20 facts you might not know about 'Dumb & Dumber'

Peter and Bobby Farrelly made some of the biggest comedies of the 1990s and 2000s, but it took them a little while to get their careers going. Dumb and Dumber was their debut film, although technically, it was only directed by Peter while co-written by the brothers and Bennett Yellin.

The year 1994 was absolutely massive for Carrey. It’s the year that turned him into a star. That year, he had Dumb and Dumber, The Mask, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective come out. However, when the Farrellys were starting work on their film, they didn’t know who Carrey was. Then, they saw him in Ace Ventura and realized he was perfect for their film.

Imagine Gary Oldman and Nicolas Cage as Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne. Now, you might be wondering why we are throwing out insane ideas. But Oldman and Cage were the Farrellys' original choices for those roles. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Other names considered for the movie include Steve Martin, Martin Short, Chris Elliott, and Rob Lowe.

When Carrey began the process of signing on for Dumb and Dumber, he wasn’t a star yet. Then, as we said, Ace Ventura happened. Knowing where he stood, Carrey decided to negotiate off the strength of his rising star. Carrey got a new deal worth $7 million, a considerable payday at the time.

Daniels seems perfect in the role of Harry, but not everybody agreed at the time. Cage was still in line to play Harry when Carrey signed on, but he was dumped after trying to get a $2 million raise. The Farrellys and Carrey wanted Daniels, but New Line was worried he couldn’t do comedy and was only a dramatic actor. Even Daniels’ agent said it would kill his career. And yet, Daniels signed on.

If you are wondering where that money for Carrey came from, look at the salary Daniels took in. He was paid a mere $50,000 for playing Harry. Now, this was less an attempt to insult Daniels and instead an attempt from the producers to get Daniels to turn down such a lowball offer. It didn’t work.

Cam Neely tallied 694 points in 726 games in the NHL, most of them with the Boston Bruins. The tenacious forward had two 50-goal seasons and even made it into the Hockey Hall of Fame. As natives of the Northeast, the Farrellys were Bruins fans and gave Neely the role of Sea Bass in their debut film.

Jim Carrey plays Lloyd Christmas, and Lauren Holly plays his unrequited love interest in Mary Swanson. The two had initially met when Holly auditioned for Ace Ventura. She did not get the role, but they reconnected on Dumb and Dumber and began a relationship. The two married in 1996 but divorced in 1997.

Carrey’s bowl cut as Lloyd definitely stands out, but Lloyd also has a chipped tooth. That’s Carrey’s actual tooth. As a kid, he chipped it in a fight and had it capped. To play Lloyd, he took the cap off.

Harry and Lloyd stay at the Danbury Hotel in Aspen, Colorado. In reality, those scenes were shot at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. That hotel is notable because it inspired the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and was used in the filming of the Shining miniseries.

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the country in terms of land area, but it gets way more love than you’d anticipate in comedy, thanks to a few of its native sons. We’re not talking about Seth MacFarlane today, but the Farrellys grew up in Rhode Island. As such, they decided to make Harry and Lloyd from Providence and even shot on location in their home state’s capital.

Dumb and Dumber had a fairly successful soundtrack, including the single “New Age Girl” by “Deadeye Dıck,” which reached No. 27 on the charts. One song you won’t find on the soundtrack? “Loser” by Beck. He declined after being told the title of the film.

The Farrellys were new filmmakers, but Carrey had already become a superstar by Dumb and Dumber's release around Christmas 1994. It was his third big comedy of the year, after all. Dumb and Dumber opened as the No. 1 film at the box office, making almost $250 million worldwide on a budget of $17 million. That $7 million to Carrey paid off.

Dumb and Dumber is a beloved comedy to many, but let’s face it. It’s crass and a gross-out film. Just think about Daniels in the bathroom. This sort of movie is not everybody’s cup of tea, including many critics. The film has a 68 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and some critics had the movie on their year-end lists of the worst films of 1994. Roger Ebert gave it two stars but praised Carrey as a “true original.”

About a decade after Dumb and Dumber, a prequel film called Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, came out in 2003. However, the film did not have any involvement from Carrey, Daniels, or the Farrellys. It was a total flop. Eventually, the crew from Dumb and Dumber did all come together for 2014’s Dumb and Dumber To. It did not have the cultural impact of the original but was a commercial success.

Dumb and Dumber is a rather raunchy comedy, so naturally, they turned it into a Saturday morning cartoon for children. It’s true! In 1995, Hanna-Barbera produced a Dumb and Dumber cartoon for ABC that Yellin wrote. Daniels and Carrey did not voice Harry and Lloyd. The duo hung out with a purple beaver named Kitty. It only lasted one season.

It’s probably unsurprising that Carrey did some improvisation in the movie. Perhaps the best example is when Lloyd unleashes the “most annoying sound in the world.” Kudos to Daniels for reacting at the moment and improvising with him. Turns out he can do comedy.

Peter and Bobby would go on to direct a Three Stooges film, and that’s no surprise. Harry and Lloyd are named after silent-film comedian Harold Lloyd, and there is a bit in the diner that is an homage to the Three Stooges.

“Lloyd Christmas” is a funny name for a character, period. However, he’s also pursuing Mary Swanson, and were they to get married, and she was to take his name, her name would be Mary Christmas. This is not merely a coincidence. In a deleted scene, Harry puts two and two together, but ultimately, they decide not to shine a light on the joke.

At the end of Dumb and Dumber, Harry and Lloyd obliviously turn down an opportunity to ride on a bus with a bunch of bikini girls. Initially, the plan was to shoot two versions of the ending, one where they get on the bus and one where they did not. Carrey, though, despised the idea of them getting on the bus and refused to shoot that ending. In the end, we got the ending Carrey wanted and the best ending for the film.