Why So Blu?

Dumb And Dumber To (Blu-ray Review)

One of my favorite comedies from the 1990s was Dumb And Dumber.  I laughed my tail off when I first saw the film in the theater.  Being a huge Jim Carrey fan since his In Living Color days, I was there opening weekend.  The film also introduced us to the Farrelly brothers who would rock pretty good with their comedies through the 90s.  People clamored for a follow up to Harry and Lloyd’s first adventure, but Jim Carrey was always holding it back because he became larger than life and began chasing an Oscar and rightfully didn’t need a second one.  Instead, they gave us Dumb And Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd.  A prequel film nobody was asking for or wanting.  People wanted the Farrellys, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.  Well, years went by and Carrey’s box office clout has fallen, so “of course” he was down to do the second Dumb And Dumber.  But, now its 20 years later and seems more desperate than essential for all involved but Jeff Daniels.  

Film 

For the past 20 year, Lloyd Christmas has been in a mental institution for the devastation caused to him by Mary Swanson.  On a visit from his best pal, Harry Dunne, Lloyd reveals that “Got ya!”, its been a lengthy and elaborate prank on Harry for the last 20 years.  Upon returning to their apartment, Harry tells Lloyd that he needs a kidney transplant.  A trip back to Harry’s parents reveals a letter from 23 years ago claiming that Harry got a girl pregnant.  This sends Harry and Lloyd on a trip to find Harry’s potential daughter and hopefully she’s okay with giving him her kidney.

Woof.  This direct follow up to the original film just doesn’t seem to have much going for it from the get go.  Maybe its because its so much later and those involved have been so far removed from the first film or maybe its just that the Dumb And Dumber series really only had one movie going for it.  Like I always say with comedy follow ups, I think the better route to go, instead of a sequel, is to just pair the writer/directors and stars up for a different film.  Take a look at the Cornetto trilogy.  Hot Fuzz and The World’s End are far better movies than a Shaun Of The Dead 2 would have ever been.  Think about how much better different movies with Todd Phillips and Zack Galifianakis/Bradley Cooper/Ed Helms would have been rather than sitting through Hangover sequels.  In Farrelly speak, doing Me, Myself & Irene is much more interesting, satisfying and entertaining than Dumb And Dumber To.

Its not that I didn’t laugh at this film and sit with my arms crossed the entire time.  This film is throwing jokes at the screen at a rapid rate.  Some are going to land and a lot are going to fall pretty flat.  I will say a couple of times I did get some big laughs, but most of the time it was just unfunny stuff and mild amusement.  There were a lot of call backs in this film, but surprisingly, I didn’t feel the film was an exact copy and stuck on “Remember this?  You liked this a lot before!” kind of easy jokes.

This film has something really thin to go on and just sort of cheap the entire time.  While its 2014 in the film, it feels and plays very much like a 90s movie.  Its in the Farrelly wheelhouse for sure, but this just feels tired and “off” from what once was.  They want that magic to be there but its just no there anymore.  There are scenes at the beginning that look like a studio backlot.  I’m not sure if this was the case or not, but it felt incredibly fake and I really couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  Also, a lot of the interior scenes look very much like cheap sets.  I mean, I’m not sure I’ve seen such obvious looking sets in a high profile movie since the 60s.  It just added a real bizarre feeling to the movie.  Who knows, maybe it was the Farrelly brothers intending to crib some sort of Three Stooges homage or something.  But, it is what it is.

I’m not going to do the research required to find out, but I wonder if this film is any better than the prequel everyone wants to forget existed.  This is yet another example of people being too many years removed from a set of characters or series of movies returning to them and falling pretty short of what was once great.  Not everyone can pull a Bryan Singer or Wes Craven.  If you’re a fan of the first film, this certainly isn’t going have you throwing stuff at your screen, but it’ll surely leave even the biggest apologist quite underwhelmed.

Video 

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Clarity/Detail:  The film is far from, but the image it displays is pretty much perfect.  It is sharp, crisp and full of detail.  This is very much that “looking through a window” type look.  Every clothing wrinkle or pebble of a gravel drive is visible.  Movements and action all progressives smooth and naturally.  Its almost scary clear to look at.

Depth:  Objects and characters have their own space and environments feel very spacey and 3 dimensional.

Black Levels:  Blacks are deep and inky.  There is some great shading and help to definition of objects and such.  No crushing or detail hidden.

Color Reproduction:  Colors are look accurate and quite bold.  They are plenty good and feature lots of tints and shades.

Flesh Tones:  Very much natural with a hint of warmth.  Details such as wrinkles, pores, stubble, blemishes and such are very clear and visible no matter the distance.

Noise/Artifacts:  Are you kidding me?  This picture is clean as can be.

Audio 

Audio Format(s): English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, French 5.1 DTS, German 5.1 DTS, Spanish 5.1 DTS

Subtitles: English SDH, French, German, Spanish

Dynamics:  Equally impressive as the video is the audio track.  Everything is nice, open sounding and very loose.  Balance is tremendous, and effects, voice and score all get a their chances to take center stage naturally and blend with each other quite neatly throughout.  This 5.1 track sure gives quite a lively and rich experience watching the film.

Low Frequency Extension: A good boost for auto accidents, gunshots, crashing and such.  Also gives the music a nice thump.

Surround Sound Presentation: Some good ambiance throughout, especially in the rear speakers.  The front channels accurately transcribe the events on screen.

Dialogue Reproduction:  Center focused.  Loud, clear and crisp.

Extras 

Dumb And Dumber To comes with a DVD copy and UltraViolet Digital Copy of the film.

Alternate Opening (HD, 2:19) – Just one little extra gag to extend the joke before the credits.

Deleted/Extended Scenes (HD, 10:27)

Gag Reel (HD, 7:33)

“That’s Awesome!”: The Story Of Dumb And Dumber To (HD, 41:05) – A 6 part making of, hosted by Steve Tom.  From the legacy of the original film, to the cast, the cars in the movie, through the scripting and editing process, its got everything.  Featuring interviews with everyone in the cast and crew (Unlike the Dumb & Dumber Blu-ray, Jim Carrey is here).

What’s So Smart About Dumb And Dumber To? (HD, 6:17) – A little piece on the joy and merits of “dumb” humor.

Summary 

This score looks rather high for a film that isn’t any good.  But, its the perfection in the audio and video presentation that skews this release that way.  The picture quality here should raise your eyebrows and the sound will make you a part of the action.  While a lot of the interviews seem to be on set and press friendly, I did find the making of to be very informative, fun and lengthy.  Plus you get a nice load of deleted scenes and an alternate ending.  For the most curious and eager, I would say a rental max, but if you’re interested and patient, just wait for your streaming service to pick it up at no extra charge.  Bad movie, great Blu-ray if that makes sense.