Dumb and Deader

Because Jeff Daniels seems to be a fundamentally decent human being, it feels gauche to mention that he’s most famous for depicting a loose-boweled, snot-streaked imbecile who trades cane blows with Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber. (Beware, kiddies: You never know what of your work will enthrall people and...

By Sam Eifling

January 13, 2011

Audio By Carbonatix

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Because Jeff Daniels seems to be a fundamentally decent human being, it feels gauche to mention that he’s most famous for depicting a loose-boweled, snot-streaked imbecile who trades cane blows with Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber. (Beware, kiddies: You never know what of your work will enthrall people and hold you captive.) He has generally played The Other Guy across from bigger names — Keanu Reeves in Speed, George Clooney in Good Night, and Good Luck — but his leading turn in the small, heartfelt The Squid and the Whale speaks more to his singer-songwriting sensibilities, which evoke the grateful awe of a lesser mortal on a big stage. Take his “Dirty Harry Blues,” for instance, which he penned after Clint Eastwood blew him away in the climax of Blood Work. It’s a veritable fanboy tribute, written by an actor who was at the time approaching 50: “My dream came true out in Hollywood / When I got killed by Clint Eastwood.” See a famous actor turn earnest musician when Daniels strums at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale) on Friday at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $25, available at the Broward Center’s box office, which you can call at 954-462-0222, or find online at browardcenter.org.
Fri., Jan. 14, 8:30 p.m., 2011

Sam Eifling

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