When Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey first teamed up in 1994 to make “Dumb and Dumber,” the results were unquestionably successful. The movie left audiences both young and old laughing hysterically, and more importantly, asking from more.
Two decades later, Harry and Lloyd have made another appearance on the silver screen, and it’s almost as if no time has passed.
Like the original flick, “Dumb and Dumber To” was absolutely hilarious. A great choice was made in making the humor more modern, as the movie pokes at all sorts of political topics and social issues. It is safe to say that the comedic value of this movie possesses much more controversy than the original, but the flick never goes too far.
The movie begins by quickly catching the viewer up on what they missed over the previous 20 years. Harry has been taking care of Lloyd each day, who has been in a mental institution following the ending of the first film. It turns out to all be a prank on Harry, and Lloyd is perfectly fine. Lloyd: 1. Harry: 0.
Harry then informs Lloyd that he needs a kidney. Lloyd responds by not offering his own kidney, and instead suggesting that Harry would need a blood match to give up one of their kidneys. And so, Harry and Lloyd explore for a kidney.
When they tell Harry’s parents about this, the dynamic duo discover that Harry was actually adopted, thus they are not a match. Harry finally finds out that he knocked up a girl from high school and is a father. The two decide to set their sights towards finding the child, who was given up for adoption, and one of the two with matching kidneys.
In the search for Harry’s daughter, he and Lloyd find that the adoptive parents are rich and that her new father is a famous scientist who is sick and needs their help to take his latest discovery to a conference, where the daughter is giving a speech.
Fans of the original, rest assured: The movie is a riot from start to finish. Surely it will be compared to the first one; however, I feel it is completely unfair to do so. The first movie was one of the first “stupid humor” films, and was unprecedented for this. Nowadays, there is a saturation of these types of films, but despite this, the sequel to Harry and Lloyd’s trip to Aspen, Colorado, thrives.
Still, there were some aspects that seemed a little poor. Throughout the film, Carrey and Daniels’ acting seemed a little bit like “schm-acting.” However, after thinking over who they were portraying, I figured it was appropriate.
Additionally, there were a few times that the movie went over-the-top with its jokes, making me question the authenticity of parts of the story. I was quick to take a step back and tell myself: If I’m questioning the authenticity of a comedy starring Carrey and Daniels, then I ought to stop watching movies all together.
Overall, D&D To is a surprisingly solid sequel to another great movie. While it will surely be compared to what is arguably one of the best 90s comedies, this is unfair. Still, I think it is comical enough to survive the compare-and-contrast nature of snooty individuals unwilling to say a sequel can be a good addition.