But something’s not right. There’s a vague sourness to Dumb and Dumber To, uncharacteristic of the Farrellys — even their Three Stooges movie, for all its eye-poking and nose-doinking, was filled with bratty affection. In Dumb and Dumber To, the moments that underscore Lloyd and Harry’s devotion to each other feel overwritten and forced (even if they do include a few instances of wholly selfless diaper changing). The two spend more time dishing out sharp jabs to the nuts and semi-advertently killing off tropical birds than doing sweet stuff like smelling each other’s farts — although there’s a little of that, too. The plot — in which Harry and Lloyd leave their beloved Rhode Island and set off in search of the daughter Harry never knew he had, a ditzy dish with an overachieving grin (Rachel Melvin) — moves efficiently enough; it’s the movie’s lackluster spirit that lags behind.
That’s a shame, because there are more than a few inspired gags here, exuberant in their go-for-broke idiocy: Lloyd refers to Harry’s long-lost daughter as “the fruit of your loom.” The two phone each other accidentally from opposite ends of a couch. And in a superb reprise of the genius “soup du jour” joke from Dumb and Dumber, Lloyd hears that a bar is serving drinks “gratis” and responds, thoughtfully, “That sounds expensive.” But the misfires, including a strange menstruation gag, far outnumber the hits. Dumb and Dumber To is mostly just a kick in the nuts, and not the good kind — provided there is a good kind.