There's Something about Mary 1998, Rated R

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Starring Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller, et al. Released to DVD on February 2, 1999.

Despite the fact that I use words like ribald, digress, and haranguement in everyday conversation, have a college degree, and don't necessarily dry my hands on nearby curtains after washing them, the Farrelly brothers style of toilet humor and gross-out comedy sits well with me. After having screened the Farrelly's previous two films, Dumb and Dumber and Kingpin, my face actually hurt from having laughed so hard at the material contained within. Having heard the near constant stream of positive buzz about There's Something About Mary, I was quite anticipating my opportunity to watch the Farrelly's latest work. I was not disappointed in the least as, ultimately, I laughed more and harder at There's Something About Mary than I did for any other film released in 1998.

Ben Stiller stars as Ted, a dippy guy from Rhode Island who is going to his senior prom is with the girl of his dreams, Mary, played by the coquettish Cameron Diaz. On the night of prom Stiller manages to catch every available inch of his manhood in his fly, eliciting an emergency trip to the hospital and the rapid cancellation of his date with Diaz. Twelve years later, with Diaz still on his mind, Stiller hires a private eye, Matt Dillon, to learn what has become of Diaz. Dillon finds Diaz in Miami, falls in love with her, and moves to the Sunshine State to be closer to her, prompting Stiller and his best friend, Chris Elliot, to traipse down after him.

There were two aspects of this film that made it funnier than just about any other comedy released during the '90's: 1) the totally unexpected surprises the Farrelly's chose to include, and 2) the Farrelly's willingness to make fun of anything and anyone, no matter what the political correctness of today's society would suggest. And for this, I give them a monstrous round of applause. Whether it be transporting severed body parts in a duffel bag, taking pot shots at the mentally retarded, or giving important cameos to pro quarterbacks, the Farrelly's recipe for success in There's Something About Mary is anything but ordinary.

The dialogue between the characters is ripe with one-liners, with Dillon's dim-witted PI nabbing more than his fair share of crowd pleasing lines of hilarity, including the films best single line, which Dillon uses in response to Diaz's question about what his true passion is: "Working with retards", Dillon says with a straight face, receiving a indignant response from Diaz and belly laughs from the already teary-eyed audiences.

Stiller, Diaz, and Dillon deliver solid comic performances, with Stiller playing the part of the loveable nerd to perfection, but it is the minor characters that steal the movie from underneath the feet of its leads. W. Earl Brown, Keith David, and Lin Shaye all have supporting roles, but play their parts so perfectly that the overall product is benefited immensely.

Reports from the set of There's Something About Mary confirmed a loose atmosphere among the cast and crew, with practical jokes being played on one another nearly constantly. The good off-screen repartee between the actors and director is quite noticeable in the relaxed and comfortably funny performances that made the final cut of this film. Whatever the Farrelly's were doing to keep the mood on the set light worked well, and probably should be duplicated in the future for other potential comedies; the surprisingly good chemistry between its leads is one of the most underrated facets of this film.

The Farrelly's are currently in production on their new film, tentatively titled Stuck on You, about the lives of Siamese twins. Based on the hilarity and success of There's Something About Mary, I, for one, am counting down the hours until its release.