Sporadically Funny

Rating: Null/10 (3 November 1999)

In spite of being filled with a collection of considerably surprising gross-out gags and things of that nature, There's Something About Mary still has a tendency of being spotty at best (there is about as many misses here as there are hits). One problem that this movie has concerns the exceeding hammering of various jokes. For example, there's a gag that centers around the "beans and franks" getting caught into something. The problem that lies with this gag is that the "beans and franks" are eventually shown and it in my mind would have been funnier if you were allowed to imagine what the "beans and franks" could look like in that sort of predicament (it spoiled the joke frankly). Not to mention that the writing occasionally gets lazy and certain muffed jokes are apparent. One bungled gag in particular involves feces being found right near a door. The thing about this is, there wasn't exactly anything to set this gag up (it was just thrown in for its own merit) as it perhaps gave a notion towards the fact that the movie tries too hard from time-to-time. It's as if the fact that There's Something About Mary has a tendency of presenting gross-out gags is being stamped as hard as it can. Along with that, the movie seemingly has a mentality in which persistent profanity (i.e. a word that begins with the letter F) can be used as a way to get laughs. But at the same time, persistent profanity is perhaps one example of the laziness in terms of writing. In the aftermath, There's Something About Mary is perhaps one of those films in which a majority of the successful jokes are practically beat to death in advertising.