Starring: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rob Riggle

Genre: ‘Comedy’

After discovering that he needs a new kidney, dimwit Harry (Daniels) also discovers that he has a daughter, who would be his only blood relative and potential donor, so he and best friend Lloyd (Carrey) embark on a road trip to find her and, naturally, all hilarity ensues!

Twenty years is a long time to wait for a sequel (the mere existence of 2003’s supposed ‘prequel’ does not even deserve acknowledgement!), well it seems that with Dumb and Dumber To the brothers Farrelly have seen the current tsunamic tidal wave of lazy, cynical and lowest-common-denominator ‘comedy’ that has flooded our cinema screens in the last few years and thought “that sounds like a nice easy money maker we can be part of.”

The Farrelly brothers have always been happy to produce unashamedly crude comedy, and there is nothing necessarily wrong with that as I would argue that in the past they have produced some absolutely hilarious films, one of these being Dumb & Dumber. Well, unfortunately the sequel that we have not particularly demanded but have been given anyway, albeit twenty years later, is in the same vein as all the other turgid and vile mainstream ‘comedy’ that is made with laziness, complacency and no respect for its audience these days. The only difference is that Dumb and Dumber To does not star Vince Vaughn, Cameron Diaz or Adam Sandler, the fact that it stars two actors who really should know better is even more depressing and deeply irritating.

I am sure Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels picked up two very generous cheques for turning up in this detritus. Well, all I can say is that I hope they use them to fund a couple of excellent art house projects, otherwise these two actors who have undoubted talent (especially Daniels) should be deeply ashamed. They must not have even read the script before agreeing to star in this thing. The fact is that I quite simply find it impossible to believe that Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels and the Farrelly Brothers truly believe they are making a film that is actually funny. An extremely deluded opinion in a film is perhaps forgivable (to an extent), but knowingly making something as atrocious as Dumb and Dumber To with full awareness should lead to a lifetime ban from making films for all eternity!

The ‘plot’ feels like it was simply made up by all involved as they went along and the comedy is just non-existent. I will of course be the first to admit that comedy is highly subjective, but stupid or as crude as possible just for the sake of it does not automatically equal funny! Comedy is painfully difficult to get right and it is sickening to see so many actors and directors thinking they can just improvise and be crude and stupid like a bunch of blokes on a stag do and that will do. People pay to see these films and deserve better.

Painful viewing from start to finish; Dumb and Dumber To may as well be an Adam Sandler film as it is as lazy, cynical and insulting to the intelligence of any sentient being as most other mainstream comedies these days. What makes it worse is that it is from people that should know better!

1/10