Glancing over my shoulder in the cinema almost 20 years ago, I clearly recall my friend's mum recoiling in horror as the effects of Lloyd's Turbolax prank on Harry reached Mary's broken lavatory. It was without doubt the most hilarious moment of my 13 years on planet Earth.

It was a friend's birthday and we didn't know much about the film we'd booked to see at our local cinema in Bristol, except that it was a comedy with that funny actor from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective in it. Little did I realise that what I was about to witness would become my favourite film of all time.

Since then I have watched Dumb & Dumber – the Farrelly brothers' timeless roadtrip farce – dozens of times, mainly with my brother for quote-along company. I am not ashamed in the slightest. Indeed, one commenter on a Guardian piece recently described the film as "the masterpiece against which all other cinema must be judged". I concur.

For those who have not yet succumbed, Dumb & Dumber centres around oafish best friends Lloyd Christmas (played by Jim Carrey, his real-life chipped front-tooth proudly on display) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) who are scratching their way through life with nothing but each other, Petey the parakeet and Harry's shaggin' wagon for company. The only dot of light on the horizon is their mutual desire to start a worm farm business in their home town of Providence, Rhode Island, but in reality this is nothing more than a pipe dream.

However, I Got Worms becomes a distant memory when Lloyd gives beautiful stranger Mary a lift during his short-lived career as an (it's OK! I'm a) limo driver, and after seemingly rescuing her abandoned suitcase from the airport, the two friends embark on a mission to track Mary down to Aspin [sic] in order to return the luggage. Little do they know that they have unwittingly thwarted a ransom drop. Hilarity, chaos and a masterclass in slapstick ensues.

Dumb & Dumber is the kind of film you can bond with strangers over. There have been countless times in my life when, after casually throwing a line from the film into everyday conversation (there is, I believe, an appropriate quote for every occasion in life), I've discovered a fellow devotee. What follows is usually a delightful exchange – which you could barely define as a "conversation" – involving both parties bouncing classic quotes from the film off each other. That is, until one of you can't think of any more and, let's be honest, loses.

The scene my friend's mum took umbrage at is arguably the funniest moment in Dumb & Dumber – the purest example of toilet humour – but it's full of classic scenes and gags that only get better with time, age and plenty of additional viewings. If I ever need to find a happy place, I know I can discover it by sitting on my sofa with Harry, Lloyd, Seabass and the rest of the characters for company.

November this year will see the release of the long-awaited Farrelly brothers sequel (let's pretend 2003's prequel, Dumb and Dumberer, never happened), with Carrey and Daniels reprising their roles. I, for one, can't wait.

I hate goodbyes, so let's have a quote-off in the comments. This should get the juices flowing.

Reading on mobile? Watch the trailer for Dumb and Dumber