Wisdom in Stupidity

Well, for those of you who live on campus, Dumb and Dumber was playing on the BBC, the Billiken* Broadcasting Channel, a couple days ago. Apart from being hysterical and the only Farrelly Bros. movie that isn’t disgusting, I also think there are some valuable life lessons to be found in the plot itself. It’s obviously not going to be as profound a movie as, say, Point Break or Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey or Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure for that matter, but it stands to reason that practically any movie is going to be hard-pressed to accomplish that. At any rate, let me give a brief summation for those cultural noobs out there. Lloyd, played by Jim Carrey, is a limo-driver and an idiot. He picks up this beautiful woman played by that chick from Down Periscope and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story to take her to the airport. He sees her leave behind her briefcase in the terminal and tries to return it to her after breaking a huge number of airport security codes we have today. Afterwards, he decides to drive more than halfway across the country in a gas-guzzling, dog-shaped van to return the briefcase to a woman he barely even talked to with hardly any money leaving behind his apartment, all of his possessions, and all his hopes of opening up a new pet worm store. Once I thought about it, I realized how courageous his actions truly were and I was astounded that he was able to risk so much on a flimsy whim. Sure, he had just recently been fired from his job and had been mugged by a 90-year old, wheelchair-bound lady and his pet parakeet’s head had just fallen off, but I still think Lloyd’s actions were praiseworthy, if not legendary. It made me realize that it is truly impossible to accomplish anything spectacular without taking risks. But the best part of it all, the part that basically clinches it for me, is that when his trip is over and he has succeeded in his quest, he doesn’t even have the nerve to go up and talk to her. Women are terrifying after all.

*A Note on Billikens: A Billiken is a mysterious, elf-like creature who is given to mischief and all around creepiness. If a genie and a jinn were brothers, then the Billiken would be their second, once-removed cousin’s domesticated monster. The Billiken was adopted by Saint Louis University as its patron and mascot. Only the Jesuits and, arguably, God know why. If someone rubs a Billiken’s belly, its most salient feature, it supposedly brings good luck. However, almost every student on SLU’s campus knows that the only thing this will bring is a good case of Hepatitis A through J.