Bobby Farrelly and Peter Ferrelly have brought back Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) and Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) for Dumb and Dumber To after 20 years. The film is full of surprise cameos, and it was reported that Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar-winning actress known for Silver Linings Playbook as well as her involvement with the X-men and The Hunger Games franchises, will not be among them.
There were reports that Lawrence would make a cameo as a young Fraida Felcher, a character that was mentioned in the original Dumb and Dumber movie who was a love-interest for both Harry and Lloyd. Fraida is played by Kathleen Turner in the sequel, and it was thought that Lawrence would play her younger version in a flashback scene.
The story from The Hollywood Reporter was that Lawrence had met with the Farrelly brothers and Jeff Daniels during an Empire of the Sun concert, and that they offered her a small role in the film. Lawrence apparently loves the original 1994 film, and she apparently filmed a scene on set in Atlanta.
The Hollywood Reporter states that Lawrence's contract allowed her the decision of whether or not her cameo would appear in the film's theatrical cut. The reports was that Lawrence exercised this right, and so the final scene was cut from the film.
The Farrelly Brothers tell a different story about Lawrence's cameo to CinemaBlend. According to them, Jennifer Lawrence's cameo was never even filmed in the first place due to scheduling conflicts.
If the story of Lawrence making the decision to cut the scene is true, then this does not bode well for the Dumb and Dumber sequel, which has already been criticized for arriving later than needed. The first film is considered a comedy classic, even though many critics panned it upon its initial release. The 1994 film has since grown a huge cult following and some have wanted it to remain without a sequel since its flopped 2003 prequel Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (which also contained an appearance of a young Fraida Felcher). A sequel, even without Jennifer Lawrence, would still have guaranteed box office revenue. If Lawrence deliberately removed her own scene from Dumb and Dumber To, this means that she didn't want her name associated with it.
The problem is that on imdb.com, you can see Jennifer Lawrence's name listed on the full cast list as "Young Fraida". If the Farrelly brothers never filmed the scene with Lawrence, then how did her name get associated with it?
There is a scene in Dumb and Dumber To theatrical cut where the young Felcher is seen, but only as a stand-in's back. Obviously, the flashback with Fraida is important enough so it does get seen by the audience.
Even though Lawrence cameo is removed, possibly never to be seen on a DVD or Blu-ray release, there is one A-list cameo that still is in the film. In a scene where Lloyd meets Harry's roommate Icepick, the new character is a meth cook in gear reminiscent of Breaking Bad. It isn't Bryan Cranston or Aaron Paul, but it is Bill Murray, who has worked with the Farrelly brothers before in Osmosis Jones.
