Dumb and Dumber: Unrated

What else is there to say about Dumb and Dumber except that you should just give in, put your brain on hold, and enjoy it for what it is? A huge hit when released in 1994—and certainly one of the movies that catapulted Jim Carrey to superstardom (along with The Mask and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, both also from the same year)—the film perfectly teams Carrey with Jeff Daniels as Lloyd and Harry (respectively), a pair of dimwits who foil a kidnapping scheme and embark on a cross-country adventure to return a briefcase full of cash (intended as a ransom payment) to the beautiful but endangered woman (Lauren Holly) with whom Lloyd has fallen helplessly in love. The plot's just a disposable excuse for pratfalls, pranks, and a nonstop assault of lame-brained gags involving parakeets, pooches, and tongues stuck on frozen poles…in other words, your standard menu of silliness. In lesser hands this would've been just another dumb comedy, but with Carrey and Daniels, it's sublimely dumb, a veritable monument of moronic behavior that now qualifies as a minor classic of its kind, standing shamelessly proud with Animal House and Caddyshack as prime examples of American idiocy at its most inspired. This unrated version features six additional minutes, as well as DVD extras including a retrospective documentary, deleted scenes, and alternate endings. Recommended. (J. Shannon)