At a press screening this past Wednesday night, I was not a winner. Despite my strict adherence to the “suggested tweet,” I was not chosen from among my fellow competitors to receive a matching Dumb and Dumber To holiday shirt and sweatshirt combo. Turns out, the suggestion was just there to throw us off the scent. Apparently our hosts were looking for rebels. More than one winning tweet was so bold as to not even mention seeing the film early! Maverick Renegades! They did, however, mention waiting 20 years for a sequel to one of their favorite comedies. I wasn’t waiting 20 years for a sequel, and I certainly wasn’t waiting 20 years to see the same movie a second time. That, however, is only one of Dumb and Dumber To’s many sad maladies.
I don’t want any readers thinking I was expecting a damn thing from this movie. When I heard the whole gang was back, I simply kept an open mind. I want these people to succeed, because they have all succeeded many times (with me, at least) in the past. This time, the Farrelly Brothers have sent their two wit-diots on another road trip. That much is just fine with me as far as mimicking its superior predecessor is concerned. Dumb and Dumber was a road movie, and it was hilarious. It still holds up, thanks to the most cleverly written stupidity anyone could imagine, delivered by a pair of unbelievably talented comedy actors. Some imitation of the original film was to be expected, but let me count the ways! Bird death, hired hit man driven almost to psychosis, over-the-top slapstick martial arts dream sequence, driving cross-country in the wrong direction (that’s actually one of the funnier parts, though), final conflict showdown involving shootings, and more examples than I care to list at this time. After a while, I started picturing this flim’s flabby skin loosely draped on the first movie’s plot-skeleton.
At nearly any moment the movie strayed from that reliable former material, I did find myself laughing, I can’t deny it. There were moments that nearly had me rolling. Anyone in attendance will surely leave the theater with at least a handful of material that really made him or her laugh, but that just isn’t enough. For me, about one in every 5 jokes would land, and at least force me to crack a smile. It is a funny movie in (WARNING…. INCOMING FILM CRITIC CLICHÉ) fits and starts, and the script is even kind enough to poke a little fun at itself for copying the original movie so dutifully, and those moments are quite funny. Unfortunately, none of that momentary appeal is enough to overcome what I believe is the film’s greatest disturbance.
Sure, Dumb and Dumber had a few crude moments that crossed the border into cruelty, but it was still about a couple of helpless stooges. They charmed in overwhelming ignorance and naïveté. They were practically innocents, and although they were nearly stalking Lauren Holly’s character, their intentions were mostly noble and romantic, so watching them negotiate a world that completely escaped their mental capacities was a delight. In this sequel, however, especially when it comes to Jim Carrey’s character, everything is focused more on mean-spirited nastiness than child-like misunderstanding.
Rather than tracking down a woman who lost her suitcase in a desperate lovesick attempt to win her heart, Lloyd Christmas is now chasing a girl half his age with the single intention of getting laid. In the dream sequence previously mentioned, he fantasizes about taking her to her high school prom. Later, when a hug between the two lasts a little longer than she would prefer, rather than finding any stray sweetness in the moment, its difficult not to get a case of the wiggins. Not to mention that minimally crass event takes place after the kind of behavior that characterizes both the male protagonists as the kind of men who grew up in less progressive times. There are multiple jokes made by the two of them about a woman’s place in the world. When did these guys turn into colossal douchebags? If they are no longer loveable, there is simply no pleasure in watching stupid people do stupid things.
