There's Something About Mary Review
by "David Wilcock" (david DOT wilcock AT btinternet DOT com)October 2nd, 1998
THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY
(20TH CENTURY FOX)
RUNNING TIME: 2 HOURS
STARRING BEN STILLER, CAMERON DIAZ AND MATT DILLON
DIRECTED BY BOBBY FARRELLY AND PETER FARRELLY.
Following Dumb & Dumber (1994) and Kingpin (1996) the Farrelly brothers reach a new low in comedy in this outrageously vulgar and funny comedy. The film starts in flashback, where we see geeky kid Ted (Stiller) pining over hot chick Mary (Diaz) who he's desperately in love with. After protecting her mentally retarded brother Warren (W. Earl Brown) from a fight, Mary feels something for Ted and asks him out to the prom. Ted is over the moon, but an unfortunate accident in the toilet involving his privates and his zipper soon puts a stop to the romance. We cut to the present, where Ted, who has lost contact with Mary, hires creepy detective Pat Healy (a excellent Matt Dillon) to track her down. He does, but he falls in love with her aswell. Also after Mary is Tucker (Lee Evans) a stuffy English archaeologist. There's tasteless gags galore as the three try to gain Mary's affections.
And this movie really is tasteless. While Dumb & Dumber and Kingpin did feature some disgusting scenes, There's Something About Mary nearly pushes the envelope. We get a glimpse of Ted's predicament in the toilet, there's a disgusting 'hair gel' scene, and a series of events involving dog brutality. Somehow, the Farrelly's get away with it, and manage to get the audience to laugh at gags they know they shouldn't be chortling at. Every gag is set up well, and the Farrelly's make sure they get a good laugh from every scene. The editing is fast paced, keeping the laughter rate up.
The cast also help to make this film likeable. Stiller is funny as both the nerd Ted and the grown up Ted. His deadpan expressions and confused look throughout are great. Matt Dillon show's comedic talent as slime ball Pat Healy, and he piles on the creepiness in a role he is clearly enjoying. Lee Evans, the master of physical comedy, again shows his crazy comedy moves, such as in an hilarious scene involving picking up his keys while using crutches. Chris Elliot also pops up as Dom, who's pretty much the same as every other character Chris Elliot has played. And finally, Diaz adds some goofy charm to the film, showing that there's talent behind the good looks. The supporting cast all play a part in making sure this movie rolls along.
The writing isn't bad, and there's some great set pieces of tastelessness. While the movie seems to lack plot and structure, the jokes make sure these problems are forgotten about. Occasionally, however, the movie tries to play it straight, and these parts are very dead. After the the first hilarious 15 minutes, the movie threatens to drop dead for another 15 minutes, before it finally gets on a roll. This is a minor quibble, however, and this problem is forgotten about once the movie gets into full swing.
Overall, while this movie is guaranteed to offend, and isn't for everyone, if you like your humour low and tasteless, you could do a lot worse than watch this. Sit back in the cinema, switch your brain off, and enjoy the ride.
OVERALL RATING= **** OUT OF *****
REVIEW BY DAVID WILCOCK ©1998
DAVID WILCOCK
david.wilcock@btinternet.com
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
