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There's Something About Mary
review by Zach B.
Rated R
Starring Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Chris
Elliot, Lee Evans
Studio: Fox
Story by Ed Decter and John J. Strauss
Screenplay by Ed Decter, John J. Strauss, Peter Farrelly and
Bobby Farrelly
Directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly
Retail Price: 34.99
Features: Theatrical Trailer, Outtakes, Running
Commentary with the Farrelly Brothers, Music Video, Karaoke
Music Video
Specs: 1.85:1 Non-Anamorphic Widescreen, 5.1 Dolby
Digital English, French Dolby Surround, English Captions,
Spanish Captions, Chapter Search
After "Dumb and Dumber" and "Kingpin", the Farrelly
brothers scored an all time high (or is it low?) with the
raunchy comedy "There's Something About Mary". The film
opened to a nice box office success, and pretty much stayed
in the top five the whole summer of 1998, before reaching
number one at the box office. The movie had legs alright.
Nice, strong ones to become one of the top grossing films of
the year.
I don't understand the main appeal of the movie. America
is obsessed with crude humor and bathroom jokes, but I
really think this movie is overrated. Yes, there were times
I laughed, but most of the funny scenes they gave away in
the previews and TV spots.
The film follows a gawky nerd by the name of Ted
(Stiller), who somehow scores a date with the beautiful and
desirable Mary (Diaz) to the prom. However, when he picks
her up at her house and uses the bathroom, well, he has a
problem with his zipper. Ted is shipped off to the hospital,
never to see her again, and after thirteen long years, still
fondly remembers her. That's where Pat Healy (a wonderful
sleazy Matt Dillon) comes in. Ted hires Pat to help him
track down Mary, but, after seeing her, wants her too. The
movie then becomes a whole mess of love and tricks as
everyone who falls in love with Mary tries to win her heart.
The movie is pretty enjoyable, but each time you watch it
you really don't laugh as hard as the previous viewing. The
direction from the brothers is really good, and the cast is
excellent in their respected roles, especially Dillion,
Elliot, Diaz, Stiller and Evans. The DVD release, however,
is pretty much a rip-off. Fox usually sets a high price on
standard releases...
Probably the most disappointing part of this disc is that
the transfer is not anamorphic (true to Fox until recently,
they have been doing better lately with this problem).
Still, the image is nice. Parts of the movie appear to be a
little soft at times, but colors are good and detail is
decent. A pretty good (though non anamorphic!) transfer.
The 5.1 Dolby Digital is decent, at best. There aren't
really too many surrounds, and the music makes up the
channels really. Also, with the music, it doesn't seem as
lively as it could be. It's decent, but a two channel track
could have worked just as good. A French language track as
well as Spanish and English captions are included.
This release has a nice amount of features. For starters
is the Commentary with the Farrelly Brothers.
This is an entertaining commentary, as the two are hardly
silent and gab and gab and gab. Their comments are
refreshing, but their remarks don't divulge into the
technical details of the film so much. Still, it's a very
good commentary and fans of the film should enjoy it.
There is a Music Video and a Karaoke Music
Video for "Build Me Up Buttercup". The two are the same
video which is featured at the end credits, except one has
lyrics displayed and the other doesn't.
Rounding out the release are some Outtakes and the
Theatrical Trailer.
Despite the good transfer and decent sound, as well as
some okay features, it's a little hard to recommend due to
the price and the lack of an anamorphic transfer.
 (3.5/5, NOT included in
final score)
 (4/5)
 (3/5)
 (2.5/5)
(2.5/5, NOT an average)
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