REVIEW: There's Something About Mary By Luke Buckmaster (bucky@alphalink.com.au)
Cast: Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Chris Elliott, Lin Shaye, Lee Evans, W. Earl Brown Directors: Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly Screenplay: Ed Decter & John J. Strauss and Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly Australian release date: September 3 1998
>From 0 stars (bomb), to 5 stars (a masterpiece): 4 and a half stars
Hysterically funny, brilliantly crafted and un-apologetically repulsive.
Just in case you want me to go on, allow me to announce that There's Something About Mary is one of the funniest comedies so far this decade. The Farley brothers, responsible for Dumb and Dumber and Kingpins, bring forth their wicked visions to the screen with absolutely no subtlety: the film makes fun of the mentally handicapped, gays, blow jobs, masturbation, murder, drugs, elderly people, head jobs, architects, the physically handicapped, masculinity…get the drift?
There's not only something about Mary (Cameron Diaz), there's everything about her - she's good looking, loves beer, sports and helping the community. That's why Ted (Ben Stiller) hires shady insurance claims investigator Pat Healy (Matt Dhillon) to track her down after not seeing her since prom night, thirteen years ago (when he managed to get his family jewels stuck in his zipper). But Pat begins to fall for Mary, Ted begins to long for Mary and a collection of other sitcom-like characters all want to be with her.
The good news is that the Farleys have taken all of societies most sensitive themes and meshed them into one despicable, unrelenting comedy that had me almost choking on my own laughter. To subside for the fact that the film is basically plotless, every ounce of its boisterously entertaining story is milked for the gags, and there are five or six key comedy sequences. All of the cast shine in their undemanding roles, with Ben Stiller looking especially good as both a teenage loser and an adult…loser. Cameron Diaz is also splendid; she's a talented actor who looks gorgeous on the screen, and is able to give a reasonably refined performance in an incredibly unrefined film.
After a long, long time without any really funny comedies (As Good as it Gets came close, tough) it's so refreshing to see something so ridiculously amusing, so ashamedly enjoyable. It's up there with The Birdcage and Nothing to Lose for the best comedies of the 90's and it is, undoubtedly, hysterically funny, brilliantly crafted and un-apologetically repulsive.
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