It’s taken over twenty years for a sequel to 1994’s comedy hit "Dumb and Dumber" to arrive, but next week we finally see idiots Harry & Lloyd, played again by Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, back on screen in the irritatingly-titled sequel "Dumb and Dumber To," again directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly.
It remains to be seen whether audiences are still interested, but given that Carrey and Daniels would be 72 and 79 respectively with another two-decade gap, it’s not surprising that the filmmakers and actors are already starting to talk about a potential third picture.
At the premiere, Peter Farrelly told Variety (via Film Drunk) "Depending how this does, I could see doing another. I just really enjoy this movie and working with those guys. Yeah, I could see doing it again." And Daniels echoed those sentiments, adding "I love the Farrellys, I love Jim. There’s great value in making people laugh 20 years ago and I hope now. And (if) you get to do it again, you get to do it again."
This could, as Farrelly acknowledges, be wishful thinking if the film doesn’t hit (these kind of years-later comedies can be somewhat hit-and-miss at the box office), but Universal might be keen to move ahead sharpish if it "Dumb and Dumber To" does turn out to be a moneymaker, especially given that Carrey’s price is likely much more reasonable than it used to be. Could we be seeing "Dumb and Dumber Three" ("Dumb and Dumber Free?" "Dumb and Dumbest?") in only a couple of years? Well, if you want such a thing, you’ll have to go see the second film when it opens next Friday, November 14th.
As much as I enjoy Jeff Daniels (the man is a good actor, I don\’t care who says otherwise), if Carrey isn\’t keen to do a third then I don\’t care to watch it. The premise of the buddy comedy these films rely upon hinges on how well the leads work together and, for all its flaws, the first was entertaining because Carrey and Daniels were believable as a pair of lunkhead pals. I\’d rather not waste my time trying to see a shadow of what was with one half of something.