Lloyd pretending to be catatonic for 20 years was such a try hard joke. Even the title of the movie is trying too hard to be funny. This movie is a classic example of seasoned directors/writer losing touch. The reason why the first movie worked is because everything outlandish that happened was still somewhat plausible and believable within the context of the movie.
sharei hated the intro joke AND the ending "joke" about their sexuality... and most of in-between.
shareI thought that joke was excellent, I was astonished by how much I enjoyed the film considering its bad reputation and the poor quality of modern comedies.
shareIt was 20 years after the first movie and they had to open it with something pretty big. In that moment, in a cinema seeing this for the first time, it just worked and gave most people a laugh before they thought about the reality of it.
As the audience, it felt like we had not missed out on much because it seemed Lloyd was in this 'state' for probably the whole time, so we were rejoining their friendship also as it 'resumed'.