Anyone wondering why the fact that Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels have recently signed on to star in a true sequel to Dumb and Dumber is such a wonderful bit of news need only revisit (or experience for the first time) the 1994 original to find the answer. The Farrelly Brothers‘ first feature might still be their best (we have a feeling this spring’s The Three Stooges will do little to challenge this assumption) as it chronicles the misadventures of Lloyd (Carrey) and Harry (Daniels), two inseparable morons who find themselves in Aspen after stumbling upon a mysterious briefcase left behind by Lloyd’s crush (Lauren Holly), an item meant for the gangsters who have kidnapped her husband and not for a couple of well-meaning idiots. Dumb and Dumber is filled to the point of bursting with slapstick and gross-out humor (some of it grosser than you may remember, courtesy of the Unrated Edition available on Netflix); almost inevitably, not every joke works, but — unlike in some of the Farrellys’ later works — most of them do. Both stars are excellent, though Daniels may emerge as the more impressive player, if only because his pitch-perfect comedic performance comes as something of a surprise — since when was this usually dramatic actor so damn funny?
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New On Netflix: Dumb and Dumber Unrated