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This Film On

Dumb and Dumber

The Farrelly Brothers (Bobby and Peter, that is) launched their career with a little movie called Dumb and Dumber. And their work has never been fresherer. The Farrellys' knack for stupid, Three Stooges-esque comedy writ larger by an infusion of heart excels with the complementary screen teaming of manic Jim Carrey and consummate screen actor Jeff Daniels.

The heart is apparent from the opening shot, locating the film on "Hope Street." In Providence, Rhode Island, roommates Lloyd Christmas (Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Daniels) don't have a lot to be hopeful about. Rejected by society, girls, and employers, the doofus duo has little to lose when erstwhile limo driver Lloyd suggests a road trip to Aspen in pursuit of the attractive Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly), ostensibly to return her briefcase but chiefly to give the burned Lloyd another shot with her. Unbeknownst to Lloyd and Harry, Mary purposefully left the briefcase behind, as it contains a ransom payment for a kidnapped family member. With a couple of dangerous hoods (Mike Starr and Karen Duffy) on the friends' tails, you better believe hijinks will ensue.

The Farrellys direct confidently (though Bobby's direction here goes uncredited) from a script by Peter, Bobby, and Bennett Yellin. Dumb and Dumber works because of its simple yet brilliant hook of two barely functioning idiots getting into trouble. Carrey and Daniels, the former in a bowl cut and the latter under a shaggy mane, throw themselves into their work, and they're truly a sight in matching orange and powder-blue tuxes (with top hats and canes) at the Aspen Preservation Society Snow Owl Benefit. It would be criminal to reveal too many of the various comic set pieces, but suffice it to say there's fart-lighting and crotch-punching, a hilarious game of "It" in the car (with top-notch straight man Starr in the middle), and a bathroom scene involving "Turbo Lax" that forever establishes Daniels as a fearless actor.