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There's Something About Mary
EMAILPRINT20th Century Fox Film Corporation
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 29 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 10 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy
Written by:
Ed Decter (also story)
John J. Strauss (also story)
Peter Farrelly
Bobby Farrelly
Directed by:
Bobby Farrelly
Peter Farrelly
Release Date:
Theatrical: July 15, 1998
DVD: March 6, 2001
Running Time: 119 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for strong comic sexual content and language
Starring Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller, Lee Evans, Chris Elliott, Lin Shaye, Jeffrey Tambor, and Markie Post
An outrageous, gross-out romantic comedy starring Cameron Diaz as every guy's ideal and Ben Stiller as her hopeless suitor.
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Dumb and Dumber Fever Pitch Kingpin Me, Myself & Irene Osmosis Jones Outside Providence Shallow Hal Stuck on You The Heartbreak Kid
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Sensational, sicko fun -- you won't believe your eyes -- and just the thing to shake up the creeping conservatism that is draining the vulgar life out of pop culture.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham
In the person of Cameron Diaz, Mary is an island of sanity, good-natured humanity and genuine sweetness in an ocean of anarchy. Without her presence, There's Something About Mary would be merely sophomoric and tasteless.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Joe Garden
One of the funniest movies of the year, but you may need to shower afterwards.
Read Full Review >Slate David Edelstein
Even when you're able to guess the next calamity, it's still a shock in its ejaculatory intensity. The Farrellys never throw in the towel. Pretentious Sundance independents could learn a lot from such pistols.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Mark Caro
The day after seeing it, you're less likely to fixate on the flaws than to find yourself experiencing chuckle aftershocks as you recall the most outrageous gags. In these days of mostly forgettable comedies, that sensation has become all too rare. [15 July 1998]
New York Daily News Dave Kehr
A shocking and hilarious triumph.
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Their gross-out humor is basically sweet tempered, for all its tweaking of PC attitudes, and though this film looks slapdash, its script (by the Farrellys, Ed Decter, and John J. Strauss) is surprisingly well put together.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
The Farrellys here show a gift not just for finding humor where others have feared to look but for presenting it in a way that is surprisingly close to irresistible.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Elvis Mitchell
A romantic comedy that's a hoot in every sense, worth a smidgen of disapproval and a whole lot of helpless laughter...The film works ridiculously well because it never stoops to being mean-spirited or (despite all appearances) authentically inane.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
This one is dumbest. And funniest, as if that matters even a little bit!
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
After months and months of comedies that did not make me laugh, here at last is one that did.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
[The film] occasionally had me convulsed with laughter.
Read Full Review >Film Threat
The performers all fall effortlessly into their slapstick roles and the troubadour duo -- the film's Greek chorus -- adds a delightfully poetic touch.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Corliss
For those who park their sense and sensibility at the 'plex door, there's plenty to enjoy in the performances, the rowdy innocence of the whole thing, the closing sing-along of Build Me Up Buttercup--and the vision of Cameron Diaz in giggly, gangly bloom.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
Crudely made, somewhat overlong and larded with plenty of things that don't work, pic stands as proof positive that a comedy can be far from perfect and still hit the bull's-eye if it delivers when it counts in its big scenes.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
A surprisingly large number of the laughs work, although, understandably, a good number of them also fall flat. You can bet that whenever the story slows down to advance the plot concerning its paper-thin characters, the film takes a noticeable dip.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
There are several scenes in There's Something About Mary that are so absurdly original and outrageous they will leave audiences talking about them for weeks.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser
A supremely silly movie, which means that it has moments of boring idiocy mixed with moments of inspired hilarity.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
The laughs are low -- very low -- and the comedy often flags. But two elaborate sequences involving a bad-tempered little ankle-biter are standouts.
Read Full Review >Newsweek Kendall Hamilton
If the film has a problem, it's that the Farrelly brothers, co-writers and directors, seem content to bunt for long stretches between home runs.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
Fitfully amusing and ultimately kind of heartwarming in a twisted sort of way
Read Full Review >Salon.com Charles Taylor
The type of comedy the Farrellys love requires dizzy, pell-mell pacing. If There's Something About Mary were tightened up by about 20 minutes, it would be much funnier.
Read Full Review >The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann
The gem in this rag pile is Cameron Diaz as Mary: quick, witty, pretty, warm. There is something about Mary. [17 Aug 1998]
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
This comedy is as down-and-dirty as you'd expect from the Farrelly team...but more than one sequence manages to be hilarious on its own outrageously crass terms.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
The Farrellys may well be the new kingpins of adolescent slob comedy, but There's Something About Mary doesn't approach the witty anarchy of movies like "Animal House," "The Naked Gun," or "Hairspray."
Read Full Review >New York Magazine David Denby
The general insensitivity of the atmosphere gets one down after a while. None of these people go together: Friends don't seem like friends, lovers don't seem like lovers. In brief, it's not enough just to have bad taste. You have to have talent, too.
Read Full Review >Film.com Peter Brunette
This reprehensible and deeply unfunny film is obviously critic-proof.
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
J. Ryan G. gave it a4:
Filled with moments that you may only laugh at when you hear the laughs of others, TSAM is too long and boring to be considered a true comedy. It may only be considered a way to waste two-plus hours of a useless Saturday afternoon.
Andrew M. gave it a 9:
Poor taste, non-PC and in truth gutter humour...and also one of the funniest films I've ever seen. This is a really great comedy, unique and fresh. Doesn't really hold up to too many repeat viewings, but that's only due to the side-splitting impact the first one delivers. If you can handle a grimace or two, and you're not a prude, get this movie and laugh yourself silly!
Pat C. gave it a 9:
God, it was gross. Awful. But what refreshing new humor! I never laughed so hard at a movie. I even found myself engrossed in the corny plot and laughed at the stuffed dog, a.k.a. action figure. But Sorry Brett, stick to football. The show came to a screeching halt when you showed up. No offense, but you were cold water thrown on people I thought were cartoon characters chasing the unflappable Diaz.
Davorin P. gave it a 10:
Something about Mary is so funny, that I almost felt out of a chair when I saw it the first time -- several times. It didn't get better the second, and the third time, but I didn't mind watching it all over again. Best Farelly bros. movie EVER.
Jack D. gave it a 10:
So funny it's actually physically painful!!
Dagny gave it a 10:
I've been waiting for decades for a movie that would make me laugh as much as "Animal House". Casting and acting were wonderful. Gross out humour but at a high art level. I wish the Farrelly Brothers (and Seinfeld) would start a Comedy Institute to teach the other so-called "comedy" producers the true meaning of what it takes to make people laugh.
