We all had that friend in school. The loudmouth idiot who was hugely irritating but occasionally hilarious; who disrupted classes, played stupid pranks, wrecked houses at parties, vomited copiously on nights out, and was universally loathed by adults worldwide.
Now that we’re adults, imagine meeting that friend again and they’re exactly the same. There’s been no growth, no maturity, no evolution into wit. All that idiocy is somehow less appealing, isn’t? Appalling, in fact. Congratulations, you’ve been reunited with Dumb And Dumber To.
The Farrelly Brothers and Jim Carrey seemed like a perfect match in the 1994 comedy Dumb And Dumber. Both were undeniable products of their era, full of rubbery mugging, over-compensation and general comedic mania. Their collaboration played into that ‘90s comedy trend; all unabashed stupidity, puerile jokes, phallic obsessions and diarrhoea set-pieces. But trends change – Dumb And Dumber To hasn’t, remaining in an isolated time-warp where gross-out humour constitutes a movie, so expect plenty of jokes involving catheters, cat anuses, masturbating grannies, and intimate interactions with dogs and peanut butter.
It’s all incredibly tired, occasionally vile and missing the good-heartedness of its predecessor. Lloyd (Carrey) and best friend Harry (Jeff Daniels) embark on a road trip to track down a long-estranged child, a spare kidney and a potentially multi-million dollar invention. The fart humour is still there, and some forced call-backs to the first film – “Wanna hear the second most annoying sound in the world?” The fact that six writers are credited for the lazy screenplay may be the film’s biggest joke.
While Carrey and Daniels appear to be having fun, the writing lacks originality, not to mention the sweetness that marks the Farrelly’s best work.
We all grew up. Harry and Lloyd just got old.