Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
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DUMBINGTON — It’s been 20 years since we’ve enjoyed the antics and dumb decisions of Harry and Lloyd.
That’s right, it’s been two decades since “Dumb and Dumber” was released and now we finally get the sequel, but is it the sequel we were hoping for?
As I sat through the 110-minute comedy I asked myself the same thing over and over again and it wasn’t until the credits had rolled, I’d gone home and eaten a sandwich that I finally came to a conclusion.
No, no it is not.
Old jokes and new characters
“Dumb and Dumber To” relies way too much of its humor on the same jokes we got in the 1994 original. Granted, some of these jokes land and it’s a little nostalgic to hear a mention of Mary Samsonite and see Billy in 4C all grown up, but it seems brothers Peter and Bobby Farrelly missed some opportunities to get some new laughs.
While we’re introduced to new characters, they’re basically versions of other characters in the original and the storyline is all but identical. I’m willing to forgive the storyline issue because half the fun is traveling the country with Harry and Lloyd and their complete lack of understanding.
While it’s a little fun to see our old friends I couldn’t help but feel that Jim Carrey’s character Lloyd got mean over the years. Yes, he was always inconsiderate, but he seemed to be overly rotten to his best buddy Harry. It just seemed a little out of character for me. He had a mean streak in him in the original, but they took it to another level in the sequel.
Crude humor abounds
There were definitely some crude jokes and gross gags in the original, but the sequel seems to be crass joke after crass joke.
There were a few moments when I had to check to make sure the film got a PG-13 and not an R, and some of the more offensive gags did not land. If crude and sexual humor is not your thing then “Dumb and Dumber To” will not be your movie.
Many of the sexual jokes, especially one in a rest home, were awkwardly unfunny. It’s not even that they made me uncomfortable as much as they just weren’t funny.
It will make you laugh
At the end of the day “Dumb and Dumber To” will make you laugh and at times laugh out loud. There were a few moments I found myself turning red with embarrassment because I laughed so hard and probably made a scene. Luckily for me everyone else in the theater was laughing along, so I wasn’t quite the anomaly I thought I was.
Conclusion
“Dumb and Dumber To” is not a great film and it will leave you wanting for the original, but it will make you laugh and that’s the whole purpose.
If you’re a fan of the 1994 “Dumb and Dumber” and are curious I say check out “Dumb and Dumber To.” If you weren’t crazy about the original and aren’t dying to see this one then go see something else — the theater has a lot to offer right now.
“Dumb and Dumber To” is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, partial nudity, language and some drug references.
John has been writing about movies, news, sports and pretty much anything awesome for more than five years. John is the co-host of the Flix Junkies podcast and will always entertain you with his stories. John is an alumnus of both Utah Valley University and BYU. He, his wife and their two children call Salt Lake City home.
