Directed by:
Troy MillerCinematography:
Anthony B. RichmondComposer:
Eban SchletterCast:
Eric Christian Olsen, Derek Richardson, Luis Guzmán, Timothy Stack, Eugene Levy, Mimi Rogers, Elden Henson, Cheri Oteri, Lin Shaye, Shia LaBeouf (more)Plots(1)
This prequel to the slapstick favorite imagines the immortal meeting of the mindless when Harry Dunne (Derek Richardson) and Lloyd Christmas (Eric Christian Olsen) were high schoolers. After becoming fast friends, the pair of future dog groomers are recruited for a special needs class. Unfortunately, this class is not a radical educational experiment. Rather, it's a moneymaking scheme exploiting Harry and Lloyd's intellectual deficiencies. The conniving Principal Collins (Eugene Levy) has singled out the two clowns to boost special needs enrollment--a scam to bring more educational funds to the school. Collins plans to use those funds to supplement an exotic vacation with his mistress, the lunch lady Mrs. Heller (Cheri Oteri). When Mrs. Heller is put in charge of the class, a news staff student, Jessica (Rachel Nichols), begins to investigate. Using the witless duo for inside information, Jessica becomes an oblivious object of affection for her sources Harry and Lloyd. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (1)
The Farrelly brothers' disgusting, vulgar, and perverted comedy got a sequel. Well, a prequel, actually. The comedic qualities of the first installment were not particularly dazzling, but the Farrelly brothers bet on brutal jokes and top-notch performances from Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. This film, however, lacks everything I listed a moment ago. There are a lot of lame comedies, but at least I can laugh at some of the stupid jokes now and then. If, however, you go through the entire film with a stone face and a blank expression, it's clear that something is not quite right. Jokes like Harry pouring chocolate all over the bathroom and then the father of the girl he loves visiting thinking it's not chocolate, but... well, you know, I always like to laugh. It may have been perverse humor, but the director made even this scene so dementedly boring that it's at least worth pausing for a moment. The inability to shoot absurd scenes is really concerning. Compared to this film, a film like Kevin & Perry Go Large is like an art film that will definitely entertain you, even if you resist it more. So what if Derek Richardson and Eric Christian Olsen look like Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey? So what if they can't even squeeze out a tenth of the facial expressions of their predecessors? Eugene Levy (Jim's dad from the American Pie series) made me downright sick. You can clearly see that he didn't want to play the role and that he overacted with such disgust that it completely ruined my impression of at least some of the actors in the film. Luis Guzmán (Traffic ) probably doesn't get too many interesting roles in Hollywood if he feels the need to act in such cinematic dumps. The film made me sick, not from any scenes, but from how terribly boring it was. Good thing it was so short. Bleh.
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