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STUDIO: New Line
MSRP: $19.98
RATED: Unrated
RUNNING TIME: 113 min.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• 6 More Minutes
• Deleted Scenes
• Alternate Endings
• Retrospective Documentary
• Original Trailers
• Fake Trailers
It starts here. The resurrection of the Gross-Out Comedy– a dormant genre since the days of Porky’s Revenge. In 1994, Jim Carrey had just proven himself a box-office draw with Ace Ventura and The Mask. Meanwhile, two brothers from Rhode Island, Bobby and Peter Farrelly, were about to embark on a series of lucky filmmaking breaks, eventually peaking with There’s Something About Mary.
The Flick
Is it necessary to recount the misadventures of Harry and Lloyd here? Who hasn’t seen this movie already? Well… me, for one. Sure, I’d heard a sound-file of the karate scene, and someone at the video store cued up the toilet scene for me once. I was amused, but never actually got around to watching the whole movie (plus six minutes!) until now.
Okay. Lloyd Christmas (Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels—check him out in The Squid and the Whale to see what he’s really capable of) are a couple of dumb guys. Lloyd’s a limo driver with delusions of grandeur. Harry works for some kind of pet-grooming establishment and has, apparently on his own initiative, customized his van to look like a giant dog.
One day, Lloyd falls for a pretty girl (Lauren Holly) on a ride to the airport and sees her leave a briefcase in the middle of the terminal. He rushes in and grabs it, convinced that by returning it to her personally he can earn her undying love. What he doesn’t know is that the briefcase contains a ransom payment; as he and Harry drive cross-country with the briefcase in hand, knowing only that the girl was headed to Aspen, Colorado, they are pursued by two nasty but incompetent killers.
Now don’t ask why a woman desperate to deliver a ransom without alerting the authorities would roll up in a stretch limousine, or leave the drop in the middle of a crowded terminal floor for anyone to pick up. Let’s just say Harry and Lloyd aren’t the only dumb people here, but if everyone was smart there’d be no story at all.
Oh wait. There is no story at all. Harry and Lloyd just drive across the country, repeatedly causing casual acquaintances to consume hazardous substances. The best joke is the Mutt Cutts van itself, and even that disappears halfway through the film. While this is an Unrated Edition, I can’t tell you which six minutes are the new ones or how they affect the overall movie.
I can forgive the lazy plotting– nobody watches a movie like this for the third-act twist– but on a basic comedy level there are two fundamental things that work against this flick being genuinely amusing. First, Carrey has not, at this point in time, learned how to share the screen with his cast-mates; he does funny things, but his riffs are directed at no one in particular and repeatedly stop scenes dead. The other problem is that there isn’t enough differentiation between his character and Daniels’; no comedy team is complete without a straight-man. The few scenes that do work, like the “Most Annoying Sound in the World” bit, benefit from the presence of a third, humorless party.
All in all, Dumb and Dumber hasn’t held up that well over the years. It’ll always have a handful of quotable bits but could easliy be 40 minutes shorter.
3 out of 10
The Hidden III: The Carreying.
The Look
16:9 anamorphic, 1.85:1 ratio. Sharp and clear, occasionally showing up the rather flat look of the film itself. The whole picture has a yellowish cast to it but I can’t tell if that was intended.
7 out of 10
The Noise
Your choice of DTS or Dolby EX, primarily benefitting the many, many musical interludes that show vehicles driving from one place to another. For the ultimate home theatre workout, however, Chapter 20 awaits your pleasure. No French language track for the Modern Jerry Lewis? Zut.
8 out of 10
Lauren Holly’s Christmas card.
The Goodies
No commentary, but lots of recent interviews with supporting actors and producers, all of whom insist that they’re happy with the way the movie turned out. Mr. Carrey, the former Mrs. Carrey, and the Farrelly brothers are conspicuous by their absence, but Daniels proves himself as good a sport as ever—especially when revealing how he was actually set on fire for a scene. All the supplementary material is presented anamorphic widescreen, so score one for New Line. This disc appears to have been finalled before Charles Rocket’s suicide last year—there is no acknowledgement of his passing anywhere, while an unfortunate outtake of him absently holding a gun to his head remains.
Dumb be not proud.
The Artwork
How many more of these publicity stills of Carrey and Daniels molesting each other are there? Seems every poster or video edition has a new one. I still like the one where Daniels is pulling on Carrey’s ears the best. I’m afraid to think what unreleased poses are being saved for the 20th Anniversary…
8 out of 10
P.S.: If you want to see some genuinely brilliant, timeless comedy involving the names "Harold" and "Lloyd", click HERE. You won’t regret it.