DVD Review – Dumb and Dumber To
2 min read
The boys are back, and they’re slower, dumber and more ridiculous than ever. A whole 20 years have past since the first Dumb and Dumber film crashed onto screens in 1994, but now lovable idiots Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) are getting a reboot.
In the sequel, Dumb and Dumber To, this dopey duo are off on a wild goose chase in search of one thing: a kidney. Yes, a human kidney, because Harry is sick and needs to find a donor fast. This leads them to the discovery that, twenty years ago, unbeknownst to him, Harry has fathered a daughter who has since been adopted by another family. In order to get a kidney, Harry must track down his estranged daughter, Penny (Rachel Melvin) before it’s too late. And Lloyd? Well, he’s along for the ride because he has fallen in love with a photograph of Penny and wants to meet her so he can sweep her off her feet.
The cross-country adventure of these two incredibly stupid friends is pretty much exactly as you expect it’s going to be – stupid. In both the best and worst kind of ways. There’s no doubt that Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels can play these characters – they play the pants out of them, in the most strangely convincing way that you could actually believe Lloyd and Harry might exist in real life. They are warm and hilarious on-screen, and Jim Carrey’s unmatched ability to morph his facial expressions into frankly un-human shapes is always entertaining.
The movie is definitely engaging, and while there is never a dull moment, the humour isn’t nearly as ground-breaking as it might of been back in 1994. It’s simply absurdity taken to the extreme, and while some might be fans, it’s not something I rate highly in a film. The slapstick sequences were sometimes more painful than humorous, and more than once I found myself wincing when I should have been laughing. While a few dumb-jokes and toilet gags are funny in small doses, to make it the central purpose of an entire film seems like overkill to me.
In saying that, you don’t go to see Dumb and Dumber To for its wit and subtly, and for what it is, it’s not so bad. If you let go and embrace the utter ludicrous nature of this film, there actually a few good chuckles in there and, every now and then, a surprising little gem of comedy. Supporting cast members Rachel Melvin and Rob Riggle provide some well-needed relief from the two main characters, and manage to be quite amusing as well.
All in all, you surely know what you’re in for if you’re sitting down and popping this one into the DVD player. Just don’t expect anything more, and you are going to enjoy Dumb and Dumber To just fine.
