October 3, 2008: There’s Something About Mary
In the middle of a totally uncharacteristic gap in my movie watching, this is the only movie I actually saw in the space of over a month. My schedule was disrupted by general fall busyness, home maintenance, and a vacation. And this is not to say that I sat down on my couch one quiet evening and popped in the DVD and watched There’s Something About Mary. I viewed the movie in about three or four sessions, during early mornings and late evenings, over the space of a few days, while cleaning up my basement and working/surfing on my computer.
The Farrelly brothers (Bobby and Peter) were a known commodity by 1998. 1994’s Dumb and Dumber was well-known if not particularly well-regarded, although it was one of the trifecta of films which sealed Jim Carrey’s rise to superstardom (the others being Ace Ventura: Pet Detective in 1993 and The Mask, also from 1994). It seems to me that 1996’s Kingpin was considerably less well-known – probably because it was a feature film about an Amish guy who is great at bowling – though it was a notable comedic comeback vehicle for Bill Murray in his pre-Lost-in-Translation days, and another solid notch for Woody Harrelson. But back in that innocent time a decade ago, pre-American Pie, pre-Judd Apatow, close-ups of a guy’s balls caught in his zipper and the sight of semen in a woman’s hair outside of a porn movie were not what the world was expecting!
A lot of things gelled in this film. As already noted, the timing was important, as the key demographics within the moviegoing public were ready to embrace crude sexual humour and absurd premises for their comedies in a way that had never really caught on before, aside from a few notable examples such as National Lampoon’s Animal House and Porky’s.
The casting was great. Ben Stiller is always a relatable schlub. Cameron Diaz’s star was on the rise – before we realized she was dumb as a post (referring in her Oscar presentation to the inspiration for The Departed being “Internal Affairs” rather than the actual title “Infernal Affairs” was what put her over the edge for me) and not all that great an actress (Being John Malkovich excepted). Chris Elliott was well-used (I always liked his TV show which was almost immediately cancelled). Matt Dillon is slimy yet appealing. Jeffrey Tambor is great in a minor role sandwiched between the end of The Larry Sanders Show and his renaissance in Arrested Development 5 years later. Markie Post and Keith David add a lot of comedic weight to the opening scenes.
The story is ridiculous enough to work, and the previously-mentioned gags provided a hook for the mass media stories to attach themselves to, launching this little movie by an offbeat comedy directing duo into the history books for 1998. It’s not necessarily the kind of movie that I want to sit and watch from start to finish very often, but it’s great to put on in the background when I’m doing something else. It seems tame compared to the gross-out comedies of today, but a decade ago this film caused quite a stir.
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