Dumb and Dumber To - directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly
Starring: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rob Riggle, Rachel Melvin, Kathleen Turner
Running Time: 109 minutes
Rating: M - Sexual references, very mild language
I sincerely hope that we don't have a trend ramping up already this soon into 2015 because after "Taken 3" and now "Dumb and Dumber To" it is starting to look like sequels are a bit..... um....crap?
To be clear- I love the first Taken and Dumb and Dumber is one of my top five comedies of all time so it's not like I am not open to these being good.
In fact I desperately wanted both to be amazing.
While I was fully prepared for "Taken 3" to disappoint me I was still 75% on the optimism train with this film.
Beginning to all intents and purposes right where the promising trailer does we see Harry visiting an apparently catatonic Lloyd in a nursing home.
From there on it is pretty much a remake of the first film with the two morons heading cross country to deliver a package to a woman that one of them (arguably both) is in love with.
This can work- refer to the first two Hangover movies that are basically scene for scene re-workings of the same plot.
The important thing though is to make sure that the laughs come thick and fast.
During "Dumb and Dumber To" I laughed out loud once and barely raised a smile for the remainder.
The script attempts to piggy back too often off the lines, scenes and characters that we know and love from its predecessor.
So the blind kid is back, the practical joke taken too far returns and so do countless lines and references.
The assumption seems to be that 'Hey, it worked before'.
What worked before were the characters.
They were manic and their stupidity was cleverly written. It takes smarts to create dumb humour.
Some of the physical comedy in the 1994 film was amongst the best in recent memory.
The turbo-lax sequence with Daniels pulling all manner of faces had me in stitches on release and still does now.
Everything during the skiing sequence likewise.
Jim Carrey's opening scene with the Austrian / Australian..... Sea Bass in the diner.... frozen snot on tiny motorcycles..... gold!
There is not one single scene in the sequel that comes anywhere close to these.
So - any positives?
Well, it is always fun spending time with Carrey and Daniels even if the material doesn't do them justice. Lloyd and Harry are great characters and even without killer comedy scenes they are fun.
Rachel Melvin as Penny is very good.
Imagine Isla Fisher blended with Elizabeth Banks and you'll get somewhere in the ballpark.
Penny is sweet, gorgeous and thick as oatmeal. I liked the character even though she tends to sway a little too readily from clueless to sudden awareness.
Regardless it is very good work from Melvin.
Rob Riggle is good too in dual roles but he is prevented from cutting loose in the fashion that he does in say "21 Jump Street" but still- glad they cast him.
Interesting to note that Riggle was a former US Marine as he plays something similar here.
Laurie Holden suffers from playing a one dimensional character and while she looks very fetching indeed she has little to do.
I also need to praise the soundtrack.
The Farrelly Brothers are masters at picking great songs for their films and this continues the trend.
"Dumb and Dumber To" feels like maybe too much time has gone by between films and even if Carrey and Daniels slot seemingly effortlessly back into their characters the brothers Farrelly haven't done the same with their scripting.
This one just misses far too often.
The first film kept the jokes coming thick and fast and about 75% of them landed very effectively.
In conversation with friends it is not hard to get a quote duel going based on the first film.
That will not happen this time.
It has an inverse ratio going at best- 25% might be generous.
Of all the things that we have every right to expect to be funny it should be this.
The Farrelly's had a couple of decades to get this right but there just isn't the same magic.
I didn't hate the film - just the missed opportunity.
RATING: 60/100
CONCLUSION: Not worth the twenty year wait
STAY AT THE END: Yes - there is one very short scene after the credits
Starring: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rob Riggle, Rachel Melvin, Kathleen TurnerRunning Time: 109 minutes
Rating: M - Sexual references, very mild language
I sincerely hope that we don't have a trend ramping up already this soon into 2015 because after "Taken 3" and now "Dumb and Dumber To" it is starting to look like sequels are a bit..... um....crap?
To be clear- I love the first Taken and Dumb and Dumber is one of my top five comedies of all time so it's not like I am not open to these being good.
In fact I desperately wanted both to be amazing.
While I was fully prepared for "Taken 3" to disappoint me I was still 75% on the optimism train with this film.
Beginning to all intents and purposes right where the promising trailer does we see Harry visiting an apparently catatonic Lloyd in a nursing home.
From there on it is pretty much a remake of the first film with the two morons heading cross country to deliver a package to a woman that one of them (arguably both) is in love with.
This can work- refer to the first two Hangover movies that are basically scene for scene re-workings of the same plot.
The important thing though is to make sure that the laughs come thick and fast.
During "Dumb and Dumber To" I laughed out loud once and barely raised a smile for the remainder.
The script attempts to piggy back too often off the lines, scenes and characters that we know and love from its predecessor.
So the blind kid is back, the practical joke taken too far returns and so do countless lines and references.
The assumption seems to be that 'Hey, it worked before'.
What worked before were the characters.
They were manic and their stupidity was cleverly written. It takes smarts to create dumb humour.
Some of the physical comedy in the 1994 film was amongst the best in recent memory.
The turbo-lax sequence with Daniels pulling all manner of faces had me in stitches on release and still does now.
Everything during the skiing sequence likewise.
Jim Carrey's opening scene with the Austrian / Australian..... Sea Bass in the diner.... frozen snot on tiny motorcycles..... gold!
There is not one single scene in the sequel that comes anywhere close to these.
 |
| The boys are back- Carrey and Daniels are on fine form even if the material they have to work with isn't |
Well, it is always fun spending time with Carrey and Daniels even if the material doesn't do them justice. Lloyd and Harry are great characters and even without killer comedy scenes they are fun.
Rachel Melvin as Penny is very good.
Imagine Isla Fisher blended with Elizabeth Banks and you'll get somewhere in the ballpark.
Penny is sweet, gorgeous and thick as oatmeal. I liked the character even though she tends to sway a little too readily from clueless to sudden awareness.
Regardless it is very good work from Melvin.
Rob Riggle is good too in dual roles but he is prevented from cutting loose in the fashion that he does in say "21 Jump Street" but still- glad they cast him.
Interesting to note that Riggle was a former US Marine as he plays something similar here.
Laurie Holden suffers from playing a one dimensional character and while she looks very fetching indeed she has little to do.
I also need to praise the soundtrack.
The Farrelly Brothers are masters at picking great songs for their films and this continues the trend.
 |
| Rachel Melvin as Penny (panels 1 & 2), Kathleen Turner and far right- Rob Riggle |
This one just misses far too often.
The first film kept the jokes coming thick and fast and about 75% of them landed very effectively.
In conversation with friends it is not hard to get a quote duel going based on the first film.
That will not happen this time.
It has an inverse ratio going at best- 25% might be generous.
Of all the things that we have every right to expect to be funny it should be this.
The Farrelly's had a couple of decades to get this right but there just isn't the same magic.
I didn't hate the film - just the missed opportunity.
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