[counter-critique] DUMB & DUMBER

Thepitch : twenty years after Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) are still friends – and still so stupid !

When they learn that Harry is the father, the two friends embark on a new road trip in search of his daughter. They will criss-cross the country and meet people all more improbable than the other.

As in the original film, Jim Carrey gives EVERYTHING with an energy that burlesque is impressive and is a counter-point ideal (though much less funny) Jeff Daniels. The disabled are always present, and the Farrelly mock always with tenderness. The secondary characters are always surprising, but their characterization admits of still no shade. The plot is, as usual, if we except Mary at Any Price, and relegated to the second plan.

The humor is so bold and vulgar, sometimes free, always very “first degree”. And as usual, without cynicism and without malice.

DUMB & DUMBER TO is in the end, exactly what you expect : a real coolness, but yet sterile…

Because, despite the gap between the two Dumb & Dumber, the film team has made all efforts to reproduce the first installment almost identical : scenario certainly different, but the same pace, same style of jokes, same actors, same style of music (Franz Ferdinand sounding particularly retro), same moral archaic.

The brothers Farrelly, aware not to correspond more to the air of time, have chosen to return drastic back.

If DUMB & DUMBER TO would have largely satisfied the fan nostalgic of the universe of the Farrelly (me)… It is more disappointing than satisfying.

The Farrelly are, unfortunately, more than the shadow of themselves… not that they have changed, but rather that the world evolved around them. The concerns of the public are not the same : fun free of characters and situations morons became a has-been, while the mode turns to the comic of proximity, the one created with characters whose sense of humor allows you to accept all the constraints and stress of everyday life.

The brothers Farrelly are still looking for the extraordinary in the ordinary, but the formula does not take any more. As well, Lloyd and Harry are still incredibly dumb, but you never see there, and the actors, having sacrificed their own self for the benefit of the exploitation of an old image.

Because DUMB & DUMBER TO is not a sum of their cinema, or an evolution, but a vulgar repetition. And if many of the gags are always smiling, their until the end-ism vulgar/tender, they still lost some of their sincerity, of their strength.

The reason for this disaster ? Judd Apatow.

The man produced since the early 90’s, amount of shows and TV series, whose apogee was undoubtedly the brilliant Freaks & Geeks. The series was pool of some of the representatives of the current comedy (even of the cinema tout court) U. S. : James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel… He was actually revealed to the general public with his first feature film, 40 years of age still a virgin. Him, and the great Steve Carrell.

”A vulgar repetition of the first game, the humor no longer works. The fault in that ? To Judd Apatow. ”

Its recipe ? A kind of evolution, pragmatic and realistic to the universe of the Farrelly : a true tenderness, a true respect for each character. Depict the everyday life is also one of its concerns fetishes… Between nostalgia and popular culture frequently cited ; his films also belong to their time.

His characters ? normal, completely normal. But with a sense of humor and/or improvisation out of the ordinary.

What he is saying ? Stories of love, of friends (bro-theater : Supergrave, Delirium, Express, etc), or significant is often accept the flow of time.

Emotion plays an important role, especially when it comes to the time of the acceptance of the loss of friends/loves, for the benefit of the assumption of responsibility.

His many productions and achievements have changed the landscape of american comedy. In Blister, Mode D’emploi, Sans Sarah Rien Ne Va…

As evidenced by the box office for a long time satisfied by the seal Apatow, despite the many releases bearing his brand (15 films in 10 years).

His films, in addition to developing their own style, have even ingested other representatives of the comedy U. S. : Will Ferrell (Star Presenter, Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers), SNL (My Best Friends) and even Adam Sandler, with the excellent but not so funny Funny People.

And if his own movies have become, with time, less and less conscious humour and more personal (the depressive 40 years mode of employment), the imprint of Judd Apatow on the comedy U. S. is undeniable.

ames Franco/Seth Rogen (This is the End, The Interview), but also Kevin Smith (Zack and Miri make a Porno, with… Seth Rogen), Seth MacFarlane (Ted), or the Farrelly themselves with their hybrid Good to Get… Many are those who try to re-create the alchemy made in Judd Apatow, without really achieving it.

Thus, it is overwritten by this legacy weird, because from part of their own cinema, that we find the forfeiture of Farrelly with DUMB & DUMBER TO.

Only survivor : Jim Carrey. Indeed, it is fascinating to observe the constancy of the actor, at the same time to the career fluctuating of the two directors. It started with him and Dumb & Dumber, before reaching a climax with the huge Boobies Of irene, and eventually regress, with him, in this ridiculously self-parody of DUMB & DUMBER TO.

The other outputs of the December 17, 2014

• Original title : Dumb and Dumber To

• Production : Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly

• Screenplay : Mike Cerrone, John Morris, Bennett Yellin, Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly

• Main actors : Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rob Riggle

• Country of origin : U. S. A.

• Released : December 17, 2014

• Duration : 1h49min

• Distributor : Metropolitan FilmExport

• Synopsis : Twenty years after Lloyd and Harry are still friends – and still so stupid ! When they learn that Harry is the father, the two friends embark on a new road trip in search of his daughter. They will criss-cross the country aboard vehicles that are ever more unlikely, sowing madness and chaos to a place where they never should have been able to find it…