Dir. by Troy Miller - 1 hr. 26 min.
Official Trailer
by Clayton Hollifield
I don't want to sidestep the fundamental issues surrounding "Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd." This is not a good movie. This is nothing compared to it's predecessor. Everything about this film screams "straight-to-video" so loudly that it's difficult to remember that it was, in fact, a theatrical release. Having said all of that, it's also not nearly as bad as you'd have every right to think it ought to be. I laughed, dammit, I laughed.
What we've got here is a prequel to the Farrelly brothers' smash hit, "Dumb and Dumber." Whereas the original starred Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, and was riotously funny, I'm not sure there are any holdover actors from that film to this one. This is a high-school movie, where Harry (Derek Richardson) meets Lloyd (Eric Christian Olsen), and are immediately recognized as the dolts that they are. Principal Collins (Eugene Levy) and lunch-lady Ms. Heller (Cheri Oteri) hatch a plot to defraud the school district of $100k, which requires creating a "special needs class." Resident smart hottie Jessica (Rachel Nichols) is on the hunt for a big story for the school newspaper, and smells something off about the special needs class. Meanwhile, Harry mistakes Jessica's interest in his involvement in the class for genuine interest in him.
Shia LeBeouf may not be famous anymore, but he surely cashed his paycheck for his work on this film. And, in fact, there are a bunch of people that you might recognize in this film, which is kind of weird. Aside from Eugene Levy and Cheri Oteri, Mimi Rogers, Luis Guzman, Brian Posehn (for you comedian nerds out there) and Bob Saget all have small roles. None of that adds up to a good reason to check "Dumb and Dumberer" out, but it's a nice bonus if you're already strapped in for the ride. What there is here is a ton of really dumb humor, and if that's your cup of tea (admittedly, it is sometimes mine), there's some good material here. The two stars do a decent job of aping the characters they're supposed to be, and their idiotic dialogue is decent. But what the whole thing comes down to is this: I can't entirely hate a movie with this vehicle in it:
from the IMCDB
It's not just a short bus, it's the shortest bus! And there's even a car chase involving it! Look, this bus is far too awesome of an idea for a movie like this, and yet here it is, just sitting around being awesome in something that should have been a direct-to-video movie that everyone forgot about two days later. It kind of makes me mad that such an awesome car is wasted on a project that's ceiling is honestly pretty low. And, at the same time, should I find myself the recipient of a large jackpot, I'm getting one of these bad boys custom made, and driving the hell out of it.
There are other jokes that land in "Dumb and Dumberer," as well. Again, I'm not going to pretend it's a good movie; it isn't. But it seems to be more a victim of being a terrible idea (ie, a sequel in name only, including none of the talent that made the franchise's name in the first place) than being terribly executed, because it isn't that, either. It's a solid dumb comedy, which isn't an oxymoron (you're an oxymoron!), there are some familiar faces, and if you don't hold it to the standard of "Dumb and Dumber," you might laugh, too.
2 / 5 - TV (HD)
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