Jeff Daniels has a scrapbook for Dumb & Dumber with all the negative reviews the film got

Jeff Daniels reflects on his 1994 buddy comedy, Dumb & Dumber, and the negative reviews it received upon its release.

Dumb & Dumber is often considered a cult classic, featuring one of Jim Carrey's most iconic characters. The film shows him and Jeff Daniels as two dull-witted friends who go on a cross-country trip to return a suitcase that they accidentally found. Carrey was not new to comedies, having already proven his skills in projects like The Mask (1996) and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994).

Unlike Carrey, Daniels had starred predominately in intense dramatic roles. Still, he took on this challenge and starred alongside Carrey. While the audience couldn't get enough of its humor, the critics were not all kind about it. Some of these reviews were so negative that Daniels decided to keep them in his possession. While speaking on the same topic, he said:

"I still have a scrapbook of 200 newspapers panning the movie and wishing it never existed. Then we were the box office No. 1 for six straight weeks. That’s when it hit me that we’d done the impossible.”

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Dumb & Dumber: Jeff Daniels has a scrapbook with all its "horrible" reviews

By the mid-90s, Jim Carrey had become a household name in comedy. However, until then, Jeff Daniels had appeared in more serious roles like the ones in Terms of Endearment (1983) or The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985). So, Dumb & Dumber was seen as a challenge for him. In line with this, Jeff Daniels said:

"My agents didn’t want me to do the film. They said: ‘There’s a chance Jim Carrey will wipe you off the screen.’ I said: ‘Maybe – but not if I work with him.’ And that’s what I did. I remember thinking: ‘It’s either going to be such a bad career move I’ll never work again, or it just might be funny.'”

Jeff Daniels' agents were worried that some scenes from Dumb & Dumber would affect his further career.

“It’s one thing to read the toilet scene, but then the day comes, and we’re actually going to do the toilet scene. I told Jim [Carrey], ‘This is either the beginning of my career or the end of it.’ Jim, who is fearless, told me, ‘It’s going to be great. You’ve just got to go all the way with it.’”

Eventually, Jeff Daniels accepted the part in this film that became financially successful and went on to receive a cult classic status. Upon its release, it seemed unlikely since the reviews were not all favorable. While speaking on this subject, Jeff Daniels said:

“I have a theatre company in Michigan so I put on a preview. I was sat next to my parents and when we got to the toilet scene, my father hung his head in his hands and said: ‘No, Jeffrey …’ Meanwhile 5,000 people fell out of their chairs laughing. The reviews were horrible though."