--- title: "Dumb and Dumber: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/dumb-and-dumber/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/dumb-and-dumber" critics_score: 69 critics_reviews: 7 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Dumb and Dumber (1994): what the critics said Critics' score 69 from 7 reviews: 4 positive, 3 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics find Dumb and Dumber cheerfully crude and funny enough to make its appetite for toilet humour worth indulging. Praise centres on Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, whose commitment to the silliness gives even basic gags a lift. Daniels draws particular approval for his comic timing and his contrast with Carrey’s more frantic performance. The warmer reviews also find a good-natured quality beneath the bodily functions, with the leads’ relationship helping to sustain the laughs. The reservations concern uneven jokes, repetition and a road-trip plot that offers few surprises. Carrey’s mugging divides opinion, while some reviews find the staging less reliable than the performers. The New York Times is notably cooler, stressing the reliance on scatology and misspellings despite acknowledging effective moments. The Hollywood Reporter likewise sees a backward step for Carrey, though it still finds that a substantial share of the jokes land. ## Radio Times — John Ferguson Rating 4/5. With Jim Carrey there are no half measures; you'll either love this as one of his finest moments or loathe it as mind-numbing Hollywood cinema. Even the harshest critic will find chuckles in this cheerfully moronic mix of slapstick, sight gags and toilet humour. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-7dpk3n/dumb-and-dumber/) ## Variety — Leonard Klady Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 14 December 1994. The review calls it a good-natured celebration of stupidity and bodily functions that delivers high-gloss lowbrow laughs for general audiences. Strong performances, especially from Jeff Daniels, and slick production help it escape the gutter and point to commercial success. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1994/film/reviews/dumb-and-dumber-1200439676/) ## Los Angeles Times — Peter Rainer Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 16 December 1994. The critic describes the film as a heap of dumb gags heavy on bathroom humor and gross-out moments that works best when the stars fully commit to the ridiculousness. It has a love of silliness and more laughs than some contemporaries despite misfired staging. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-12-16-ca-9798-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 16 December 1994. The critic finds the film mostly silly with uneven gags but praises one standout laugh and Jim Carrey's growing appeal as a comic original. The relationship between the two leads provides some of the fun amid the formulaic road-trip plot. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dumb-and-dumber-1994) ## Time Out — TCh Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 14 August 2014. The two dumbest guys in the world drive across America to return a lady's briefcase containing a ransom. Carrey mugs too hard but the force is with him, like a less recherché Jerry Lewis, and the film avoids romanticising its no-hoper protagonists. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dumb-dumber) ## The New York Times — Stephen Holden Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 16 December 1994. The review sees the movie as a crude, scatological comedy that lives up to its title, with Jim Carrey channeling a Jerry Lewis-like manic energy. It notes the humor's reliance on bodily functions and misspellings but acknowledges some effective comic moments. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/16/movies/film-review-traveling-on-half-a-tank.html) ## Empire — Caroline Westbrook 1 January 2000. The critic finds the film a delight of non-stop, toilet-fixated, daft humour that will cause laugh-induced incontinence among UK audiences. She singles out the cast's gusto, comic timing and Jeff Daniels' unexpected comic talent for praise. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dumb-dumber-review/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Frank Scheck 16 December 1994. The critic finds the film a step backward from Jim Carrey's prior work like The Mask, with repetitive gags centered on the leads' extreme stupidity, though a high percentage of jokes land. Daniels provides effective laconic contrast to Carrey, and the gross-out humor is noted as likely to appeal to kids. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/dumb-dumber-1994-movie-review-748381/) ## Digital Spy — Ben Rawson-Jones Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2014. The critic finds the film has a timeless quality with goofy brilliance that transcends its 1990s origins. The incredible physical performances by Carrey and Daniels ensure the crude humor never feels nasty. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/re-viewed/a617584/re-viewed-does-dumb-and-dumber-stand-the-test-of-time/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/dumb-and-dumber.md