There's Something About Mary (1998)

In the past I have not been a great fan of the Farrelly brothers films, however this film is an exception. The dog scenes were probably the funniest personally, but there were heaps of other scenes that are well worth a mention. Cameron Diaz was fantastic as Mary, the girl everyone is after and Ben Stiller was excellent. Matt Dillon was way too over the top- I know his role somewhat warranted it- but did he have to be so excessive? He seemed so irritating. There is no doubt that the humour in this film is of the lowest possible calibre, but it really works- think Dumb & Dumber, but only quite good. Despite all the comic situations in the film, there is still something undeniably sweet in the centre of the story, I think thats what made it work. Its certainly not top class entertainment, but its highly recommended for when you are in a stupid mood and need a good laugh.

Fmovies: The shock comedy aside (zipper and hair gel scenes), purposeful unpolitically correct moments (humor at expense of handicapped, animal cruelty), the most surprising thing about this film is it has heart and is rather sweet. It's not the completely nasty, cruel comedy you might have been expecting. There's a nice love story in here too. It's corny and cliche'd and doesn't feel overly cloying because there are enough shockingly funny moments to offset it. The acting is good, the pacing brisk, and the jokes, well... you've heard all about the best ones by now.

There's Something About Mary is an apt title, for there is something about this movie that is quite endearing, particularly if you are a gross-out fan. Even if you are not a real fan of gross-outs, as is the case with me, you can still enjoy this film. This is because I find it to be funnier and more enjoyable than most other gross-out comedies (and that includes Team America). As a romantic comedy, it is also enjoyable and that is saying something as romantic comedy is, to me, a bastardised version of real comedy, often with a weak romance and diluted laughs. This is certainly not the case here. Having said that, it is not perfect: The Farrelly Brothers use a retard for cheap laughs once too often, which I did not like, the disabled guy wasn't that funny and the plot is a bit clichéd and predictable, but I expected that.

The story is about a man named Ted, who we see meet a beautiful girl, Mary, during his teenage years. However, their budding romance falls away when Ted gets his dick caught in his zipper. By the way, this scene is absolutely hilarious and so is the aftermath, after the police officer tells him to 'pull it out'; next minute, he is being carted off in an ambulance, never to see Mary again...or so we think for a minute.

Until of course, he finds himself fantasising about Mary years later. He hires a private investigator, Pat Healy, to do some snooping on her. This takes a turn for the worse, as the investigator falls in love with Mary and lies to Ted. Ted finds out about his deceiving ways, thanks to Woogy and goes to see Mary himself.

This movie is hilarious at times, funny at others; occasionally, it falls flat. There are too many hilarious and funny scenes to mention here, so I'll mention the best ones: the 'dick zipper' one, the 'fishing line' one and the one where the retard goes psycho and hits Pat Healy in the face. To be impartial, I will say that I have already mentioned some of the imperfect bits above.

The acting is quite good too. Ben Stiller does a good job as the nervy, fantasising, sensible Ted, while Matt Dillon is good as the 'sleazy investigator'. Cameron Diaz, in the days when she was still hot, is OK, but not much more than your typical love interest. The rest of the cast is nothing more than OK, including W. Earl Brown, the guy who plays the retard (as anyone could play his role).

I'll finish by saying that this is one of the best gross-out/romantic comedies I've ever seen and is definitely worth a Friday night or a DVD rental. There is a good chance that you'll be laughing like I did throughout the movie. To clinch this review, I will say that:

There's Something About Mary!

4/5 stars

There's Something About Mary fmovies. I don`t like comedies but I do enjoy much of the Farrelly Brothers stuff and THERE`S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY is their greatest achievment which is probably down to their casting . Ben Stiller is perfect as Ted while Matt Dillon is absolutely outstanding as sleazy ( And boy do I mean sleazy ) private investigator Pat Healy . My only criticism is of Cameron Diaz who`s slightly bland , but she is attractive and that`s all that matters

I suppose how funny you`ll find this film is down to your own subjective opinion of what should or shouldn`t be made fun of . I`ll be honest and say that jokes featuring stalking , serial killers , semen , spiking doggie snacks with drugs and learning difficulties are all fair game ,and perhaps I`m being too honest in saying I laughed out loud at these serious subjects being made fun of ?

Sorry if this review has been very short but I find it difficult to write hundreds of words about a film I love

I desperately wish that the Farelly brothers would go back to doing gross-out comedies like they did with Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, Me, Myself, and Irene, and this. This is by far the best of all their movies. There are three kinds of comedy. Comedies that make you smile (Sixteen Candles), comedies that make you laugh (Airplane), and comedies that cause you to nearly asphyxiate yourself from laughing so hard. This is one of those rare third category movies. With the friends I watched it with, the laughs sounded like nuclear bombs going off in my room. It's that funny.

Thirteen years ago, Ted (Ben Stiller) landed a prom date with the most popular and beautiful girl in school, Mary (Cameron Diaz). Unfortunately, the date wasn't meant to be, for Ted has his manhood damaged right in front of Mary, and ends up in the hospital instead of the prom.

Thirteen years later, Ted decides to track Mary down, and have a second chance with his dream girl. He hires sleazy private eye, Pat (Matt Dillon)to find her for him. Pat finds her, and she's grown up beautiful. Pat decides he wants to date her. He stalks her, finds out everything she wants in a man, and poses as just that. Meanwhile, Ted has been led to believe that Mary has become fat white trash in a wheelchair. Pat and Mary start dating.

Well, by the end of the movie, every man who is involved in the story has tried to make a move on Mary. We all know how it ends, but it's one funny ride. One thing about this movie that's commendable is how the mentally retarded character is treated. He is treated in a way that isn't rude, or offensive. Mary sticks up for him, and he's really innocent. The funniest gag in the movie involves a NEW brand of HAIR GEL (compliments of Ted, and tested by Mary). I won't tell you what's really being mistaken for hair gel, but when you find out, you'll laugh so hard, you gag. This movie knows what a comedy of this type should be like. Each gag goes somewhere, and is really big. They're usually extended scenes with punchlines. Me, Myself, and Irene goes for the cheapest laughs you can find, but There's Something About Mary takes it's time, carefully planning each gag, in order to make it gut-bustingly hilarious. That's just what this movie is. 10/10.

It is rated R for Strong Comic Sexual Content, and Language. Sex: 8/10 Violence: 3/10 Swearing: 9/10 Drugs: 2/10

The plot is nothing new: A guy trying to get the love of the one he admired. We all have seen something like this in the past, and we will see something like this in the future. But in this movie the plot isn't important.

When you watch it you just know how it's gonna end, and so the focus is not on the plot but the actual happenings in the movie, and there's a lot. First, the movie is funny, with its many gags that just keeps on coming (a Farrelly Bros. tradition). They might not be in everyone's taste, but at least they aren't forced or out of place. Second, the people seem real enough to be in the situations they brought themselves into (kudos for the great acting, though it could be better). Third, Cameron Diaz is adorable, beautiful, and a marvel to look at. Plus, she got the job carrying the whole movie and she accomplished that ever so gracefully. You just can't help but fall in love with her too, along with every guy in the film.

This is a very good romantic comedy by the Farrelly Bros.. Just like in "Dumb and Dumber" or "King Pin", the brothers have made a comedy that has just the right amount of everything. Excellent job!!