Matt Shea
RubySoho
Morgan Bell
Cibbuano
David O'Connell
Mountain Fog
Dumb and Dumber
January 19th 2009 02:32
There's a moment in the Farrelly Bros film "Dumb and Dumber" where Jeff Daniel's character, Harry, hands a beer bottle full of urine to an unsuspecting police officer, causing my girlfriend to laugh hysterically in terrified disgust, retching and squirming.
That scene is here:
"Dumb and Dumber" never really raises itself above this level of humour, aiming for the gross-out laughs, making best use of silliness and juvenile situations.
Nevertheless, the film was quite successful on launch, creating minor comedy stars out of the Farrelly Bros, who would repeat this vile formula over and over, establishing themselves as minor regional princes of the gross-out comedy.
Though I know that these types of movie are going to punch below the belt, and usually combine terrible scriptwriting with predictable direction, I seem to produce an unexpected reaction: I laugh. And I laugh some more.
Well, what can you say - I suppose I'm juvenile to find "Dumb and Dumber" funny, even when it goes all the way into bathroom and diarrhoea jokes, as predictable as those are.
The film almost hits strides of near-genius, though, which is what attracted audiences to this brand of comedy, containing enough original material to build a cult audience. Most of this is due to Jim Carrey who, in the 90s, starred in several films that made him into the most daring funnyman we've seen in a long time.
"Dumb and Dumber" allowed Carrey to dig deep into his mental asylum pockets, soaking the film with a type of lunacy that shock and surprise audiences. It's hard, for example, to imagine this scene without Carrey:
Besides the humour, there's one single moment that strips the laughs away, revealing the center of the characters. After losing their jobs, Lloyd and Harry debate going to Aspen to follow Lloyd's love interest; Harry is adamant against going, but Carrey delivers these lines in closeup:
"I'm sick and tired of having to eke my way through life. I'm sick and tired of being a nobody. (pause) But most of all, I'm sick and tired of having nobody."
While not particularly moving, these lines convey something painful - how willing we are to laugh at these idiots, simply because they're fools. Even fools deserve a chance at happiness, though, but we pass them without notice, assuming that they're satisfied with their limited lot in life.
Depressing thoughts about a comedy, yes, and one that, if expanded, could almost have turned "Dumb and Dumber" into something special. Instead, though, we guffaw at Lloyd and Harry, dressed in orange and blue tuxedos, fighting with their canes as they enter a fancy charity dinner event. Juxtaposition is so easy to laugh at...
I say: If you haven't seen this by now, chances are that you're not really going to enjoy it, unless you're a desperate fan of infantile potty humour.
See it for: Carrey would end up marrying his female co-star, Lauren Holly, and has a spicy dream sequence with her.
*this image is from DVD Active
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Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
It's so subjective though isn't it? Of their work, personally I find Me Myself and Irene absolutely hilarious which, I'm sure, is the opposite of most people.
Comment by Janet Collins
Acceptable Etiquette
The Social Critic
Janet Collins Blog