Movie classics – Dumb & Dumber (1994)
The Farrelly brothers unleashed a torrent of gross out comedies during the '90s and noughties. Engagingly low brow and frequently hilarious, the likes
The Farrelly brothers unleashed a torrent of gross out comedies during the ’90s and noughties. Engagingly low brow and frequently hilarious, the likes of There’s Something About Mary and Kingpin are remembered with much guilty fondness – but for our money it’s Dumb & Dumber that’s the pick of the litter.
Featuring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels as the titular simpletons, Dumb & Dumber is a road movie packed with memorable scenes: the boys’ fingernails-down-the-blackboard rendition of Mockingbird, Carrey’s dream sequence of a fantasy life with Lauren Holly, and the ‘assassination’ of an endangered owl using a champagne cork stand out, as does Daniels’ unfortunately-timed bout of illness (never let your friend give you a cup of tea laced with pre-date laxative).
So, yeah, it’s low brow stuff, rich in toilet humour and people falling over, but there are also some brilliant moments of dialogue (“Listen, Mr Samsonite, about the briefcase…”) and, despite the characters’ obvious flaws – stupidity and selfishness among them – they’re likeable enough that you actually want to stick around and see how things end up.
Let’s just forget about that sequel though. Ill-conceived isn’t a strong enough term for Dumb & Dumberer.
Dumb & Dumber, £9 on Blu-ray from Amazon
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