There's Something About Mary

Insanely off the wall comedy from the Farrelly Brothers that delivers from start to finish. Wonderful early sequence with Keith David as Diaz's father busting heavily braced Stiller's chops. Stiller's zipper scene goes down as one of the funniest and most painful things I have ever witnessed on film. Diaz is divine the woman of Stiller's dreams...Dillon is hired to find Diaz...He falls in love with her and gives Stiller a bum story... Lee Evans, a pizza boy, is in love with her too... then Brett Favre comes into the picture. Every scene has something memorable from Dillon's attempts at reviving a dog to Stiller's "pre date entertainment." A classic that doesn't take itself too seriously.

In the past I have not been a great fan of the Farrelly brothers films, however this film is an exception. The dog scenes were probably the funniest personally, but there were heaps of other scenes that are well worth a mention. Cameron Diaz was fantastic as Mary, the girl everyone is after and Ben Stiller was excellent. Matt Dillon was way too over the top- I know his role somewhat warranted it- but did he have to be so excessive? He seemed so irritating. There is no doubt that the humour in this film is of the lowest possible calibre, but it really works- think Dumb & Dumber, but only quite good. Despite all the comic situations in the film, there is still something undeniably sweet in the centre of the story, I think thats what made it work. Its certainly not top class entertainment, but its highly recommended for when you are in a stupid mood and need a good laugh.

There's Something About Mary (1998)

**** (out of 4)

I remember seeing this film on opening night at the very first screening. The place was about full and I really wasn't sure what to expect from the film but I went in since it was the only movie playing that I hadn't already seen. From the opening scene to the end it hit me as a masterpiece and I think it still stands as one of the greatest comedies ever made. About half of the crowd members in that first showing walked out in disgust and one even asked me how I could laugh at such things but I went back and watched it four more times and it seemed, weeks after its release, people finally got what was so special about the movie. This is one of the few comedies that keeps my eyes watered up from laughing so hard. The hilarious prom sequence, the drugged up dog, the wacky group of characters and the hilarious jail sequence. There are so many hilarious moments in this film that I think it deserves it's statue as a classic. Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller, Lee Evans and Chris Elliott are all wonderful in the film and all of them have the perfect comedy timing to really make all of their characters blend together well. I also think Keith David, as Mary's stepfather, doesn't get the credit he deserves because the hysterical prom sequence gets a lot of laughs due to his humor. The gross out nature of the film is something that was original and of crouse ripped off in future years. After this film was released we started getting all sorts of "gross" comedies but I think the majority of them missed the boat because they didn't realize that this film had a very big heart, which helped the movie.

The plot is nothing new: A guy trying to get the love of the one he admired. We all have seen something like this in the past, and we will see something like this in the future. But in this movie the plot isn't important.

When you watch it you just know how it's gonna end, and so the focus is not on the plot but the actual happenings in the movie, and there's a lot. First, the movie is funny, with its many gags that just keeps on coming (a Farrelly Bros. tradition). They might not be in everyone's taste, but at least they aren't forced or out of place. Second, the people seem real enough to be in the situations they brought themselves into (kudos for the great acting, though it could be better). Third, Cameron Diaz is adorable, beautiful, and a marvel to look at. Plus, she got the job carrying the whole movie and she accomplished that ever so gracefully. You just can't help but fall in love with her too, along with every guy in the film.

This is a very good romantic comedy by the Farrelly Bros.. Just like in "Dumb and Dumber" or "King Pin", the brothers have made a comedy that has just the right amount of everything. Excellent job!!

Whenver we refer to modern comedies I think we have to go all the way back to "There's Something About Mary" to see where this all started. It set the new standards for comedy and also became a much imitated movie. Movies however very rarely reached the level of this movie ever again, including all of the Farrelly brothers own later work.

It's the sort of raunchy comedy, that makes some completely inappropriate jokes and makes for instance fun of both psychically and mentally handicapped people, among many other things. This is the foremost reason why some people can't really stand this movie but luckily most others are able to see the talent and effort that were put into making this movie and why the movie works out so well.

As strange as it sounds, it's actually a real subtle done comedy. It's not predictable in any way and the build up and execution of it is spot on. It even makes all of the moments, that usually seem like something totally lame and forced, work out as something hilarious.

It also has a great, yet very simple premise, of a bunch of guys all falling for the same girl. It's the sort of story that provides the movie with plenty of silly comical moments, in which the characters lie and constantly are backstabbing each other, all to get the girl in the end.

Cameron Diaz forms the perfect centerpiece for this movie and the movie is filled with plenty of comical characters, all played by some capable genre actors. This movie is still from the time when it was cool to like Ben Stiller and yes, he also really is perfect in his role. But basically everyone is perfectly cast in this, which is obviously also a reason why the movie and all of its comedy works out so well.

Comedies like this only seem to come once every 10 years, or so.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/