There’s Something About Mary

Though affable and entertaining for a while, There’s Something About Mary, saddled with a ridiculously overlong running time, eventually morphs into a tedious and downright interminable piece of work. It’s a shame, really, as the movie does include a number of genuinely hilarious sequences and a thoroughly charismatic performance from Cameron Diaz; such elements are in addition to the now-infamous opening gag, which remains one of the most cringeworthy moments in cinematic history. The plot follows a young man (Ben Stiller’s Ted) as he decides to look up his high school sweetheart (Diaz’s Mary); problems emerge after a private investigator (Matt Dillon’s Pat) decides that he wants a shot at Mary, too. Filmmakers Peter and Bobby Farrelly have infused the early part of There’s Something About Mary with an appropriately lighthearted sensibility, ensuring that, for a while, anyway, the movie can’t help but come off as a delightfully breezy example of the romcom genre. Yet there reaches a point at which the brothers, clearly desperate to sustain the film’s bloated length, start emphasizing needless subplots and characters, culminating with an utterly disastrous third act that just seems to go on and on (and on). Despite the movie’s rampantly uneven vibe, however, There’s Something About Mary is ultimately redeemed by the affable performances and inclusion of several laugh-out-loud moments (eg Dillon’s Pat, in an effort to win Mary’s affections, poorly attempts to ape her compassion for the handicapped by referring to them as “retards” and “goofy bastards”).

**1/2 out of ****