Dumb and Dumber To

LIke many others I thought this movie was going to be that sequel you wish they didn't make. Because I love Dumb and Dumber. And it seemed the only reason they made this sequel is because the directors and one of the actors haven't been doing good stuff, the last couple of years.

But surprisingly, Dumb and Dumber To is actually pretty fun. Sure some things have changed that aren't so great. The jokes are hit-and-miss, sometimes the timing is way off and the characters of Lloyd and Harry are a little more mean-spirited and maybe even a little too dumb at times. But on the other hand everyone really did their best to make this feel like a Dumb and Dumber film. Unlike the god-awful prequel this film really feels like Dumb and Dumber and it's actually fun to see some scenes re-created, but with a new little twist, or characters from the original film returning. And even though some jokes and scenes are forced, I have to admit the film actually had a great deal of scenes that made me laugh a lot.

So as a big fan of the original film I was surprised that I enjoyed this film as much as I did. Let's all not expect a masterpiece, but a film we can enjoy, that pays a nice homage to the original and well ... really could have been a lót worse.

Reading the negative reviews really affected me as I went to see this movie, and yes you can right away tell Carry and Daniels are of course not their younger selves, and yeah yeah the whole premise of the film looks forced, I know - but after watching I think it's not half as forced as other US-made comedies and their plastic "jokes".

This is because the movie succeeds(a bit) in bringing back the lighthearted spirit of the 90's, so even when half the jokes don't work, it's never overbearing, and has many good, fun ideas! It's just that the writing of these ideas and the plot, the characters growth, connection between characters- all seem to have been done in a very lazy or rushed way. (for example, the villain's role is a classic idea but is too short for us to care about)

Now, that's kinda saddening and annoying because when you look at the jokes that *do* make you laugh, you get the feeling that maybe- just maybe- if these guys consciously decided to make a better a movie, they could have done so!! They just didn't put enough time and effort. And this is what annoys people so much. I get that. Maybe it's the nature of being complacent - everyone in this film don't have the drive and fears they had 20 years ago. No one's success is hanging in the balance etc- Too bad! There's obviously some potential here - some of that magic that guys like Jim Carry take wherever they go. It's just not utilized well !!

Yes I know it's only one "o" and not two. Or two if you talk about the title (it could be a "w" missing also, depending on what way you want to go). But back to the movie. I haven't seen that unofficial movie that was made in between those two movies. But I was excited about this getting our two main characters back together (literally). Is it as good as the original though? You probably won't think so.

And neither did I. But it's still a good movie, especially if you were a fan of the original. You just have to accept, that some jokes will be replayed (the end credits even put similar scenes side to side with video/pictures of them being shown). Not perfect, but the chemistry is there and it's as mean as it was back then ...

I believe it was Jeff Daniels who said that the directors of Dumb and Dumber were "guessing" about what would be funny the first time, but "now they know." If that is the case, they definitely have a fair amount of arrogance and narcissism, because this film is vastly inferior to the original. What started as honest-to-goodness stupidity has given way to a mean-spirited attempt to be funny. Harry and Lloyd are no longer running on their own redundant behaviour alone; they're using their naïveté to hurt others and to be lewd and crude, which is never what the original film was. This movie has its comedic moments, but it ultimately falls flat, trying too hard in some areas and not hard enough where it truly matters.

Picture this: It's 20 years ago and you are at a party with stale pizza and warm beer. You plan on leaving early, then the life of the party shows up and makes it the most memorable party you ever went to.

20 years later, you plan a reunion and bring better pizza, a cooler filled with beer and invite everyone to the same place again. The same jokes are told and everyone leaves early.

That is what Dumb and Dumber is. I loved the first one so much that I am still willing to be happy with the reunion for old time sake.

It seems like all the variables were in place, and everyone just kept waiting for magic to happen. It seems like it was filmed well enough, and everyone thought they would fix it in post. Then in the edit room, everyone figured, "Well they shot it how they want it." and left it long and loose. It was very paint by numbers, and everyone followed the script. In a movie where the script was just there simply as a framework to be expanded upon. The timing is off and there is no punch.

This may be what happens when modern studio execs watch too many dailies and start influencing the editing process too much, and take the funny away from the people they paid to be funny. Next time, light the fire cracker and walk away. Let the experts be experts.