Movie Info
Movie Name: Dumb and Dumber
Studio: New Line Cinema
Genre(s): Comedy
Release Date(s): December 16, 1994
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) and Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) might not be the brightest, but they are best friends. When Lloyd meets and falls in love with Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly), he convinces Lloyd to make a cross-country trip to Aspen to return Holly’s briefcase. What Harry and Lloyd don’t know is that the briefcase was part of a ransom for Holly’s kidnapped husband, and the men that have him want Harry, Lloyd, and the briefcase. Are Harry and Lloyd bright enough to survive?
Directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly, Dumb and Dumber was a huge success. The comedy cemented Jim Carrey’s star status and helped him get a string of movies. The movie spawned a short lived animated series and prequel in the panned Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd in 2003.
Dumb and Dumber is just that. It really amped the idea of raunchy humor that had kind of died out at the time Dumb and Dumber came out. The Farrelly Brothers became known for this style of movie and this was the one that helped make them big for a number of years. The script is rude and crude but funny in its baseness. Portions like Harry’s horrible diarrhea explosion, urine drinking, and all made the movie nasty, but amusing. Despite the crude humor, clever writing like the classic Petey the Parakeet joke that runs through the movie is smart and goofy.
Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels work perfectly together. Watching the movie now is a bit different, I am so used to Jim humor that it seems a bit old hat, but when the movie came out, it was something new and different. It is hard to look at the movie with fresh eyes, but if you do, you see Carrey is great with good back-up in Daniels’ comic turn.
Dumb and Dumber is a movie that still maintains its freshness. Movies have even gotten dirtier since its release so the PG-13 Dumb and Dumber almost seems a bit tame. There has always been a real sequel planned for Dumb and Dumber and recent reports indicate that Daniels and Carrey are coming back for Dumb and Dumber To in 2013.