The Farrelly brothers, Bobby and Peter, made their big break into filmmaking with this memorable vehicle for the talented Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. Here, the Farrellys were able to establish a formula for their movies involving crude, absurdist humour and outlandish situations. Thought-provoking, intellectual entertainment is FAR from their goal, but Farrelly brothers movies like "Dumb and Dumber" work just fine in an undemanding way that doesn't tax anybody's brains. There are certainly some very notable bits and lines of dialogue throughout, plus two very enthusiastic performances by Carrey and Daniels.
The two of them play Lloyd and Harry, two utter morons who can't hold on to jobs or go for long without screwing up. Then, one day, limo driver Lloyd drives the lovely Mary (Lauren Holly, Carrey's real-life girlfriend at the time) to the airport. She leaves behind a suitcase, and it becomes Lloyds' mission to return it to her and win her love. What Lloyd and Harry don't know is that the suitcase contains a fortune in ransom money, and the lowlife who was demanding the money is understandably NOT happy about what develops.
There are a couple of capable actors & actresses in supporting roles - Mike Starr, Charles Rocket, Felton Perry, the comic Harland Williams (who tends to fare better when he's not the star of a movie), Victoria Rowell, etc. Veteran comic actress Teri Garr is utterly wasted playing Mary's stepmother, however. Making a very funny cameo as a redneck named Sea Bass is hockey player Cam Neely, and Lin Shaye, who became a repertory player in the Farrellys' next two pictures, appears briefly.
At the least, you can say that a movie like this DOES live up to its title. And this viewer had a pleasant time revisiting it, and laughing at some of the ridiculous dialogue. "I got robbed by a sweet old lady on a motorized cart, and didn't even see it coming." Carrey and Daniels do share an excellent chemistry, and do appear to be having a great time; they're believable as best buds.
Overall, good fun, beginning and ending in just the right way to demonstrate how clueless our protagonists are.
Followed by an animated series, a prequel, and a sequel.
Seven out of 10.
