"Mary" is...well, something
There's Something About Mary A Film Review By Michael Redman Copyright 1998 By Michael Redman
**1/2 (Out of ****)
Every once in a while you meet a member of the opposite sex with whom you establish an instant fascination. Who know why it happens? Cosmic fate? Soulmates? Pheromones? Recognition of a potential dysfunctional relationship? Whatever it is, one look and you're lost in their eyes, ready to follow to the ends of the Earth and make remarkably stupid choices in the name of love.
And whatever it is, Mary has it in abundance. The guys are lined up down the block just for a chance to be with her. The trouble is that they're mostly sleazy lying lowlifes. None of them are who they pretend to be.
In 1985 high school loser Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller) finally hits it lucky. Mary Jenson (Cameron Diaz), the local teen beauty, has asked him to the Senior Prom after he stuck up for her mentally challenged brother Warren (W. Earl Brown). True to form, Ted's fortune reverts to usual on prom night.
Making a pit stop in Mary's bathroom, Ted has an unfortunate accident. In a scene guaranteed to make every man in the audience cringe, he catches a sensitive part of his anatomy in his zipper. Mary's father comes in to help him and is so astonished at the severity of the situation that he invites her mother in for a peek. In Marx Brothers style, a policeman crawls in through the window and a fireman joins the party. The last that Ted sees Mary is as he's being dropped by the paramedics on the way to the hospital.
Seventeen years later, Ted is still bewitched and hires Pat Healy (Matt Dillon), a would-be detective to track down the object of his desire. When Pat locates her in Florida he falls for her and lies to Ted about her condition. According to him, she's put on some tonnage, is the wheelchair-bound unwed mother of four by three different men and is on her way to Japan as a mail-order bride. In real life, she's one hot babe.
When Ted learns the truth, he's in the sunshine state to discover Pat romancing Mary. The private eye has been spying on her to discover her image of the perfect man and attempts to present himself as that being. He's not doing such a great job. She is intrigued by Nepal so he tells her that he owns a condo in Nepal. She is concerned for the less fortunate (her best friend walks with braces, she feeds an old homeless man and spends time with her brother and his friends) and he explains that his greatest joy in life is working with "retards". Naive Mary believes it all - a _condo_ in Nepal?
Ted tries to win Mary. Pat tries to win Mary. Every other guy in the film tries to win Mary. What is it about her? Obviously one of the "something"s is Mary's habit of wearing thin clingy clothing while forgetting her underwear. If anyone's gaze happens to make it up to her face, there's a winning smile and liquid eyes. On a less physical level, she's charming, giggly, kind-hearted and full of life. No wonder every male is falling all over himself.
This pretty much describes an intriguing but fairly traditional romantic comedy. What sets this film off from the others is that it is directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly. Responsible for the tasteless (and even worse, unfunny) "Dumb And Dumber", they bring their distinctive style to the genre.
The film is filled with low-grade vulgar bathroom humor. No group escapes the opportunity to be the butt of jokes. Gays, the physically and mentally challenged, dogs, Blacks, old women: they all get their chance.
The astonishing thing is that, if you can leave political-correctness at the door, it's are often hilarious. The Farrelly brothers are not content to show us a bit and allow us to laugh at it. They go on and on with it until it's crammed down our throats. Pat accidentally kills a small dog, attempts to revive it, and the scene is, to put it mildly, stupid. But as it continues far past a reasonable amount of time, you'll be rolling in the aisles embarrassed that you find it laughable.
When Ted is "cleaning his pipes" before a date with Mary, the incident is crude, offensive and uncomfortable. Despite the audience's best intention, it also gets the biggest laugh of the picture, destined to be talked about for months and possibly inspire new hairstyles.
For every vulgar scene that works, there's one that definitely doesn't. When Mary's braced friend Tucker (Lee Evans) drops his keys and attempts to pick them up for seemingly hours, it's cruel and not humorous. And then they do it again.
Ted gets a fishhook caught in his mouth and it's just a waste of footage. The 30 year-olds as high school students are a groan. Ted's friend Dom (Chris Elliott) develops a face covered with boils. That's supposed to be humorous. It's not.
The film would be a disaster without such a stellar cast. Stiller has a talent for comedy as evidenced by his 1994 Emmy for writing Fox's "Ben Stiller Show". Dillon, playing against type, does well as the trashy Pat. His pencil-thin mustache is a riot. Elliott is always comical and gets a chance to strut his stuff. Even the smaller part of Mary's leather-skinned neighbor Magda (Lin Shaye) is well-casted.
Singer Jonathon Richman walks out of the scenery occasionally as a Greek chorus with songs commenting on the current status of the plot.
Brown as Mary's brother is a stitch. He is the star of every scene that he's in. Fortunately most of the humor surrounding his disability involves laughing with him rather than at him.
Then there's Cameron Diaz. The film's title is right: there's something about Cameron. With her allure and fresh style, she's headed for the big time.
The film is not for everyone. It requires abandoning all sense of decorum. If you have an inner 14-year old boy, you will find parts of it great fun. If you don't, stay home and watch that documentary on the migratory habits of some songbird.
(Michael Redman has written this column for over 23 years and admits that his inner child hasn't quite made it to 14 yet. Email tasteless stories to redman@bvoice.com)
[This appeared in the 7/23/98 "Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana. Michael Redman can be contacted at redman@bvoice.com] -- mailto:redman@bvoice.com This week's film review at http://www.bvoice.com/ Film reviews archive at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Michael%20Redman
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