Dumb and Dumber

My Grade:  A+

One thing that makes film such an amazing thing is that there is something for everyone. A film you may hate, your friend may love. Perhaps there isn’t a more polarizing film than The Farrelly Brothers’ 1994 slapstick comedy Dumb and Dumber starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. Some people adore these two good-hearted idiots while others despise this film and harshly criticize it.

Dumb and Dumber follows two best friends as they journey from Rhode Island to Aspen, CO in hopes to return a briefcase to its rightful owner. These two friends are Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey), who works as a limo driver, and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) who works at a dog grooming place. Oh yea, and he drives a van that has been decorated like a sheep dog.

Lloyd drives the “most beautiful woman alive,” Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly), to the airport and she leaves her briefcase behind. Lloyd ends up grabbing the briefcase in hopes of getting it to her before he plane takes off, but he’s too late. It turns out that the reason she left it is that it contained the ransom money to get her kidnapped husband back.

As this lovable duo (with impeccable comedic timing) travels across the country to return the briefcase, they encounter all kinds of issues usually brought on by their lack of intelligence. Can they make it to Aspen in one piece? Will Mary get her husband back? Will Lloyd be able to woo Mary? Can Harry and Lloyd remain friends? Watch the film to find out.

This film gets a bad rep because it is brushed of as “dumb.” That makes sense seeing as how the title is Dumb and Dumber and the main characters are idiots; however, there are some jokes in it that are very well thought out and relatively subtle. While most slapstick comedies are just over-the-top, the subtlety of some of the jokes makes this film a cut above the rest of the slapstick genre.

The reason this film is great hinges on Carrey and Daniels. Their comedic timing is better than any you will see in a film. They play perfectly off each other and both are so good at physical comedy that you can watch this film over and over and get something new every time. Just the looks on their faces will make you laugh at times.

There is heart to this film, contrary to what some believe. It’s a film about friendship at its core and shows that friendship goes beyond money or relationships with the opposite sex. Friendship is something not to be taken for granted and you should consider yourself lucky if you have a friend with whom you are as close as Harry and Lloyd are.