Ever since his geeky high school years, Ted (Ben Stiller) has been desperately in love with Mary (Cameron Diaz), after going through a traumatic and equally embarrassing incident on the night he was supposed to be taking Mary to the prom involving a baseball, a half naked Mary and the zipper on his flies. Ted never got to take Mary to the prom and after that he never saw her again.
13 years later it’s 1998 and Ted is still hung up on the one that got away, he’s been through therapy as a result of it and everyone around him tells him he needs to let it go. Unfortunately Ted can’t let go, he hires an oddball private investigator by the name of Healy (Matt Dillon) to track down Mary in Miami. When Healy discovers just how beautiful Mary is he lies to Ted telling her that she’s fat, in a wheelchair and a mail order bride to put him off giving Healy a chance to swoop in there and win Mary’s affections. However when Ted finds out about the lie he makes his way to Miami to see Mary but getting close to her isn’t going to be easy, it’s going to involve being arrested for murder, looking like he’s part of a gay orgy, being beaten up by Mary’s brother Warren and ultimately he’s going to have to fight for Mary which isn’t going to be easy if Healy has anything to do with it…
After it’s release in 1998, There’s Something About Mary has become the highest grossing adult comedy
of all time. That really sums up this film. I think if this film was released now it wouldn’t do well at all but in 1998 that’s just the thing that people were into and it went onto gain a huge cult following and with it’s cult status it still remains popular with audiences all over the world.
There’s Something About Mary is similar to so many other gross out films like the American Pie phenomenon but something seems to stand out about this film. Of course the cast is fantastic, this is my all time favourite Ben Stiller movie bar none. Although his movies seem to be progressively going downhill as of late he’ll always be remembered fondly for his performance in this amongst all his other hit movies (Meet The Parents, Night At The Museum). Ben Stiller always reminds me of Adam Sandler but for me Ben Stiller is the far superior comedy actor, he manages to appeal to a much wider audience than Adam Sandler, Sandler is more for a younger audience but Ben Stiller can be liked by people of any age from his voice over in Madagascar for the kids to Starsky and Hutch which appeals to an older generation. Ben Stiller is effortlessly funny and this movie really showcases all his potential.
Cameron Diaz was perfect for the part of Mary, she’s a beautiful woman but in all her movies she retains the likeability factor which is what has kept her in the spotlight all these years even when challenged by the younger actresses (Jessica Alba, Megan Fox) they of course have the sex appeal factor but Cameron Diaz has that and she’s always a likeable character onscreen. She’s definitely one of my favourite actresses as she is very versatile, she can play comedy roles along with serious roles such as her new film My Sister’s Keeper which I plan to see soon.
I know this is likely to be an unpopular opinion when it comes to this film but I absolutely hate Matt Dillon in this, I’ve like him in other films such as You, Me & Dupree but there’s something that really gets on my nerves in this film. Of course the character he’s playing is specifically designed to annoy people, thus getting the audience behind Ben Stiller’s character but I don’t find him funny at all in this.
Lee Evans really stands out for me in this film as Tucker and he plays my favourite character, if anyone’s seen any of his stand-up shows you’ll know just how versatile and frantic his shows can be and he exudes this well in this film. He’s the funniest character in the film as Tucker but then half way through the film when the circumstances change along with his character he’s not quite so funny but this can be overlooked.
The core storyline has been done in parts so many times and this plotline is so simple but that seems to be the beauty of this film. This film harbours some of the most famous gags in any comedy films ever, there’s the scene at the beginning, the numerous scenes involving Puffy the psychic dog and of course the most famous scene of all where Cameron Diaz ‘gels’ her fringe up using what she thinks is hair gel! I’m not normally a fan of gross out comedies but this one is an exception to that rule. Usually these films are just too outrageous to possibly be funny but because you feel for the character of Ted so much you manage to believe all the wacky scenarios that he gets himself in and when you think about it, they could actually happen to anyone!
The film isn’t just about the comedy aspect though, there’s a very sweet and endearing love story hidden amongst all the hair gel and faming pooches which is part of the reason why this film was such big hit. The Farrelly Brother’s really manage to intertwine grade A comedy with a sweet love story meaning that this movie has something that everyone can enjoy and relate to.
Some of the film could be considered offensive, especially the scenes involving Mary’s brother Warren who has severe learning difficulties, there’s a lot of offensive terms thrown in the air about him and for the easily offended this definitely isn’t a film for you.
I’d highly recommend seeing There’s Something About Mary, it’s no doubt one of the classic 90’s comedies and will always be looked at with fondness by me and so many other fans of this. Don’t let all the other gross out comedies put you off seeing this because it’s the original and best.
The DVD is available from play.com for £3.99, the special edition disc is available for £5.99.
The special features include: Original Theatrical Trailer Music Video Karaoke English Audio Commentary from the Directors "Behind-the-Zipper" Featurette
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Filled with endless laughs and unbelievable sight gags, this delightfully outlandish ... more
romantic comedy is a hysterical smash hit.Still suffering from a high school crush on Mary (Cameron Diaz), the nerdy angst-driven Ted (Ben Stiller) tracks her down thi...
Filled with endless laughs and unbelievable sight gags, this delightfully outlandish ... more
romantic comedy is a hysterical smash hit.Still suffering from a high school crush on Mary (Cameron Diaz), the nerdy angst-driven Ted (Ben Stiller) tracks her down thi...
Jul 16th, 2009
very helpful by (100%):
