There was another comedy force of the nineties. Decades before being Dr Robotnik (you knew I’d get a Sonic reference in there), Jim Carrey was undoubtedly on a roll. He was the Pet Detective, The Mask, and The Cable Guy, to name a few. It seemed like there wasn’t a month that went by without a Jim Carrey comedy on the shelves at Barry’s.
My brother loved these — owning a good few on video, which meant repeat viewings.
Confession time: I often found these movies a bit too much. I know, sourpuss, right? It’s not like I don’t like slapstick comedy. Rowan Atkinson’s Mr Bean and Rik Mayall (Drop Dead Fred, The Young Ones) were already firm favourites. But until Dumb and Dumber, the rubber‑faced Carrey didn’t 100% connect for me. My favorite Carrey movie is Man on the Moon, and I’m sure we’ll visit that one another time here at Reaction.
Back to Dumb and Dumber. My brother will still quote this one. I have complex feelings about it — not because of the quality of the film. This is a good one that balances slapstick with a good heart. It’s a road‑trip comedy that sees Harry (Jim Carrey) and Lloyd (Jeff Daniels) travel across the country to return a briefcase to Mary (Lauren Holly). The suitcase is full of random money, Harry and Lloyd are in danger all the way through but don’t really realise it. Later, they both try to impress Mary, which leads to its own set of routines.
The reason I have complex feelings is simple: I’ve seen it too many times. After the video rental, this one came onto Sky Movies. We recorded it onto VHS and, on “movie nights” when my brother was choosing, it was often a Jim Carrey movie (or later Something About Mary). More often than not, it was this one.
Which brings me to my favourite memory of this movie.
I took the VHS to my grandad’s — I often did for the bigger ones. My Great Aunt turned up halfway through, just in time to see the part where Harry puts laxative in Lloyd’s drink. If you’ve seen it, you know.
I had, to that point, never seen my Aunt cry with laughter. She couldn’t get her breath, and within seconds the whole room was laughing — partly at the film, but also at her reaction to it. This moment alone puts Dumb and Dumber up there.
Next time: it’s 1995, and we’re looking at Casper the Friendly Ghost.