Dumb & Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd
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Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd is a 2003 American comedy film, and is the prequel to 1994's Dumb & Dumber.
Plot
After years of homeschooling, dim-bulb teen Harry Dunne (Derek Richardson) finally makes the leap to public school and meets the equally intellectually challenged Lloyd Christmas (Eric Christian Olsen). The duo land in a "special needs" class created by Principal Collins (Eugene Levy) in order to bilk money from parents to fund his condo in Waikiki, Hawaii. His corruption is discovered by Jessica (Rachel Nichols), a fellow student who asks Harry and Lloyd to help her prove Collins' guilt.
Why It's “Dumberer”
- Derek Richardson looks and sounds absolutely nothing like Jeff Daniels as Harry.
- One too many racial stereotypes.
- The story is pretty cliched and uninteresting.
- Jokes that often fall flat, for example like in one scene where Harry's chocolate starts to melt and Jessica's dad refers to it as sh*t.
- Poor acting.
- The "special" students plotline is borderline offensive.
- Lame innuendos (eg. where the lunch lady asks Principal Collins if he has an extender).
- Too many references to the original film.
- Choppy writing.
- Way too many plot-holes.
- It lacks the charm of the first movie, as it completely does it in an opposite way than the first movie did.
- There are some jokes that go on for too long for no reason.
- Anachronism: Despite this movie taking place in 1986, some songs like "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice didn't come out yet.
Redeeming Qualities
- Eric Christian Olsen does look and sound a lot like Jim Carrey as Lloyd.
- The plot of how Harry and Lloyd met and became friends was an interesting idea.
- The film has quite a couple of funny moments.
- Good soundtrack with 80's songs, like "Whip It" by Devo, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor and "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" by Air Supply.
- And of course, the most memorable part of the film that pretty much makes watching the film worth it: "Shit everywhere.....THERE'S SHIT EVERYWHERE! DAMN IT!! THERE'S SHIT ON THE WINDOWS!! OH MY GOD! MY HOUSE IS FULL OF SHIT!! HE SHIT EVERYWHERE!! LOOK WHAT HE DID HE SHIT ALL OVER THE WALLS!!"
Reception
Critical Response
While the first movie was met with positive reviews from critics and audiences, When Harry Met Lloyd was universally panned by critics and audiences currently holding a 10% on Rotten Tomatoes. The site's critical consensus states: "This lame prequel induces more groans than laughs. Rent the original instead."
Box Office
The film grossed $39.3 million against its $19 million budget making it a moderate success.
Awards & Nominations
It was nominated for 3 Razzies, Drek Richardson anx Eric Christian Olsen for Worst Screen Couple, but lost to Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez in Gigli Worst Screenplay and Worst Remake Or Sequel but lost to Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.
Videos
Trivia
- Early on, Matt Stone and Trey Pakrer, the creators of South Park, were lined up to write this prequel for $1.5 million. They later decided not to work on the project and returned all of the money to New Line Cinema.
- Lin Shaye is the only returning actress from the original.
- It is the first sequel/prequel to a Jim Carrey movie where Carrey did not reprise his role. The next ones were Son Of The Mask (2005), Evan Almighty (2007) and Ace Ventura JR Pet Detective.