Critics Say ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ Is Just Dumb And Unfunny

Twenty years after the world was first introduced to Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) and Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey), the rowdy duo returns this weekend in Dumb and Dumber To. Judging by the reviews from critics, though, this film should have never happened.

Several gave the Dumb and Dumber sequel the lowest grade possible. Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News praised the first film, but gave the sequel zero out of four stars. He said the jokes don’t work this time around, and Daniels doesn’t transition well from drama to comedy like he did in the first.

“If Carrey seems stuck in time, churning out weird faces that no longer amuse, then Daniels’ open-mouthed buffoonery is truly wasted. In the first film, it was hard to see the guy from ‘Purple Rose of Cairo’ in Harry’s shaggy foolishness; now, the guy from ‘The Newsroom’ similarly disappears, but the film lets him down.”

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle also called Dumb and Dumber To unfunny, and he questioned why Carrey and Daniels agreed to do it.

“Either out of nostalgia, or a sense of loyalty, or some epic misreading of the script, or a payday beyond the dreams of most mere mortals, Carrey and Daniels agreed to appear in this ghastly sequel, which is more than just not funny.”

Jason Clark from Entertainment Weekly said that while the first Dumb and Dumber had some moments in between the slapstick humor that made the audience care for the characters, the sequel does not. And the script, which was written by the Farrelly brothers and four other people, recycles a lot of the original’s jokes.

“The occasional clever sight gag proves the Farrellys are down but not quite out… But the material feels more desperate than funny… Carrey and Daniels are forced to wring this middling material so hard they must have calluses.”

Jordan Hoffman of the Guardian is one of the critics in the minority, when it comes to Dumb and Dumber To. He gave the film three out of five stars, and admitted that he laughed more than he should have.

“Don’t get me wrong – I take no pride in this confession. But my mind’s got a mind of its own, and I’d be lying if I said this movie didn’t crack me up on more than a few occasions.”

At the time of this post, Dumb and Dumber To has a 28 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 46 reviews counted. It is expected that more will be posting on the website soon.

In a related report from the Inquisitr, despite the controversy surrounding TLC’s now-cancelled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Mama June and Honey Boo Boo will still have cameo appearances in Dumb and Dumber To.

[Image credit: Universal Pictures via Dumblr]