Dumb and Dumber To

Some movies should not have sequels. Some movies should not have sequels 20 years after the first one. Some movies should not waste the time of two very talented actors. One of those movies I was talking about was Dumb and Dumber To.

Now I was never a die hard fan of the first Dumb and Dumber. If its on TV I'll definitely stop and get a couple chuckles out of it. The first one made me laugh... hard. That being said, I don't put it up there as one of my favorite comedies of all time.

All film is subjective and comedies more than ever are examples of that rule. You may not like a movie and there are circumstances over circumstances that could have contributed to you not liking that film.

I don't see Dumb and Dumber as a comedy classic like some people do because I was exposed to it late in my movie watching experience and even when I did see it, I really only saw it once. But for some people, this is a beloved movie and they have seen it over and over and over. Again, I like the first Dumb and Dumber. Its a funny movie. But I don't bask in its glory. And I really didn't see the need for a sequel.

So while I was interested in seeing this movie, even after the huge response from the trailer, I didn't see this in theaters. And I'm really glad I didn't.

So what's the story.

Set 20 years after the first one, Lloyd Christmas (played by Jim Carrey) has been sitting in a vegetative state from the rejection he experienced from the first film. His friend Harry (played by Jeff Daniels) comes to visit him every day. And finally after 20 years, Lloyd finally reveals that this vegetative state was just one big prank on his buddy, and of course, because their idiots, Harry thinks thats awesome.

Now I'll give the movie credit. This made me laugh. And don't let me trick you into thinking I didn't laugh at this film. This and a lot of other parts gave me a good laugh. The problem with this particular moment was that it was in the trailer. I knew this joke was coming to when it finally came, I had a quick ha and then I moved on. But I'll get more into that later.

Moving on, Lloyd and Harry reunite and they discover that Harry has a daughter somewhere. Because Harry is in need of a kidney, and Lloyd is too dense and selfish to hand over his, they decide to go track down Harry's daughter.

The rest of the movie is your standard road trip movie. And its basically the same kind of road trip movie you got from the first movie...

In fact... a lot of the movie is similar jokes and gags you got from the first movie.

I mean like I said, I wasn't a die hard fan of the first movie to begin with, but even I could recognize the same gags and same jokes that were in the first movie that they really just copied and pasted onto the second movie.

But hey its funny right, cause they're older right?

Well no.

And here's the thing. I've been trying to give some kind of intelligent explanation as to why I didn't like this movie, or why its not as good as the original, and why it was a mistake to really make this movie in the first place.

But the truth is, this movie is stupid. Yeah you could say its dumb but its not even worth that horrible pun I could have made. This movie is not meant to be any kind of intelligent movie or ground breaking film.

Its called Dumb and Dumber To. You really get what you paid for when it comes to this movie. Now, if this movie is your thing then... okay. And you may like this movie just because it happens to be the sequel to the movie you loved when you were younger. And thats... okay too.

But what I might argue is that while both this movie and its original are dumb movies that are by no means Shakespeare, the first Dumb and Dumber was at least iconic in its humor.

I recently watched the first one and I still laugh pretty hard at the few parts I find really funny. I think the reason the first movie was so successful was because it wasn't trying to prove anything. It was just a road trip movie about two dumbasses played by two very talented comedic actors. And whether or not they were totally known at the time to how talented they were and how talented they'd become, this movie just got to show off how Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels could make you laugh just by being stupid.

And while I will give Dumb and Dumber To some credit, it is a lot of fun to see these two return to those roles and try their darnedest to recreate that fun time you had, the movie just doesn't allow for it because they were trying to recreate something instead of creating something even more memorable.

Too many jokes were recreated, or just down right stolen from the first movie that they really overshadowed the new jokes. And once the retelling of jokes got old because they just kept doing it, the movie just became a little sad, especially when you see how old those two actors have gotten. And then you realize how old you've gotten and you just aren't sure what to think anymore and by the end you're pretty checked out and it takes a couple viewings to even sit through the end to the point that you care...

That may have gotten a little bit personal but I hope you understand my frustration with this movie.

Comedic sequels are difficult to do because like all sequels, they have to ride a fine line between recreating what made the first movie good but still build something new and make the movie good on its own. Comedies have an even tougher job when it comes to sequels because not only do they have to do that, but they have to make you laugh (and are expected to do it harder than before).

So I'm done trying to write a review for this movie (because I've been trying to write this for a while now). I didn't like Dumb and Dumber To. Period. I enjoyed seeing Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey return to their roles and yeah, even a man in prison can smile once in a while, but in the end, it wasn't as funny as the first one, it relied too heavily on old jokes, and it just didn't have lasting power.

What did you think of Dumb and Dumber To. Am I wrong? Let me know. Comment and Discuss below!

You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24. There you can send me your thoughts on this movie and others and send me your requests for future reviews. If you follow me you can get updates on more movie news and reviews.

And in case you were wondering, no I have not seen the Star Wars trailer yet. We'll see if I give in, but I've told myself that I want to walk into that movie totally surprised and not know anything. Unfortunately, I feel like I know too much already but for now I'm sticking to my guns and not watching the trailer.

I'll leave you with this. Its a short video but its in honor of Back to the Future Day. I'm sorry I couldn't do more to honor the far better movie series here, but this is the best I can do for now. Enjoy!