

Dumb and Dumber To has a lot of callback lines and moments that are only there to make you go “I remember that from the first one” but aren’t particularly funny in their new context. Simply telling the same joke again doesn’t cut it. Either the set up or the punchline needs to change because a joke rarely gets a laugh the second time you’ve heard it.

The larger problem is the current versions of Harry and Lloyd don’t feel like the people we first met 20 years ago. The Farrellys and their writers have mistaken ignorance for stupidity and, yes, there is a difference.

In the first instalment, Harry and Lloyd were unmistakably simpletons, but their idiocy was childlike and endearing. Now they are prone to making sexist and racist comments. It is supposed to be hilarious because they’re so stupid that they don’t know any better, but it is more uncomfortable than anything else. These comments aren’t meant to be malicious, but still work against their likability. The innocence of Harry and Lloyd is missing.

What makes this all the more frustrating is that Carrey and Daniels are clearly game and are still terrific together. Their comedic chemistry picks up right where it left off two decades earlier. While they clearly look older, their energy and willingness to do anything for a laugh hasn’t faded. Carrey, in particular, is still a brilliant physical comedian. He does wonders with the simple act of eating a hot dog.

If anything, the Farrellys prove that toilet humour, when delivered well, can be funny. Heck, there are a couple fart jokes — one involving a cat who recently feasted on exotic birds — that are so well executed they are practically works of art. While the middle section has some very big laughs — some of the biggest of any film this year — it still isn’t quite enough to recommend the movie. If you’re a fan, it is best to wait to rent or stream it.

3/5

Alec Kerr