31 Years Ago, One of the Funniest Movies of the 1990s Was Released (And They Should Have Left It Alone)

The Farrelly brothers were integral in the world of 1990s cinematic comedies. As a duo, they’ve helmed the winners Kingpin, There’s Something About Mary, and Me, Myself & Irene. Granted, that was their peak, but as for the aughts, Osmosis Jones is at least inventive, Shallow Hal attempts to convey a heartfelt message, and Fever Pitch is an underrated rom-com. As for the 2010s, Hall Pass has its moments, and The Three Stooges was an understandable if not also misguided attempt to capitalize on a favorite from a very long time ago. But it’s the two movies that bookend their collaboratively directed filmography that are the most interesting.

The first was Dumb and Dumber, a ’90s comedy masterpiece that perpetually feels spontaneous and has very few scenes that aren’t bolstered by perfectly timed jokes and razor-sharp chemistry between leads Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. As for their most recent co-directed movie? That would be Dumb and Dumber To, which has none of those things (though it’s clear Carrey and Daniels still have a strong rapport). What made Dumb and Dumber To such a wreck? Let’s unpack why the original Dumb and Dumber (which turns 31 today) should have stayed a one-off.

Why Should They Have Left Well Enough Alone?

It’s almost hard to blame them for following up Dumb and Dumber not once, but twice. After all, the Farrelly brothers’ movie made a massive $247.3 million against just $17 million.

But a lot of that success really came down to the presence of the Farrellys, fresh talents on the comedy scene, and, especially, Carrey. As is quite well known by this point, Carrey was the first actor attached to the film. A lot centered around him, to the point that a primary reason why Daniels (who was almost exclusively known for dramas like Terms of Endearment) was cast was because Carrey endorsed him.

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Carrey was as big as an actor can be in 1994. Both Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask were big hits, and Dumb and Dumber was yet another big check in the win column. People were buying tickets to dumb and dumber because the soon-to-be Batman Forever star was on the poster.

Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd didn’t have Carrey on the poster, nor did it have Daniels, nor did it have the Farrellys. And, as baffling as the title was, just as confusing was the thought that audiences would want to see the younger versions of these two particular characters. The chemistry between Carrey and Daniels was what made the movie benefit from slight drops weekend after weekend at the box office. Outside of (the perpetually underrated) Eric Christian Olsen’s admittedly great impression of the Bruce Almighty legend, Dumb and Dumberer has nothing going for it, from the script to the tendency to replicate the first film’s jokes.

Then again, it’s Dumb and Dumber To that is by far the bigger disappointment. No one had high expectations of Dumb and Dumberer, but to get back Carrey, Daniels, and the Farrellys for a legacy sequel at a point when such things were doing well? There were expectations, and the final product was a mess. An incredibly mean spirited mess.

Gone are the goofballs who nonetheless have good hearts beneath the giggling shell. In were two individuals who go to a TED talk and yell “Show us your t*ts” at the woman on the stage. That scene is the ultimate example of how, even though they created them, the Farrellys seem to have entirely forgotten who Harry and Lloyd are. Was the problem the fact that the screenplay was written by a whopping six people (including the Farrellys)? Maybe. Almost certainly. But even still, the Farrellys had a long history in the comedy genre at this point, they should have recognized that stuff like “Show us your t*ts” isn’t a punchline, it’s sexual harassment.

There was a boatload of problems throughout To‘s production. Carrey withdrew from the project at one point and Warner Bros. Pictures dropped it, at which point Red Granite Pictures picked it up only to later be charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for using money stolen from a Malaysian government investment fund (aka a part of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal). All the signs were there: this thing wasn’t worth making.

The end result is something with jokes that stretch the boundaries of reality too much, even for these characters (Really? Lloyd has spent the 20 years between movies faking catatonia just to play a joke on Harry?). It also suffers from a convoluted plot and cameo overload. The only real upside is that Rachel Melvin excels in her role as the young woman who is supposedly Harry’s daughter.

The good news is that the original Dumb and Dumber still very much works. It’s a nice movie to watch around Christmas, because of the Aspen setting, not because Lloyd’s last name is Christmas.