FROM MY COLLECTION - "Dumb and Dumber" (1994)

In the early 1990s, there was an idea for a film called “Ski Nuts!” The movie revolved around two dumb skiers in Aspen, Colorado. The idea came from John Hughes, but he wasn’t interested in developing the idea any further beyond a rough first draft. Peter and Bobby Farrelly decided that they liked the idea and bought it off of Hughes on the famed filmmaker’s condition that his name not be credited anywhere on the movie.

Then came the casting. Steve Martin and Martin Short reportedly turned down the roles of Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne. Apparently, for a small bit of time, Nicolas Cage and Gary Oldman were said to have been cast but ultimately dropped out. Heeding the advice of their agents, the Farrelly brothers also decided that they themselves would direct the movie instead of getting someone else.

At first, they didn’t know anything about Jim Carrey. All they knew was that he was “the white guy” on “In Living Color”. However, they saw an early screening of “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” and decided they wanted him to play Lloyd. The subsequent success of “Ace Ventura” allowed Carrey to ink a $7 million deal with the studio.

Jeff Daniels, on the other hand, was not wanted by the studio despite both the Farrelly brothers and Carrey wanting to work with him. The studio thought Daniels was nothing more than a serious actor and didn’t think he could do the comedy. Therefore, they lowballed him and only offered Daniels $50,000 for the movie thinking he would turn it down.

Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels play Lloyd and Harry in "Dumb and Dumber"!

Sure enough, Daniels’ agent told him to reject the deal based on how much they were offering. However, to the shock of everyone, Daniels really wanted to do a comedy and he took the low offer to star in the movie along with Carrey. Thus, one of the great comedy duos was born in what would become a massive smash comedy hit.

Released in December 1994, the movie would end up grossing over $247 million against a $17 million budget. It was the third film in a string of hits for Carrey in ‘94 following “Ace Ventura” in February and “The Mask” in July ‘94. The only thing that bugs me is that some modern film “experts” refer to this movie as a cult classic.

I’m sorry, but before I talk about the movie itself, I want to clarify something. If a film is a smash hit at the box office and has no problem finding its audience, then it doesn’t have a cult following… it just has a following and this movie is well deserving of its following.

For the uninitiated, the movie follows Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne, two extremely unintelligent characters. After Lloyd drops off Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly) at the airport, he notices that she left a briefcase in the terminal. He quickly grabs the briefcase, but is unable to return it to Mary before her flight to Aspen leaves.

Lloyd and Harry go through many misadventures in "Dumb and Dumber"!

After other setbacks such as losing their jobs and what little provisions they had left, Lloyd convinces Harry that they should take a road trip to Aspen in order to return the briefcase to Mary. What they don’t know is that the briefcase actually contains a ransom for Mary’s husband and that they are being tracked by two criminals who were supposed to receive the money.

From beginning to end, the movie is filled with belly laughs. The first thing to note is that Carrey’s signature physical comedy is on full display here, whether it’s him falling from an empty terminal or the scene where he’s trying to deal with just eating a hot pepper.

The second and, in my opinion, most important note is the chemistry between Carrey and Daniels. Their interactions are always hilarious and they give you the sense that these are genuine albeit dumb kindred spirits. They have the same successful chemistry that powered other famous duos from Abbott and Costello to Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder. The only regret here is that they didn’t make more comedies together outside of “Dumb and Dumber”.

It’s also a fun road trip movie, at least for the first half before they get to Aspen. It belongs up there with others such as “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles”, “The Blues Brothers”, and “Cheech & Chong’s Up In Smoke”.

Now, like most other comedies from this era, there are a couple of jokes that probably come off as out of date or not with the times. However, this movie holds up way better than other movies from the 1990s.

For me, it’s still in my top ten, if not my top five, for favorite comedies of all time. Carrey and Daniels make for a successful team in a road trip comedy where the jokes hit far more than they miss. So, get your provisions for a road trip, settle in, and either catch this comedy for the first time or prepare to revisit a stone cold comedy classic!