A well-deserved sleeper hit

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2001)

Even after its huge success, I can still say this movie is not for all tastes. But, like almost any Farrelly Brothers movie, the tastelessness factor gets elevated to a work of art. Of course, it's hard to visualize anything involving Jeff Daniels accidentally taking a gulp of Turbo-Lax and having the worst case of diarrhea (which I believe is the pinnacle of the film, and will ALWAYS make me laugh again and again and again) art, but if you look at the word in a figurative sense and observe how the Farrelys handle each situation with perfect timing and delivery--you'll get what I'm saying. The Farrelys are underrated geniuses in the comedy genre, who sometimes tend to overdose on the crudeness, but their style of humor is often effective. Peter and Bobby (Farrely) are aware that these characters are dumb and don't use it as an excuse to have the audiences laughing at them, rather than with them. Of course, there are moments--like the jalapeno scene where Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are squirting mustard and ketchup into their mouths--that are just plain...dumb. But this is not a hit-or-miss comedy. The misses happen only on occasion; the hits happen very often. The plot is very original. I'm sure the concept of two simple minds with almost nothing to live for is a concept that's been used before, but it's the way the concept is handled that makes it special. Most of the time I was either laughing or laughing relentlessly. Another memorable moment is the Harland Williams, urine-sipping cameo. That is bound to make you laugh 'til you're senseless!
One minor flaw I found was the soundtrack: a compilation of melancholy, easy listening crap that would've been appropriate for a seventies melodrama. I felt the music brought down the mood a tad. Other than that, the combination of original writing, slick direction and a stellar cast (including some Farrely favorites) is quite a delight.

My score: 7 (out of 10)