The Farrelly Brothers set this romantic comedy in their home state of Rhode Island. In 1985, when teen-nerd Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller) challenges a high-schooler who's bullying retarded Warren Jenson (W. Earl Brown), his concern prompts Warren's sister, the dazzling and desirable Mary Jenson (Cameron Diaz) to choose Ted as her senior prom date, a fact Ted's pals find hard to believe. However, on prom night, Ted gets his penis caught in his zipper, so the much-desired date never happens. Living in Providence and waxing nostalgic 13 years later, Ted hires Pat Healy (Matt Dillon) to locate Mary, and the creepy private investigator finds her in Miami, where she lives with her tan-shriveled roommate Magda (Lin Shaye). After Pat develops a stalker-style fixation on the lovely, unattached Mary, he lies to Ted, telling him that she's now an overweight mother confined to a wheelchair. Employing professional eavesdropping equipment, Pat gathers a dossier on Mary's life and future plans, information that forms the basis for more lies when Pat begins dating her. Sure enough, Mary falls for Pat, although her friend Tucker (Lee Evans) is very suspicious of Pat's claim to be a Harvard-educated architect. Meanwhile, Ted learns the truth but continues to encounter offbeat obstacles as he accelerates to Miami in hopes of finding happiness with his true love. Former Modern Lovers singer Jonathan Richman vocalizes a narrative ballad of onscreen commentary in the Cat Ballou (1965) tradition. Most of the cast sings and frolics to Build Me Up, Buttercup by The Foundations during the closing credits. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
Review
Some movies make you smile, some make you laugh, and some make you laugh so hard you spill Milk Duds all over your date. The Farrelly brothers' There's Something About Mary falls solidly in the latter category. Few films have violated so many taboos and been so successful in their quest for laughs. While scatological and intermittently offensive, There's Something About Mary redeems itself by being both legitimately funny and surprisingly sweet. With a couple of notable exceptions -- the "handicapped" Tucker's flailing becomes gratuitous -- this is a movie with real heart. Amidst the I-can't-believe-they-did-that shocks, you find yourself rooting for Ben Stiller's Ted and Cameron Diaz's Mary to end up together -- they're the most honest, caring people in the film. There's Something About Mary also merits attention for its less-controversial laughs, such as the amusingly absurd musical narrative provided by Jonathan Richman, or Bret Favre's hilarious surprise cameo. Not all the jokes are precisely on-target, but with so many that are, Mary's transgressions are easily forgotten. To say it's not for prudish tastes is a grave understatement. But There's Something About Mary is truly an excellent comedy, one that proves the considerable latitude afforded filmmakers in the permissive late 1990s resulted in more than just an inordinate amount of fart jokes. ~ Matthew Doberman, Rovi
Lin Shaye - Magda; Jeffrey Tambor - Sully; Markie Post - Mary's Mom; Keith David - Mary's Stepfather; W. Earl Brown - Warren; Jonathan Richman - Jonathan; Brett Favre - Himself; Willie Garson - Bob; Harland Williams - Hitchhiker; John-Eliot Jordan - Buttercup Singer; Danny Murphy - Boss' Brother
Credit
Arlan Jay Vetter - Art Director, Mark Charpentier - Associate Producer, Patrick Healy - Associate Producer, Rick Montgomery - Casting, Marc S. Fischer - Co-producer, James B. Rogers - Co-producer, Mary Zophres - Costume Designer, James B. Rogers - First Assistant Director, Bobby Farrelly - Director, Peter Farrelly - Director, Christopher Greenbury - Editor, Bobby Farrelly - Executive Producer, Peter Farrelly - Executive Producer, Jonathan Richman - Composer (Music Score), Happy Walters - Musical Direction/Supervision, Tom Wolfe - Musical Direction/Supervision, Mark Irwin - Cinematographer, Michael Steinberg - Producer, Frank Beddor - Producer, Charles B. Wessler - Producer, Bradley Thomas - Producer, Jonathan "Earl" Stein - Sound/Sound Designer, Edward Decter - Screen Story, John J. Strauss - Screen Story, Edward Decter - Screenwriter, John J. Strauss - Screenwriter, Bobby Farrelly - Screenwriter, Peter Farrelly - Screenwriter, The Foundations - Musical Performer, Richard K. Wright - Properties Master
Awkward and shy 16-year-old high-schooler Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller) lands a prom date with his dream girl Mary Jensen (Cameron Diaz), only to have it cut short by a painful and embarrassing zipper accident. After the ordeal garners the attention of numerous members of the household and community, Ted is finally carted off to the hospital. He subsequently loses touch with Mary.
Thirteen years later, Ted is still in love — maybe even obsessed — with Mary. On the advice of his best friend Dom, he hires sleazy private detective Pat Healy to track her down. Healy finds that she is an orthopedic surgeon living in Miami with her friend, Magda, but Healy falls in love with the irresistible Mary as well. Healy resorts to lying, cheating, stalking, and drugging Magda's dog to win Mary but is exposed by Mary's architect friend, Tucker, who is heavily reliant on crutches, and speaks with a posh English accent. Tucker, however, turns out to be a fraud himself, an able-bodied and entirely American pizza boy who is also in love with Mary. Tucker drives potential rivals away by slander, not least of which includes Brett Favre, the famous American football star (playing himself), who Mary almost married.
Ted, aided by Dom, drives down to Florida and seems to have won Mary's love, until an anonymous letter exposes his being less than honest about his link to Healy. While Ted confronts Healy and Tucker, Mary is confronted by Dom, who turns out to be her former boyfriend Woogie, who "got weird on her" back in high school, setting up the original prom scenario. Having found out that Tucker also lied about Mary's former love interest, football player Brett Favre, Ted decides that Mary should be with Brett, as Brett was the only one who did not resort to deceit to win Mary. After reuniting Brett and Mary, Ted leaves tearfully but Mary chases after him, preferring him over Brett.
The film concludes with the two engaging in a kiss while a guitarist (Jonathan Richman) who narrates/sings along all the story is accidentally shot by Magda's boyfriend who was trying to shoot Ted so he could win over Mary.
Matt Dillon as Pat Healy, a sleazy private detective whom Ted hires to track Mary down, only to fall in love with her himself.
Ben Stiller as Ted Stroehmann, an awkward and shy young man who loves – and is possibly obsessed with – Mary.
Chris Elliott as Dom “Woogie” Woganowski, Ted′s best friend, who has a fetish for women′s shoes and a problem with hives.
Lee Evans as Tucker / Norman Phipps, a Pompano pizza delivery boy who falls in love with Mary and pretends to be a British architect in order to get together with her.
This sleeper hit was the highest-grossing comedy of 1998 in North America as well as the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year. It also catapulted Diaz and Stiller into the limelight. The film has made $369 million worldwide, including $176 million in the U.S. alone.[2]
Critical reaction for the film was generally acclaimed. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 83% based on 82 reviews, and an average rating of 7/10, with the consensus: "There's Something About Mary proves that unrelentingly, unabashedly puerile humor doesn't necessarily come at the expense of a film's heart." [3]Metacritic gives the film a score of 69% based on reviews from 29 critics.[4]
Roger Ebert gave it three out of four stars, stating "What a blessed relief is laughter. It flies in the face of manners, values, political correctness and decorum. It exposes us for what we are, the only animal with a sense of humor."[5]
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