There's Something About Mary

There's Something About Mary may be the most consistently, unapologetically tasteless comedy I've seen this decade. After all, these are the Farrelly brothers we're talking about, the same fellows who turned laxatives and "milking a bull" into comic stomach-churners in Dumb and Dumber and Kingpin. This time around they tell the story of Mary Jenson (Cameron Diaz), every man's fantasy: she's beautiful, intelligent, and she loves beer, hot dogs and football. The film opens in 1985, as geeky Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller) is on the verge of taking the stunning Mary to his high school prom. Fate intervenes, however, and thirteen years later Ted is still thinking about Mary as the one that got away. At the insistence of his friend Dom (Chris Elliott), Ted hires insurance claims investigator Pat Healy (Matt Dillon) to track down Mary in Florida. Little does Ted know that Pat is about to become as infatuated with Mary as he is, leading to a romantic triangle which rapidly becomes a square, then a pentagon, then... Never mind. The plot is beside the point. There's Something About Mary is really a collection of comedy-of-errors set pieces which find gags in the mentally handicapped, the physically handicapped, stalking, masturbation, anonymous homosexual encounters, serial killings and the unspeakable horror of getting..."it"...caught in one's zipper. If that kind of subject matter seems more likely to have you grimacing than guffawing, don't say I didn't warn you: there's even more where that came from. Brilliant, it ain't; brilliantly executed, it is. Highly recommended. (S. Renshaw)[DVD Review--July 15, 2003--Fox, 2 discs, 119 min., R, $26.98--Available in separate widescreen and full frame editions, Fox's There's Something More About Mary serves up a double disc collector's edition that includes both the theatrical and extended (15 minutes longer) versions, as well as the Farelly brothers commentary from the first release (with additional commentary on the commentary) and a new commentary track by writers Ed Decter and John J. Strauss. Disc two? Well, the second disc is all extras, spread out over three menu pages. In addition to a 44-minute "making of" with cast and crew interviews, you'll find extra interviews (with Stiller, Diaz, Dillon, and Chris Elliott), two somewhat interchangeable 30-minute pre-release puff pieces aired on AMC's Backstory and the Comedy Central channel, a handful of new featurettes (best among them are the "Best Fight" MTV award clip spotlighting the battle between Stiller and Puffy the CGI dog, and "Behind the Zipper," a medical mockumentary on catching one's frank or beans in a pants zipper), a disappointing outtakes sequence, and the usual promo material and music videos. Bottom line: although quantity often wins out over quality here (some of the extras just feel like bloatware), fans will appreciate this second helping of Mary with all the fixins'.][Blu-ray Review—May 26, 2009—Fox, 119 min., R, $34.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1998's There's Something About Mary sports a decent transfer with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sound. Featuring both the theatrical and extended cut versions, Blu-ray extras include three audio commentaries (the first with directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly; the second with writers Ed Decter and John J. Strauss; and the third a select scene commentary with the Farrelly brothers), a 44-minute “Getting Behind Mary” behind-the-scenes documentary, the “Comedy Central Reel Comedy” episode on the film (22 min.), an “AMC Backstory” segment (21 min.), “Exposing Themselves: Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller and Chris Elliott” on the cast (15 min.), “Up a Tree with Jonathan Richman and Tommy Larkins” with the composer/narrator and costar (12 min.), the production featurettes “Puffy, Boobs and Balls” (11 min.), “Interview Roulette with Harland Williams” (7 min.), “Franks & Beans: A Conversation with W. Earl Brown” (6 min.), “Touchdown: A Conversation with Brett Favre” (6 min.), and “Behind the Zipper” (5 min.), as well as four minutes of outtakes, a “Build Me Up Buttercup” karaoke track, an “Around the World with Mary” language selection scene segment, optional clay animated titles with optional commentary, The Dandy Warhols music video “Every Day Should Be a Holiday,” and a “Marketing Mary” section with posters and trailers. Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray debut for a popular contemporary comedy.]