THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY (Fox - 1998) Starring Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller Screenplay by Ed Decter & John J. Strauss and Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly Produced by Frank Beddor, Michael Steinberg, Charles B. Wessler, Bradley Thomas Directed by Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly Running time: 118 minutes
*** (out of four stars)
Alternate Rating: B
Note: Some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers. Be forewarned.
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"There's something about Mary," croons comic troubadour Jonathan Richmond by way of explanation at one point in the remarkably silly film of the same name, which prompts one to take inventory: as portrayed by Cameron Diaz, perpetual object of desire Mary Jenson is gorgeous, kindly, wealthy, sunny and altogether charming. She has the propensity to change clothes while standing in front of open windows, and even watches SportsCenter, which, needless to say, induces one to ponder what's *not* to like about her? Well, okay, she's a golf aficionado -- nobody's perfect.
The ridiculously idealized Mary is the eye of the vortex in THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, an assemblage of zany bits of scatological humour themed around -- err, stalking. Unlike the sugar-coated nastiness of last year's ADDICTED TO LOVE, though, this year's summer stalking comedy (a most improbable genre, one would have thought) has a bright, bubbly core; amidst all the crude sight gags, the decidedly-politically incorrect witticisms, and lowbrow raunchiness, the film has such an infectiously cheerful, carefree spirit that its offensive material comes across as mischievous rather than malicious. Indeed, the sibling filmmaking team of Peter and Bobby Farrelly clearly take such glee in stretching the limits of good taste that it's nigh well irresistible to simply toss decorum aside and revel in the bawdiness.
The film's (semblance of a) plot is a basic underdog tale structured around a lovelorn geeky guy named Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller) and his earnest attempts to woo the seriously-out-of-his-league goddess Mary while competing for her affections against a bizarro, ever-expanding collection of misfits, chief of which is the caddish Pat Healy (Matt Dillon), the private eye whom Ted hired to track Mary down. In its outline, then, it's a tried-and-true, well-worn formula which leaves no doubt where the film is headed, though familiarity isn't much of an impediment given that the narrative essentially serves as a framework for a series of gags.
There's little doubt where the film's greatest strengths lie; there are moments in THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY which are as funny as anything that's been released to theatres this year. And, as per the reputation of filmmakers, the humour isn't exactly sly and subtle -- the comedy is brazen and in many cases quite literally in-your-face, all gross sight gags and frenetic slapstick. In its best moments, the silliness is so abundant that one can't help but choke with laughter; there's one scene where the audience is lulled into complacency by madcap discussion of a certain uncomfortable circumstance that when the brothers Farrelly fling the image onscreen (in a zoom shot, no less), filling the frame in all its wince-inducing glory, it's hilarious not only in its absurdity and grotesqueness, but also for its sheer unexpectedness.
"I can't believe they *showed* that!" murmured someone behind me during one of the film's big comic moments. "That's *so mean*!" gasped the woman next to me. (The guy in front of me was too busy howling with laughter to comment.) The film's humour is so broad and unabashedly confident that it often provokes not only laughter, but bonafide audience reaction; at the screening I attended, one prime sequence left the crowd buzzing so loud and long that the dialogue in the entire subsequent scene couldn't even be heard.
However, this didn't prove to be a problem, and here lies the down side of the film. THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY is deliriously scatological, tossing practically every sick joke in the book at the screen in its attempts to elicit laughs, with a rather iffy success rate; its big moments are explosively funny, but more often than not, the gags sputter and fizzle, and in between comic crescendos the whole thing gets rather dreary. As a result, the film seems to run far too long -- some liberal trimming could have be conducted with negligent effect to the narrative while improving the overall pacing. In addition, the film curiously seems to consider its romantic angle far more sweet than it actually plays, frequently lending a sense of sincerity to scenes that isn't really merited.
Still, while wildly uneven, the film is a hoot, replete with a handful of memorably audacious moments. It left me considering which was preferable -- a carefully-modulated picture of consistent amusement, or an agreeable one peppered with instances of hilarity, like THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. While in general I find myself leaning towards the former, I can't help but appreciate a film which takes the tired Good Times montage endemic to the romantic-comedy genre, and gives it a special hook.
- Alex Fung
email: aw220@freenet.carleton.ca
web : http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/
-- Alex Fung (aw220@freenet.carleton.ca) | http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/ "...a first screenplay unaccompanied by a powerful agent or industry sponsor is generally a pathetic fetus of a film, nothing more." - Andrew Sarris
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