Movie Review Of The Week – Dumb and Dumber To

Remakes and sequels are becoming all the more common in the film industry nowadays. This week, for example, an Annie remake is coming out, Night at the Museum has managed to eke out a third film in their semi-successful franchise, and Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey, it seems, had enough time on their hands to put out a sequel to a twenty year-old comedy, albeit with a terrible prequel and a venture into television in between.

If anyone can even remember the first Dumb and Dumber, it was a story about Daniels' and Carrey's antics as they went on a road trip in pursuit of a girl. It was full to the brim of infantile jokes, one-liners, and toilet humour. But it was a hit. Dumb and Dumber To takes advantage of that success and tries to churn out another hit.

Harry Dunne (Daniels) and Lloyd Christmas (Carrey) are re-united under strange circumstances, and Harry reveals he needs a new kidney. They find out he has a daughter on the other side of the country who can give him one. And off they go again. And so the film follows pretty much the exact same plot as the first one.

And it's not exactly terrible! The plot is a working formula, the toilet humour can be funny, and Carrey and Daniels do a decent job. They can't be faulted on their enthusiasm. But it falls a bit flat. While it's funny to begin with, the stupidity becomes irritating after a while, as do the jokes. The novelty in it disappears early on and doesn't return. We saw with The Hangover Part II that sequels with the same plot don't generally work (Home Alone 2 being an exception) and this film lacks originality. To be honest, they probably should have left the original alone.

If you're looking for a great trip to the cinema, don't come here. But if you're simply looking for something that will keep you entertained, and it will, this may be for you. Who knows? You may even laugh at one of the countless fart jokes.