I was in 4th or 5th grade when Dumb and Dumber hit theaters back in 1994. I remember seeing this in theaters during that time because I was with my elementary school crush, this hot blonde who moved to our school from from Texas. Doing my best to show her that I was a mature 10 year old, I tried my hardest not to uncontrollably laugh.
All was good and I kept my composure throughout the film, making sure to laugh only if she also thought something was funny. Then came the ski scene, where Harry and Mary set out to hit the ski slopes behind Lloyd’s back. While building a snowman, Mary hands Harry a carrot and two pieces of coal presumably for the snowman’s face. Harry made a dick and balls on the snowman and the 10-year old version of myself fucking lost it completely.
It was the first time I recognized comedic genius and now 20 years later, I found myself watching the sequel to Dumb and Dumber not with the hottie from Texas, but instead, two friends from my neighborhood growing up. The anticipation was killing me as I waited for this unnecessary sequel to premiere.
Yes, Dumb and Dumber To is an unnecessary sequel, another revival we can only thank our generation’s tenacious efforts via the web for. The original Dumb and Dumber was just too good to add a sequel and I feel as if the world was content with a sequel not being made, that comedy was damn near perfect. Would it have been necessary for Leonardo da Vinci to begin churning out new portraits of the Mona Lisa? Think about it, Mona Lisa at the beach, eating ice cream, or possibly even a cross-over painting putting her with that screaming guy on the bridge. Get it? The Mona Lisa did not need a sequel and neither did Dumb and Dumber.
Here’s what the movie did right…
The trailer, while still a bit funny, was also extremely cheesy and had me fearing for the worst. I argued that there is really no need to try to sell this movie, people are going to see it regardless so why waste the good parts by showing them in the trailer. And honestly, that seemed to be true. Dumb and Dumber To did not cater to the lowest common denominator in hopes of cheap laughs.
Speaking of unnecessary sequels, I feared that we may be up against the same issue Boondock Saints 2 had with the aging of the characters. The decade long gap between films for that series shined through as all of the actors noticeably aged but the characters themselves were written in a way to not reflect that age. As if the film picked up right where it left off, but, everyone was 10 years older. Even though D&D To was up against a 20-year gap, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels still pulled it off flawlessly.
After finding out about this strange tale of how one man’s tattoo of Bill Murray lead him to meet the man himself, Bill Murray, I knew to wait for his cameo appearance, but, it unfortunately never came. At the film’s end, I thought there may possibly be something after the credits but that’s when I saw his name…
Here’s what the movie did wrong…
After a solid 20 years, if you decide to embark on this journey to make an unnecessary sequel to one of the world’s greatest comedies, you MUST deliver. You can rest easy know that this one did not live up to its original. Doesn’t mean it was bad, it’s just the truth. The Farrelly brothers failed to deliver on a compelling storyline to really draw you in to what was involved with the film. The plot seemed to be put together with a lackadaisical effort as if the jokes were all that was needed to make this film great. The callbacks to the original films were lazily done as if the writing was hastily put together. As if you were late for work trying to grab everything you needed from the kitchen counter. With a 20 year gap between films, all of the fans deserved more of an effort for this sequel.
Do yourself a favor and stay until after the credits. It’s nothing great, but it’s still worth seeing…
