By EWAN MCDONALD
(Herald rating: * )
Nine years after the Farrelly brothers invented gross-out comedy, the prequel arrives without the brothers, the original stars or anything passing for wit. Not that the original had much wit, but somehow audiences were persuaded to part with US$250 million to watch two men get
their tongues stuck on ladders, drink urine and soil themselves.
Unknown TV actors Eric Christian Olsen and Derek Richardson play Lloyd Christmas (previously Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (formerly Jeff Daniels) back in their high school days, when Lloyd and Harry become best friends when they're drafted into the principal's new Special Needs class.
Sado-masochists who didn't get enough kicks from Secretary may hook into the DVD for even more laughs in the way of "comedy commentaries" by fake film critics, scenes that thankfully were deleted, and so on. There are Easter eggs all over the show.
* DVD, video rental March 11
