Jim Carrey improvised Dumb and Dumber's hilarious "most annoying sound" scene. Now regarded as a comedy classic, Dumb and Dumber hit theaters in 1994 to divisive reviews. Starring Carrey and Jeff Daniels in an against-type comedic role, the Bobby and Peter Farrelly-directed film overcame the critics to become a big hit. Upon its release, Dumb and Dumber made $247 million worldwide, with a production budget of just $16 million.
One of the main reasons why Dumb and Dumber achieved this level of success is the laugh-out-loud moments it provided audiences over and over again. With Carrey and Daniels completely leaning into the film's style of comedy, it was easy to be entertained. While plenty of hijinx ensues once Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne arrive in Aspen, part of the joy of Dumb and Dumber comes through the road trip storyline. This is especially true Mike Starr's Joe Mentalino joins the duo to reclaim the stolen suitcase.
Joe is a crucial piece to some memorable moments in Dumb and Dumber in the lead up to his surprising death as part of a prank by Lloyd and Harry. One of the more infamous scenes between Joe, Lloyd, and Harry comes as they're still getting acquainted on the journey, but the shenanigans of his traveling partners easily anger Joe. After a rousing game of "you're it," causes Joe to lose his cool, Lloyd promptly asks him if he wants to hear the most annoying sound in the world. Before he even gets a chance to say no, Lloyd belts out a piercing screech. It's a hilarious sequence and was improvised by Carrey on set. Thankfully, Daniels and Starr went along with the gag to make the scene possible. For more improvised scenes like this, check out the latest Screen Rant video at the top of this post.
This sense of comedy is what helped make Carrey's career skyrocket starting in 1994. In addition to starring in Dumb and Dumber, he was the lead in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask in the same year. All three of these films were certifiable hits at the time and have continued to find new fans ever since. Even though his first role after this was as Riddler in Batman Forever, Carrey was able to rebound in the following years with more comedic roles in films like Liar Liar and dramatic turns in The Truman Show.
Unfortunately, the magic that Carrey brought to Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber didn't translate to the recent sequel. Dumb and Dumber To was released in 2014 and poorly received critically, with many lamenting the jokes that missed more than they hit. While there were surely more improvised scenes and jokes in the sequel, none were quite as memorable as what came before. On the positive side, the name recognition of the Dumb and Dumber franchise and Carrey and Daniels returning to their iconic roles sparked a healthy box office return.