Dumb and Dumber To Review

Before I start this review, let me just say that the original Dumb and Dumber is one of my favorite comedies of all-time. Yes, it's incredibly stupid, but it's also incredibly hilarious, and I still rewatch that film to this day. Thus, I was hesitantly looking forward to this sequel. I say hesitantly because of the 20 years it's been since the original came out, as well as the horrible prequel that many fans of the first unfortunately watched. Still, this was a little different, with both Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels returning as the two dumbest people you'll probably ever meet, Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne. While Dumb and Dumber To has moments of genuinely funny humor, it is unfortunately not consistent enough to stand up to the original.

As I said, the original stars are back in their original roles, and they do a seamless job entering back into these endlessly idiotic characters. I expected some comedic scenes, particularly ones involving physical comedy, to be a little clunky simply because Carrey and Daniels are much older now. However, everything looked natural, and nothing was awkward. I was pleasantly surprised by this.

The thing that makes the original film so accessible and easy to go back and watch is its nonstop barrage of effective humor. All the jokes and gags, however stupid, were executed with energy and enthusiasm, and they come at you hard and fast. That makes it all the more fun to watch. Dumb and Dumber To has scenes of comedy that is of the same high quality as the best scenes from the original. There were at least one or two parts in particular that had me in tears from laughing. That being said, that unfortunately didn't happen as often as I would have liked. There were many dry spells during which I did not laugh one bit.

The plot in this movie was as uninteresting and insignificant as the first Dumb and Dumber. We don't go into these movies with the expectation of having our brains engaged. I'll go see Interstellar again for that. We just want to laugh and have a great time when we watch a movie like Dumb and Dumber To. So, I can't really fault the film for that. What I can fault it for is piling on too much plot, especially in the third act. I'm fine with a stupid comedy like this having a plot that doesn't totally make sense. I'm completely willing to let that slide. However, Dumb and Dumber To overcomplicated itself to the point where the jokes were suffering as a result. It got caught up in its own twists and turns towards the end, when it just should have kept it simple and dumb like the first one.

While I was slightly disappointed by the whole thing, there were plenty of bright spots. Perhaps the most notable of these was Jim Carrey. He might just be my favorite comedic actor of all-time. I love him in everything he's done, and there's just something about his delivery and performances that I find gut-bustingly funny. This was no different here. I couldn't even tell it had been 20 years since he last played this role. He was probably my favorite thing about this movie.

Jeff Daniels also holds up well after 20 years. Harry Dunne is really his only comedic role. He's much more known for his serious work. However, I always thought he played off of Jim Carrey very well in the first one, and the two of them once again have tremendous comedic chemistry. When it was just Carrey and Daniels together on screen, Dumb and Dumber To occasionally soared as high as the original.

I wasn't really expecting much out of this sequel. As I've said, I love its predecessor, so I was always planning to see it. Nonetheless, after 20 years, I didn't think it would be able to match the original. Comedy sequels rarely do. I enjoyed Anchorman 2 for what it was, a love letter to fans of the first one like myself. But, that movie really didn't hold up well for me after a second time through. The nostalgia I felt from my love of the first Anchorman made me able to enjoy it in the theater, but it wasn't that good of a movie. The same is true for Dumb and Dumber To. I enjoyed certain parts of it because there was certainly a sense of nostalgia for me. But, it's not necessarily a good movie, and those who disliked the first one should steer clear of it.

It's not like Dumb and Dumber To tarnished my memory of the first one, or anything. In fact, it made me want to go back and watch the original again. There are just enough funny moments in the movie for me to wish it was much funnier than it ended up being. As a piece of nostalgia, I had a pretty good time with the film. But, it doesn't come close to matching its predecessor and that makes it disappointing, at least for me. It's still loads better than Dumb and Dumberer, at least.

C+