*1/2 (out of four)
As fresh and effective as a spritz of Binaca in the wrong direction, "Dumb and Dumber To" answers the question, "Is 20 years too long to wait for a sequel?" with a half-hearted smack to the nuts. If words like "nuts" and "sack" crack you up, however-the previous sentence was a test-then prepare for hilarity. I mean, this movie also contains farts.
The Farrelly Brothers' amusing 1994 movie wasn't exactly the pinnacle of sophistication, of course. Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) were clueless, innocent buffoons who forever put their stamp on the soup du jour and referring to alcohol as "loud-mouth soup." It never before occurred to me that soup plays a significant role in that movie. Huh.
Anyway, watching two dopes in their 30s embarrass themselves is a lot different than seeing those bozos as obnoxious, immature sleazeballs in their 50s. (Sort of similarly, converting Veronica Mars from a teen sleuth to an adult detective didn't work either.) And where the guys were always the butt of the joke in "Dumb and Dumber,""Dumb and Dumber To" loses its oddly charming indictment of stupidity. "Show us your tits!" the guys scream at a woman during an event at which they're unconvincingly believed to be geniuses. There are no consequences for this outburst. It's one of many instances throughout this sad comedy when co-directors/co-writers Peter and Bobby Farrelly attempt a laugh through a woman's physical or sexual humiliation-as if the funny part is mocking a middle-aged woman's body, not that these jerks would be dumb enough to do it.
The plot involves the intellectually limited pals attempting to reunite with Harry's long-lost daughter Penny (shamefully exploited Illinois native Rachel Melvin, who looks like Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Bilson and Michelle Monaghan all at once), mostly so she can give him a kidney. In a subplot that feels yanked from "Tommy Boy," Penny's conniving adopted mother and the mom's secret lover (Rob Riggle) attempt a greedy betrayal that ... ah, who cares. This movie ain't about the story. It's about the jokes (several shots of Harry changing Lloyd's diaper, an anal probe joke, cheap callbacks to the events of the first movie), and they're mostly terrible.
The Farrellys made their name on gross-out humor in "There's Something About Mary," but their best stuff is a less-pushy mixture of sweet and sour ("Fever Pitch,""Stuck on You"). Willing to settle for dog saliva and cat butts?
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mpais@tribune.com
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