You won't believe what sitcom helped 'Dumb and Dumber To' find its comedy groove

The comedy sequel Dumb and Dumber To defied the track records of other comedy franchises jumpstarting after decades, and Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels bumbled their way to the top of the box office this past weekend.

But, as co-director/co-producer/co-writer Peter Farrelly told USA TODAY, he wasn't always so sure he and brother Bobby's Dumb return would work. In fact, a month after starting on the script, Peter Farrelly had an important meeting with his crew and said, "Hey guys, if this doesn’t turn out as good as the first one, I’m not making it. I don’t want to make a movie that is not up to par with that first one."

The key to Harry and Lloyd getting their groove back? Taking breaks and watching old 1960s episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.

Yes, that Andy Griffith Show — with the whistled theme song, little Ron Howard and worst cop ever Barney Fife.

The show is one of the Farrelly's favorites and a show that is full of heart and laughs, according to Peter Farrelly. Yet he says the main reason they watched it was to remember how simple comedy is:
"If you think about Dumb and Dumber, you have to match that. It’s kind of imposing. But if you take it one character bit at a time, like they did in Andy Griffith, it just calmed us and made us realize this isn’t rocket science. If you relax, it’s going to come."