'Theres Something About Mary' Does Something Other Comedies Rarely Do
During a time when R-rated studio comedies were a relic of the past, two sibling writer-directors, Peter and Bobby Farrelly, challenged what could be shown inside mainstream movie theaters. In 1998, a film that featured comedic gross-out gags akin to something out of a John Waters film became the third highest-grossing film of the year, collecting over $175 million domestically. To this day, these outlandish sequences in There's Something About Mary have lingered in the public moviegoing consciousness, perhaps more than the entirety of the film itself. People tend to ask "Could this get made today?" when discussing raunchy comedies. Truthfully, probably not, because few comedies as of late are this smart, curious, and hilarious in their confrontation of troublesome masculine fantasies.
In the aftermath of a teenager's worst nightmare of a prom night, There's Something About Mary centers around Ted (Ben Stiller). Now grown up, he is still haunted by his calamitous prom night with the titular Mary (Cameron Diaz). Ted hires a private instigator, Pat Healy (Matt Dillon), to track down her whereabouts and life status. Soon enough, Healy falls in love with Mary. Ted eventually migrates down to Florida to rekindle his brief romantic spurt with her, as Healy and a friend of Mary's, Tucker (Lee Evans), fight for her attention.
'There's Something About Mary' Is Still Funny Today
In a Los Angeles Times story for the film's 20th anniversary, Bobby Farrelly said of the origins of making the film, "We wanted to do something more for adults. We weren’t going to hold back." Bobby and his brother certainly paid off on this promise with the two famous gross-out gags that are detailed in this story, involving a zipper mishap and "hair gel," respectively. However, There's Something About Mary is equally adult in its nuanced comedy, supported by cleverly understated line readings and physical comedy — both attributes dominantly credited to Matt Dillon's brilliant performance. The Farrellys' sharp writing and precise execution of slapstick liken Mary closer to a postmodern take on the screwball romantic comedy. The legacy of the film is heavily, almost exclusively, influenced by the raunchy comedic set pieces — which remain humorous today. Viewers are left in awe that a major studio widely released a film with these sequences.
Watching the film today, now on its 25th anniversary, the emphasis on character construction is the most noteworthy aspect of There's Something About Mary. Thanks to a well-rounded ensemble of stand-out performances, the characters exist naturally and exhibit specific motivations. They are not devices to satisfy a high-concept story or a plethora of gross-out gags. Every source of humor is backed off the heels of strong character realization — from Ted's anxious discontentedness to Healy's particular brand of sleaziness. Both Ted and Healy's descent into lusting for the affection of Mary works on a comedic level because of the patience of the Farrellys' direction.
The Farrelly Brothers' Unflinching Depiction of Man's Sexual Fantasies
Referring back to the quote given by Bobby for the L.A. Times, the brothers' film certainly does not "hold back." Not just in crafting signature comedic set pieces, but in its bluntness in representing the ugliest side of toxic masculinity. The directors show no interest in sugarcoating these characters. Their deplorable nature makes them unredeemable, and this is where many of their comedy counterparts that followed in the film's wake get tripped up. Time and time again, studio comedies about rambunctious men who drink too much and chase after women for sexual pleasure prefer to have their cake and eat it too. These films will sacrifice humor for apologizing and justifying the actions of hedonists in the third act.
There's Something About Mary holds no punches in its portrayal of men who project their fantasies onto a woman. Expressing such toxic behavior on screen is a bold artistic choice on its own. Because the Farrellys are confrontational of Ted, Healy, and Tucker's romantic perversions, exhibiting their behavior is understandably not an endorsement on the directors' part. The dynamic between Ted and Healy, the former being sold as an upstanding man versus the latter being on the opposite end of the spectrum as a contemptible sleaze, serves as the model of the perverse male fantasy that the film is spotlighting. By the third act, the line between the two men is blurred. They are both stalkers lurking over Mary for her affection. When Ted first hires Healy, the private eye refers to his client as a stalker case. What seemed like an instance of casting aspersions was ultimately Healy demonstrating foresight.
What the film has working in its favor is its lack of traditionally cool and suave male characters. Their desperation for Mary's attention is played for mockery. Ted's fixation on the past and a lost potential high school fling evoke pity, but he is still somewhat of a lovable loser. Healy's bid to clean himself up as a thoughtful intellect around Mary is ridiculous. Tucker is the most fraudulent of all. He's merely an American pizza delivery driver disguised as a British architect. The three, including Ted's friend Dom (Chris Elliott) who eventually becomes interested in Mary, view her as an angelic force. While the duality of the men's behavior with Mary's innocence bodes well for the thematic storytelling, the Farrelly Brothers never lose sight of what genre they specialize in. This portrayal never hinges on depravity, but they maintain tight control over the honest exploration of man's perverse subconscious.
Mary Remains Innocent Amongst the Male Characters' Lust
The central figure of the film in which the axis of male fantasies spins around, Mary, best highlights the unsuspectingly powerful text. Cameron Diaz is provided with the glamor of a classically striking leading lady. The respect for Mary's independence and pure charming beauty is greatly lost upon the gross-out sex comedies influenced by the 1998 film. Every aspect of her internal and external beauty makes the lust she inspires from the male characters entirely believable. When the film is showing Mary on the driving range or as a volunteer social worker, these sequences exist in a different movie. Throughout the film, she resembles a character closer to someone played by Doris Day. As a result, when the iconic "hair gel" scene comes to fruition, the shattering of her pristine innocence is shocking, adding to the inherent humor of the gag.
Mary's juxtaposition to the rabid fantasies of the male characters fully realizes the theme that the Farrellys are striving for. She resides in a large house and primarily lives a conflict-free independent lifestyle. There is a genuine sweetness to the character and her surrounding world, but it is quickly inverted when the men scheme their way toward her affection. More than its execution and craft, the gross-out gags become immediately indelible because of their stark contrast to the story. These two sequences are of course set into motion because of Ted's sexual fantasies.
Peter and Bobby Farrelly have infused romance into all of their films, even when they're not making an outright rom-com. Their fondness towards the genre manifests itself in a unique and twisted fashion with There's Something About Mary. The film deserves more credit for serving as a revisionist inversion of masculine behavior in romantic comedies. The behavior exhibited by all the male characters bubbles on the surface of the most basic rom-coms, and the Farrelly Brothers sought to exploit this sensation. Sure, the iconic gross-out gags in There's Something About Mary inspired plenty of R-rated sex comedies, but they are all pretenders because of their shortcomings when exploring masculine fantasies and a lived-in central female character.
ncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51kwamx0Z6qZquforK1tMinnmaZkqTCtXnMmqmyZZ2kw6qxjg%3D%3D