"There's Something About Mary" * * * * (out of four)
Starring Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, Chris Elliot, Lin Shaye, Jeffrey Tambor, Keith David, W. Earl Brown and Brett Favre
Directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly
Rated R for extremely crude sexual humor, profanity and fake nudity
Theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1
Released in 1998
Running 119 minutes
I feel no hesitation in saying that "There's Something About Mary" is the best film that I will see all year. From the moment the credits started to roll at the end of the picture, there was no doubt in my mind that I had seen a masterpiece that will remain unsurpassed in the remaining months of 1998. It is that good of a film.
When Gene Siskel said this about "Fargo" only a few months into '96, I dismissed the notion as ridiculous. How could you possibly know that a film is so great that nothing you could possibly see in the future could beat it? But after seeing the Farrelly's hilarious and surprisingly heartfelt masterwork, I now know what Siskel was talking about. Once in a (very great) while, a film comes along that is so daring, so brilliant and simply so enjoyable that at the end, you just want to stand up and cheer. And you know, at that instant, that you have just experienced something very special.
Now for the shocker; "Mary" is the grossest and most disgusting film I have ever viewed ("Pink Flamingos" obviously notwithstanding). The movie is so rude and, I guess, inappropriate in nature that I had a hard time sitting in a theater watching it with my parents (luckily I had seen it before them, so I could warn the about what they were in for). Forget "Blazing Saddles", "Animal House" and even the former king of gross-out comedy, "Monty Python's Meaning of Life"; they were all only preludes to the Farrelly's assault on the senses.
In fact, this may even be the funniest film I've ever had the pleasure of seeing (the only real contender is "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"), and most certainly the most hilarious to come out all decade.
But as funny as it is, something also has to be said about the overall sweetness of "Mary"; it has a huge heart. You see, the Farrelly's are truly gifted filmmakers. They don't just present you with a string of dick and fart jokes (although there are plenty to go around). They also, very wisely, add an unbelievable amount of charisma to the main characters and actually have them develop as the story progresses.
It's funny, though. If you just look at an outline of the story, it seems kind of contrived and predictable. But believe me, it is anything but. Ben Stiller plays Ted, a very shy and clumsy teenage geek who lusts after the school babe, Mary (Cameron Diaz). After he sticks up for her retarded brother, Warren (W. Early Brown - the cameraman, believe it or not, from "Scream"), his dreams come true when she invites him to the prom. In one of the film's funniest scenes, something goes wrong (I won't ruin it for those who know nothing about the film) and Ted is unable to face Mary ever again.
Jump to the present. After years of self-loathing, Ted finally hires private detective Pat Healy (a suitably slimy Matt Dillon) to track her down so he can have one last chance at winning the woman he has loved since high school. Healy finds that Mary is still a full-blown hottie and decides to try and keep her for himself.
Admittingly, the basic story line leaves a little to be desired. After all, with a not-really-all-that-funny premise, how can you sustain laughter for nearly two hours? Somehow, the Farrelly's pull it off.
The performances here are also right on target. As Ted, Stiller adds just the right amount of clumsy charm to make his character not irritating, as he would normally be, but very lovable. And Cameron Diaz is perfect in her role for obvious reasons, but the actor who really grabs your attention is W. Earl Brown as Mary's brother. No other actor has even come close to playing a mentally retarded man with as much natural ease as Brown displays here. I know he won't be nominated, but this is the guy who should not be counted out when it comes time to hand out the Oscar nods in February. As good as the actors are, though, it's the directors' movie all the way.
I guarantee that on almost every other top ten list at the end of the year, you will see the number one space occupied by Steven Spielberg's WWII epic "Saving Private Ryan". And yes, that is a great film worthy of the recognition it has been getting. But which is harder; making a great war film or having your audience laugh so hard that they can't breath for minutes at a time? I'll let you decide that one for yourself, but this critic is sticking to his guns. There is just something about "Mary".
*Find all of Jason's reviews at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/7475
Copyright 1998 Jason Wallis
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews