|
|
The Movie:
Certainly a lot has been made of the Farrelly Brothers in recent years; the directing duo who know how to craft a joke but claim to not know much about filmmaking have brought hits like "Something About Mary" to audiences.
"Dumb and Dumber" was their first film and it offers the almost patented Farrelly formula for success; combine toilet humor and bad taste with characters that are certainly flawed, but still human and sympathetic. The film certainly proves the director's claim that they don't know too much about the art of filmmaking, but it does almost exist as a showcase for the occasional really strong laugh, and a series of minor ones.
The film stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels as two morons who decide to go to Aspen to return a briefcase a passenger in Lloyd(Carrey)'s limo "forgot" on the way to the airport. In reality, Lloyd had just foiled a ransom payment. The two cross the country in Harry(Daniels)'s van, which is dressed up for his dog-grooming service. The movie does manage to pull a few laughs from the sight of two guys driving cross country in a giant dog-van, but it's only one of many minor attempts at humor in the film.
And that's part of the fun of Farrelly films; they attempt anything that they can possibly think of for a laugh and throw it at the audience - some of it may work, some of it may fall completely flat, and some may simply grab a chuckle. Of course, it helps to have an actor like Carrey, who is willing to do just about anything in the name of comedy. The real suprise here though is Daniels, who seems willing to try and match Carrey's antics, although that's probably not humanly possible.
I still think "Kingpin" was the best Farrelly film, but "Dumb and Dumber" is a good first effort, delievering what it promised - a lot of dumb jokes.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Dumb and Dumber" is certainly not a visually busy film, but New Line has provided a very good presentation of the film, considering it was literally one of the earliest titles on the format. Sharpness is very good on this anamorphic transfer, with only a couple of sequences looking a little bit on the soft side.
Although this is a pretty early release to the format, it still looks very pleasing - just not quite as smooth as newer releases are. Flaws are apparent at times, but not too often. Slight pixelation pops up now and again, but it doesn't really distract too much from the film. Shimmering and some jagged edges are apparent as well, but these seemed fairly rare.
There is the occasional print flaw - some minor speckles and a scratch or two. Colors are the most pleasing aspect of the presentation; although there's not a whole lot to the movie, the film does pass through some pleasant scenery now and then, which makes for some pleasing backgrounds. This seems to be a tactic that the Farrellys use to liven up the look of their films. Black level is very strong, and shadow detail is good as well.
"Dumb and Dumber" offers a good presentation, although maybe if it was done more recently it could be a little cleaner and a little smoother overall.
SOUND: The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack really lacks any sort of scope, or much creativity for that matter. Certainly, intensity is not expected from any soundtrack out of the comedy genre, but the audio for "Dumb and Dumber" is completely front-oriented, with extremely subtle surround use a couple of times. Sound quality is pretty uninteresting, with a flat, unremarkable presence. Certainly there are no problems with clarity, but even the film's music score really doesn't have much impact to it. Dialogue is generally clear and easily understood.
MENUS:: Although the menus aren't animated, the idea of crossing out the incorrect spelling of the selections with the correct spelling of the highlight was a cute idea.
EXTRAS: There's not a whole lot to choose from here, although I'm somewhat happy that the Farrelly's didn't include a commentary, since their tracks usually spend a couple of hours talking about how they gave their friends bit parts in the movie. What is included is the film's hilarious theatrical trailer(Dolby Digital 5.1), cast and crew bios, the international trailer(5.1 as well and not that funny) and production notes.
Final Thoughts: The presentation in terms of audio/video quality is generally fine, although the extras are certainly lacking. Hopefully, New Line will see fit to revisit this title in the future, but for now, the film is funny enough to recommend.
Film Grade
The Film B-
DVD Grades
Video 88/B = (352/400 possible points)
Audio: 84/B = (336/400 possible points)
Extras: 73/C = (219/300 possible points)
Menus: 75/C = (150/200 possible points)
Value: 80/B- = (240/300 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:1297/1600
DVD GRADE:B/81%
FILM GRADE: B-
DVD GRADE: B
|