Movie review: Dumb and Dumber To

Yawn ... the Dumb and Dumber sequel is short on laughs, big on fart jokes and best left to staunch fans of the genre. Photo / AP

Cast:

Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Kathleen Turner

Director:

Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly

Running Time:

109 mins

Rating:

M (violence, offensive language, drug references, sexual references)

Verdict:

Why?

In the 1994 original Dumb and Dumber there was something endearing about Lloyd and Harry's idiotic, crude behaviour.

But no matter how hard a reunited Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels try, the relentlessly silly, physical comedy doesn't have the same charm today. And try they do - much too much.

Carrey pulls out every facial expression in his extensive repertoire, leaping around with the nimbleness he had back in the days of The Mask and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Daniels perfects the art of looking like a big, sweet, dumb labrador, which at least isn't as tiresome as Carrey.

The lowbrow tone is set from the beginning, when Lloyd (Carrey) reveals his catatonic state and 20-year incarceration in a psychiatric hospital was a gag and Harry (Daniels) pulls out his catheter. The pair head off on another road trip - this time to find Harry's long-lost daughter (Rachel Melvin) in the hope that she'll donate a kidney to Harry, who is in need of a transplant.

From this point it's all fart gags, incessant doorbell ringing and snot bubbles. It should be delightfully shocking, but instead it just feels tired and rather tasteless.

That said, the boys' persistence wears you down and, there are a few laughs. My favourite was a cat farting feathers after eating rare exotic birds. If you haven't seen the 1994 original, you'll wonder what on earth all the fuss was about.

Best to leave this one to the diehard fans, who should stay for the post-credit shenanigans.

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