MovieChat Forums > Dumb and Dumber To (2014) Discussion > Why it didnt work...

Why it didnt work...

posted 8 years ago by wjveryzer
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So i watched the original again and was reminded of how good it was. It really made me think why this failed so badly. Most movies are not good enough to warrant a sequel because it never recaptures what made the 1st special. Well unless you get JJ abrams. Anyway, I think the 1st worked so well because Jim carrey and jeff D were not really huge stars yet at the time. They took the parts seriously as actors despite the type of movie it was. That was definitely a small part of why the 1st worked. The big question I have is writing and directing. I just do not understand how with the same writers and director how the characters were NOTHING like what they were in the 1st. The 2nd not only went full tilt with the stupidness but it also made them mean spirited and even played up the physical aspect of it. Like during filming how did noone (even jim and jeff) not say hey wait a second, these guys are dumb but they arent evil and actually mentally retarted. The original had such a charm because even tho they were idiots they still were somewhat normal and had good hearts. It was a lot easier to like the characters and believe there story as crazy as it was. That was the whole freakin charm of the 1st! I loved both of them! I really am baffled and so dissapointed that they bastardized one of my all time favorite movies. I would actually feel better if it was done by different people. Anyone have any other thoughts or info? I would LOVE to actually ask the farrelys there thoughts on this. Did they ever talk about it? Or have jim and jeff said anything? I mean it was so bad to the point I almost feel like it was purposely done because noone wanted to do it.

[–] rportexxtra 8 years ago

I thought a major factor in why it felt so out of line from the original was the editing, I really feel strongly that the way it was released it feels like a love letter to the unrated version of the original but with the right editing it can be in line with the theatrical original and I actually took the liberty of doing the job myself making my own fan edit. But when it comes to the issue of

how the characters were NOTHING like what they were in the 1st. The 2nd not only went full tilt with the stupidness but it also made them mean spirited and even played up the physical aspect of it. Like during filming how did noone (even jim and jeff) not say hey wait a second, these guys are dumb but they arent evil and actually mentally retarted.

As for Lloyd poking fun at the guys death in front of his parents I can totally understand why something like that would be jarring to see at a shallow glance but what really counts is the spirit in which it occurred, for example in the original Lloyd did what he thought was complementing the old lady when in actuality he was completely oblivious to the fact that it was a degrading insult and not to mention he deceitfully sold a dead bird to an innocent defenseless blind kid, the essence being he has absolutely no grasp of the repercussions of his actions.

And as for setting Travis on fire, yeah at first glance something like that would definitely come across as malicious and malevolent but again it all depends on the context, in the original there were instances of bodily affliction that defied the laws of reality like when Harry's leg caught fire, in real life his leg would probably be permanently scarred (if it didn't spread throughout his entire body), and the manicurist filing down Lloyd's toenails with an air sander, in real life his foot would probably be totally mangled.

And as for him being so brazenly selfish and unconcerned about Harry's kidney throughout and in particular the part of him mocking the guy in the wheelchair, yeah those were bits that plain and simply served no purpose but to taint the innocence factor of the original and get in the way of the pacing turning the whole movie into a Jackson Pollock canvas of an exercise in terrible film editing. The first diaper changing flashback and peanut butter flashback also felt straight out of the unrated version of the original and the cell phone gag something straight out of Anchorman 2.