It's worrying when the funniest thing about a movie is its poster campaign.
Nostalgia notwithstanding, this 20-years-in-the-making sequel starts as a genuine endurance test, but does eventually pick up, although was it really worth digging up these graves? Through a series of contrived, but modestly funny, events – which anybody who has seen the trailer for Dumb and Dumber To will already know all about – childhood best buddies Harry and Lloyd end up back on the road together in search of Harry’s long-lost daughter, causing their usual mayhem along the way.
It seems like business as usual for Harry and Lloyd and, to be fair, their real-life counterparts Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey don’t take too long to slip right back into these decades-old roles. Indeed, they are probably the biggest reason why you watch the movie – despite how bad the story, script or gags get, Carrey and Daniels never give up trying, and actually, somewhere near the halfway point, come close to winning you back. It’s just a shame that most people – quite understandably – will have switched off by that point.
Returning to their debut hit Dumb and Dumber, writer/directors the Farrelly brothers were probably in as much a need of a hit as their cohorts-in-crime. With a distinct, edgy brand of humour that hasn’t always worked that well – but, correspondingly, has had some high points – Dumb and Dumber To doesn’t hold back either in its R-rated testicle-grabbing antics (one of the aforementioned high points). It is much more hit than miss this time round, however, with huge pauses of mundane tedium where barely a chuckle emerges, and, even when you get a bigger laugh pay-off, it's seldom strong enough to actually get a genuine laugh-out-loud.
Really, those who have fond (perhaps rose tinted) memories of Dumb and Dumber shouldn’t taint them with what is largely a waste of time, whereas those who have grown up on modern day Adam Sandler trash (think Jack and Jill, not Happy Gilmore) might consider it a suitable way to waste time. Perhaps if you set your standards that low, you'll likely find some nostalgic amusement in returning to the lives of these classic characters but there's every chance it might only taint your memories.
Yielding a somewhat unbelievable $160 Million at the Box Office, almost half the ticket sales were tellingly under 25s, i.e. people who couldn’t have seen the original.
Really, those who have fond (perhaps rose tinted) memories of Dumb and Dumber shouldn’t taint them with what is largely a waste of time, whereas those who have grown up on modern day Adam Sandler trash (think Jack and Jill, not Happy Gilmore) might consider it a suitable way to waste time. Perhaps if you set your standards that low, you'll likely find some nostalgic amusement in returning to the lives of these classic characters but there's every chance it might only taint your memories.
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