Dumb and Dumber to

image for Dumb and Dumber to

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Not suitable under 14; parental guidance to 14 (crude humour, sexual references, violence and coarse language)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Dumb and Dumber to
  • a review of Dumb and Dumber to completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 12 January 2015.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 14 Not suitable due to crude humour, sexual references, violence and coarse language.
Children aged 14 Parental guidance recommended due to crude humour, sexual references, violence and coarse language.
Children aged 15 and over Ok for this age group.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: Dumb and Dumber to
Classification: M
Consumer advice lines: Crude and sexual references, violence, coarse language and drug references
Length: 109 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Dumb and Dumber To is a sequel to the 1994 American comedy, Dumb and Dumber. It follows Lloyd (Jim Carey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels), two friends who have not seen each other in decades. Lloyd has been in an assisted care facility, as part of a prank on his friend Harry, who has remained loyal throughout the years. Harry informs Lloyd that he is suffering from a medical condition and will require a kidney transplant to survive. The two eventually discover a postcard sent in1991 by a woman that Harry had a relationship with, stating that she was pregnant and has had a daughter. After contacting the woman, the two learn that Harry’s daughter Fanny (Rachel Melvin) was put up for adoption and they set out on a long journey to find her.

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Friendship; relationships and family; betrayal; secrecy and facades; illness

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is some violence in this movie including:

  • Two people are shot at by a sniper but an animal is shot instead.
  • Harry and Lloyd concoct several detailed pranks that result in multiple explosions.
  • A man is hit by a train – this is presented as comedy.
  • A man is shot and blood can be visibly seen.
  • Dreams contain violent themes and images, such as knives and other weapons as well as deaths.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

Children in this age group are likely to be disturbed by the above-mentioned violence

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

Children in this age group may also be disturbed by the above-mentioned violence

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Children in this age group may also be disturbed by some of the violence shown

Thirteen and overinfo

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Nothing of concern

Product placement

There is some product placement, including:

  • Toyota cars
  • Reebok
  • Coca Cola

Sexual references

The film contains considerable sexual innuendo and crude humour, including:

  • it is implied that Lloyd provides sexual pleasure to an elderly woman with his hand
  • reference to a girl menstruating

Nudity and sexual activity

The film contains mild sexual activity and partial nudity, including:

  • Flashback sequences contain brief glimpses of a character’s sexual history, with the film showing kissing scenes and general sexual touching.
  • A man and woman almost have sex in a van.
  • Views of a man’s bare bottom

Use of substances

The film contains mild references to substance use, including:

  • Beer drinking in social settings.
  • At one stage, a character appears to be cooking the drug meth.

Coarse language

The film contains infrequent coarse language, including:

  • ‘fuck’; ‘whore’; ‘dick’; ‘tits’; ‘shit’; ‘damn’

In a nutshell

Dumb and Dumber to is a comedy about friendship. Harry and Lloyd are long-term best friends who have always enjoyed performing pranks on each other, while happily enjoying the other’s company. The film demonstrates that as long as people have someone watching out and caring for them, it is possible to overcome obstacles of any kind. It also highlights the personal growth that can result from taking risks, making personal sacrifices and not taking life too seriously in general. Like the first film which was rated PG, this sequel contains crude humour, sexual references and coarse language. It also contains racial stereotypes and humour at the expense of disabled people. In this case it is correctly rated M and not recommended for under 15s.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • Despite their flaws, friendships can enrich a person’s life in a myriad of ways.
  • The dangers inherent within lies and deceit, and the consequences that may have upon others.
  • Not taking life too seriously, and remembering to find humour even in serious situations.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

  • The possible inappropriateness of seemingly humorous pranks, and the consequences they may have upon others.
  • The impact of racism and stereotyping on other individuals.
  • The struggles of individuals who experience physical disabilities.