Dumb and Dumber To lives up to its name and really, there’s nothing more to it than two characters bumbling around the country one upping the jokes with each scene. No, it’s not that good and it’s of course nowhere near as funny or memorable as the original but for what it is, I can’t say I regretted seeing it, though I doubt I’ll remember much in a month.
Dumb and Dumber To
(2014)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Comedy
Universal | PG13 – 110 min. – $34.98 | February 17, 2015
 |
MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly Writer(s): Bennett Yellin & Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly (characters), Sean Anders & John Morris and Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly & Bennett Yellin & Mike Cerrone (written by) Cast: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rob Riggle, Laurie Holden, Rachel Melvin, Kathleen Turner DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (DTS 5.1), German (DTS 5.1), Spanish (DTS 5.1) |
** Click Here to Purchase Dumb and Dumber To on Blu-ray from Amazon.com **
THE MOVIE – 2.75/5
Twenty years later, we finally get the (official) follow-up to the 1995 box office hit Dumb and Dumber. After the failed prequel, Dumb and Dumber To has arrived and…. it is dumb and somewhat funny but unlike the original, not all that memorable.
The sequel opens 20 years after the first where we find Lloyd (JIM CARREY) at a psychiatric hospital still reeling from his denial and lost love of Mary Swanson never speaking but is often visited by best pal Harry (JEFF DANIELS) only to reveal… it was one long joke.
Back together, Lloyd and Harry go back to their old apartment – where we meet Billy (BRADY BLUHM) all grown up and Harry’s meth-making roommate known only as Ice Pick (cameo by BILL MURRAY, not that you could tell). Harry reveals that he needs a new kidney but Lloyd isn’t a match but luck is on their side when Harry discovers he has a daughter he never knew about, from a post card sent decades earlier, by a woman, Fraida (KATHLEEN TURNER), he had a liaison with back in high school. But Fraida had given the daughter up for adoption but has been attempting to get back in touch. Knowing where she lives, Lloyd and Harry offer to track her down and go on (another) road trip.
This leads us to Harry’s daughter, Penny (RACHEL MELVIN), whose adoptive parents are smart, with the mother, Adele (LAURIE HOLDEN), more on conniving side, and her father a bona fide genius while Penny seems to have inherited her father’s smarts (or lack thereof). In what I could’ve sworn was a plot-point in Tommy Boy starring Chris Farley, the mother is in cahoots with a man named Travis (ROB RIGGLE) to swindle her husband out of his fortune, including an unknown invention worth millions, but Lloyd and Harry’s intervention spoils their plans. In any case, Lloyd and Harry meet Penny’s adoptive parents and find out Penny is off to some sort of convention to stand in for her father who is a recluse from public appearances… as well as to deliver this invaluable invention.
So Lloyd and Harry, with Travis in tow to keep an eye on them and this invention, are off on their own little journey. Their travels take them across the country, to a retirement home where Lloyd gets a bit too much of an old woman’s snatch, getting one over on Travis (and introduced to Travis’ twin brother), sneaking into the convention posing as one of the world’s most renowned minds, and other bizarre antics further cementing their dumb and dumber status one after the other.
Alright, so Dumb and Dumber To has been in the making for so long much to the ever growing fanbase’s enthusiasm and while I do give co-writers/directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly for keeping it alive, though I presume their lack of success in the past 15 some odd years – which included such stinkers as Osmosis Jones, Stuck On You, The Heartbreak Kid and The Three Stooges – had more to do with trying to regain their momentum that began with Dumb and Dumber and hit follow-ups Kingpin (which is more of a cult classic than moneymaker) and There’s Something About Mary.
As such, this long awaited sequel is certainly on the disappointing side. It’s not to say I didn’t laugh because there were some chuckle-worthy moments and I will always enjoy Jim Carrey’s more goofy physical and facial expressions which has been missing as of late as he tries to find some kind of path of where he wants his career to go in bouncing from social drama/comedy in I Love You, Phillip Morris to family affairs with Mr. Popper’s Penguins and I won’t mention The Grinch only to say… just no. F***ing no. And for his part, Jeff Daniels is perfectly fine and works so well opposite Carrey that it’s really their relationship is the only redeeming quality of an otherwise forgettable comedy that rehashes old jokes and tries new material with mostly failure.
No doubt, it’s hard to follow up from the original which has garnered such love over the years and has crossed over a number of generations and to this day is still quoted right down to Billy in 4C. Dumb and Dumber To does not have the memorable moments or lines, not to say they didn’t try with something like pushing unsuspecting passerby’s into bushes.
Dumb and Dumber To is what it is and it might not compare favorably with the first, it’s still an acceptable enough ride if only to see Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels back together, with the Farrelly’s at the helm, and having a good time even if some of the jokes fall flat.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5
This release comes with a matted and title-embossed slip cover. Inside is a DVD Copy and a redemption code for the Digital Copy (iTunes and UV).
Alternate Opening (2:19; HD) – This isn’t a whole lot different, just with an extra gag at how Lloyd got his catheter removed. For something so widely advertised, including the front cover, it’s really not much… ** Blu-ray Exclusive **
Deleted/Extended Scenes (10:22; HD) – We get eight scenes either removed or extended including one with Bill Murray’s Ice Pick who has a line. Otherwise, none of them are noteworthy and were probably rightly chucked. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **
Gag Reel (7:33; HD) – Not really surprising a movie like this would have on-location antics. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **
“That’s Awesome!”: The Story of Dumb and Dumber To (44:45; HD) is an extensive 5-part making-of featurette where we get to hear from the filmmakers and cast as they come together for the first time in 20 years providing behind-the-scenes footage.
What’s So Smart About Dumb and Dumber To (6:17; HD) is a shorter piece with on-set interviews with the cast/crew talking about being dumb. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **
VIDEO – 4.5/5
Dumb and Dumber To stumbles onto Blu-ray presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. It’s a generally pleasing looking flick with the usual bright colors one would expect from a straight-up comedy; detail levels are sharp and it appears to be a clean transfer that’s exactly reference quality but still well above average.
AUDIO – 4.0/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is by and large effective providing crisp and clean levels with the dialogue with ambient noises, such as traffic noise and idle chatter, as well as the score, encompassing the bulk of the front and rear channels. Nothing overly fantastic but good enough for the genre.
OVERALL – 3.0/5
Overall, Dumb and Dumber To lives up to its name and really, there’s nothing more to it than two characters bumbling around the country one upping the jokes with each scene. No, it’s not that good and it’s of course nowhere near as funny or memorable as the original but for what it is, I can’t say I regretted seeing it, though I doubt I’ll remember much in a month. The Blu-ray release has a fair amount of bonus material including a 40-minute making-of featurette while the video and audio transfers are both above average.
Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 02/21/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.