"Dumb and Dumber" is... the Dumbest

Dumb and Dumber. A classic tale of two men, who begin literally and figuratively in the dumps, and through a series of hilarious trials and tribulations end up... essentially in the same spot. While this movie is undeniably funny, it is more debatable whether or not it meets Aristotle's definition of "true comedy."

Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne are two goofy best friends living together in Providence, Rhode Island. Their homes, jobs, and love lives are absolute disasters, but they don't care until one of them, Lloyd, falls instantly in love with a Mary Swanson whom he cabs to the airport. He follows her inside and observes that she drops her briefcase. Unbeknownst to Lloyd, that briefcase contained ransom money for the kidnappers of Mary's husband, Bobby. But immediately noticing a way to her affection, Lloyd grabs the bag and races after her. He finds that her plane to Aspen, Colorado has departed, and so naturally he decides to follow her with Harry.

What ensues is a folly-filled adventure of the two men on their pursuit, being introduced to the kidnappers by way of their parakeet's decapitation, encountering tough guys that for no apparent reason attack them in a comedic fight scene in a restaurant off of the highway, and taking a wrong turn on the last leg of their trip, ending up in Nebraska instead of the desired Colorado. All this for Mary, whom Lloyd hopes can "plug them into the social pipeline." 

By this logic, Lloyd and Harry may be considered "comic heroes" by Aristotle's standards, if they become elevated from their original low position. Since they do not, the men and their story do not fulfill this criterion of satirical comedy. However, the movie itself arguably functions upon the "farce" form of comedy, since it contains mostly "zaniness, slapstick humor, and hilarious improbability," it fairly meets the Comedic characterization. The film also seems to make an attempt at being a romantic comedy; when Lloyd finally reaches Mary, she ends up admitting him that there would be a "one in a million" chance of them ending up together, to which Lloyd responds, "So you're telling me there's a chance!"

While the movie is funny, it does not ultimately comment seriously on society. The final clip is a defeated Lloyd and Harry, who have created more trouble than they've solved. The boy and the girl do not end up together, and the men are not elevated out of their previous statuses whatsoever. They quickly disregard their failure, and begin a lighthearted game of tag, literally skipping off into the sunset. It would be a stretch to say the movie presents a serious theme of "If you have friends, you don't need anything else," because truly, the movie simply exists for the hilarity of the men's follies.