There's Something About Mary
(A- or 3.5/4 stars)
'There's Something About Mary' and there's something about this movie. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard while watching a film in the theaters. 1985: we first meet a geek-ish Ted (Ben Stiller) while he's pining away for Mary (Cameron Diaz) in high school. Prom is fast approaching. And he can't believe that she's actually willing to go with him. After having broken up with her longtime beau, she took a liking to Ted when he stuck up for her mentally disabled brother, Warren (W. Earl Brown). Things are going swell for him until he uses Mary's bathroom to go #1 (while she's preparing for prom). Failing to tuck his 'member' in properly before zipping up leads to what becomes the first of many excruciating, yet hysterically funny scenes in the film.
Needless to say, Ted fails to go to the prom; dashing his self-esteem further, & never speaking to Mary again (out of shame). The film now jumps to 1998 where Ted is a writer. With Mary still on his mind, Ted hires a sleazy private investigator, Pat Healy (Matt Dillon), to track her down. It turns out that she lives in Miami. And unfortunately for Ted, Pat winds up falling for her, too; even lying to Ted about her whereabouts. But desperate to find her, Ted elects to not believe Pat, do his own investigating, & pursue her himself. What commences is a bizarre romantic quadrangle involving these 3 plus a British architect (comedian Lee Evans). Nearly every scene throughout the remainder is filled with outrageous, uncouth & laugh-out-loud humor.
The humor in 'There's Something About Mary' is lowbrow, for sure. But it's also hilarious ... for the most part. And even when it's not funny, it's surprisingly effective when trying to be sweet. i.e., many moments btwn. Mary & Ted are genuinely romantic, and the relationship btwn. Ted & her disabled brother is also handled sweetly. But make no mistake, the directors (the Farrelly bros.) put the main focus on the crude comedy: boobs, penises, injured dogs, geriatric sex, even bodily fluids (in the film's most outrageous sequence yet; Mary needs some hair gel and grabs some from Ted's ear to use on her bangs ... but hair gel it is NOT, haha). One of the main reasons we can weather the storm of crude comedy is because 1) it's delivered with great timing. Timing is critical in comedies such as this. 2) None of it is truly mean-spirited. And 3) the film mixes the bitter with the sweet so well. It's ... twistedly heartwarming.
One of the other reasons for the film's success is its cast. Ben Stiller knows how to play these sympathetic losers SO well. We feel bad for him, but we can also laugh our butts off at his expense. And needless to say, his comic timing is perfect. Matt Dillon is great in the sleaze-ball role. We loathe him. But we're also laughing at his expense (just like Stiller). It's a fun performance. And Cameron Diaz, cute as a button, nails the 'straight' role. In almost every single situation she has to keep a straight face & remain natural amid all the absurdity. She just beams. There's Something About Cameron. And that's why she was cast as Mary. This film has its dead spots. It also verges close to tasteless (in some scenes); too over-the-top. But overall, you'll gasp, yell, & laugh yourself silly throughout. Most "comedies" fail to make me laugh enough. Here is one that finally did.
Needless to say, Ted fails to go to the prom; dashing his self-esteem further, & never speaking to Mary again (out of shame). The film now jumps to 1998 where Ted is a writer. With Mary still on his mind, Ted hires a sleazy private investigator, Pat Healy (Matt Dillon), to track her down. It turns out that she lives in Miami. And unfortunately for Ted, Pat winds up falling for her, too; even lying to Ted about her whereabouts. But desperate to find her, Ted elects to not believe Pat, do his own investigating, & pursue her himself. What commences is a bizarre romantic quadrangle involving these 3 plus a British architect (comedian Lee Evans). Nearly every scene throughout the remainder is filled with outrageous, uncouth & laugh-out-loud humor.
The humor in 'There's Something About Mary' is lowbrow, for sure. But it's also hilarious ... for the most part. And even when it's not funny, it's surprisingly effective when trying to be sweet. i.e., many moments btwn. Mary & Ted are genuinely romantic, and the relationship btwn. Ted & her disabled brother is also handled sweetly. But make no mistake, the directors (the Farrelly bros.) put the main focus on the crude comedy: boobs, penises, injured dogs, geriatric sex, even bodily fluids (in the film's most outrageous sequence yet; Mary needs some hair gel and grabs some from Ted's ear to use on her bangs ... but hair gel it is NOT, haha). One of the main reasons we can weather the storm of crude comedy is because 1) it's delivered with great timing. Timing is critical in comedies such as this. 2) None of it is truly mean-spirited. And 3) the film mixes the bitter with the sweet so well. It's ... twistedly heartwarming.
One of the other reasons for the film's success is its cast. Ben Stiller knows how to play these sympathetic losers SO well. We feel bad for him, but we can also laugh our butts off at his expense. And needless to say, his comic timing is perfect. Matt Dillon is great in the sleaze-ball role. We loathe him. But we're also laughing at his expense (just like Stiller). It's a fun performance. And Cameron Diaz, cute as a button, nails the 'straight' role. In almost every single situation she has to keep a straight face & remain natural amid all the absurdity. She just beams. There's Something About Cameron. And that's why she was cast as Mary. This film has its dead spots. It also verges close to tasteless (in some scenes); too over-the-top. But overall, you'll gasp, yell, & laugh yourself silly throughout. Most "comedies" fail to make me laugh enough. Here is one that finally did.