Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd

2003

Directed by Troy Miller

Welcome to Movie Monday, dear readers! We’re continuing our trek through my personal list of the 100 worst movies I’ve ever seen, and today we’re diving into #73: Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003). As always, remember that these rankings are purely subjective – your treasure might be my trash. But in this case… well, let’s just say there’s a reason this prequel has a 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

You know how sometimes Hollywood executives sit around thinking, “Hey, you know what would be great? Let’s take a beloved comedy, remove everything that made it special, and make a prequel nobody asked for!” That’s exactly what happened here. While the original Dumb and Dumber helped cement Jim Carrey’s superstardom and showed the world that Jeff Daniels could do comedy, this prequel feels like a cheap knockoff you’d find in a bargain bin at a gas station.

The film takes us back to 1986, when Harry (Derek Richardson) and Lloyd (Eric Christian Olsen) first meet in high school. Now, I want you to imagine someone doing an impression of Jim Carrey doing an impression of Lloyd Christmas. That’s basically what we get from Olsen, who tries so hard to capture Carrey’s manic energy that it becomes almost painful to watch. Richardson’s Harry feels less like Jeff Daniels’ lovable doofus and more like someone who just hit his head really hard and is trying to remember his own name.

The plot, if we can call it that, revolves around a scheme by the school’s principal (Eugene Levy, who deserves better) to steal money through a fake special needs class. Yes, you read that correctly. The original Dumb and Dumber had its share of politically incorrect moments, but they were usually offset by genuine charm and clever writing. This prequel, on the other hand, feels like it was written by someone who heard the pitch “make it dumber” and took it as a personal challenge.

Speaking of writing, let’s talk about how this movie manages to misunderstand everything that made the original work. The 1994 film succeeded because, despite their stupidity, Harry and Lloyd felt like real people with genuine friendship at the core of their relationship. In this prequel, they’re just caricatures bumbling from one unfunny set piece to another. It’s like watching a cover band that only knows three chords trying to replicate Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

The film did manage to make some money, grossing $39.3 million worldwide against a $19 million budget. However, considering the original raked in $247 million and actually made people laugh, this feels less like a success and more like a participation trophy. Even the Farrelly brothers, who created the original, wanted nothing to do with this project. That should have been our first warning.

Perhaps the most fascinating tidbit about this film’s production is that South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were originally slated to write the script but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. I can’t help but wonder what kind of gloriously offensive masterpiece we might have gotten instead of… whatever this is.

You might be wondering why this is only #73 on my worst movies list if I clearly despise it so much. Well, dear readers, just wait until we get to some of the films higher up on the list. This one at least has Eugene Levy, who manages to maintain his dignity despite everything happening around him. That’s got to count for something, right?

Should you watch this movie? Well, that depends. Are you a glutton for punishment? Do you enjoy watching talented actors like Eugene Levy cash what was presumably a very nice paycheck? Are you conducting research on how not to make a prequel? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then by all means, dive in. The water’s warm… because everyone’s been swimming in it for too long.

For everyone else, I recommend sticking with the original Dumb and Dumber. At least there you get to see Jim Carrey at the height of his rubber-faced powers. Plus, you won’t have to explain to your friends why you spent 85 minutes watching what feels like a direct-to-DVD movie that somehow escaped into theaters.

Join me next week when we’ll tackle #72 on our list, Little Nicky. Until then, remember: sometimes the truly dumb decision is thinking you can recreate lightning in a bottle. Especially when that lightning was Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in the mid-90s.

How’s that for speaking truth to silliness? See you next Monday, movie lovers!