Average & Overrated

Rating: 5/10 (3 February 2003)

Ted (Ben Stiller) was a nerd who almost went to the prom with a high school beauty, Mary (Cameron Diaz). When he *ahem* is not able to attend, the two of them don't keep in touch. Years later, he hires a private investigator (Matt Dillon) to locate her so they can catch up on each others' lives and remnisce (sp?) about the past, and, as Ted hopes, maybe even pick up where they left off. But as the PI begins to fall in love with Mary, he does everything he can to keep Ted away from her.
The plot sounds like it could be entertaining, but this movie just doesn't deliver. It isn't really as gross as many people say; there are some jump scenes, but nothing too serious. Dillon and Stiller do seem to perform the roles well, but they aren't grand, and even good performances can't save a bad movie.
The directorial work is marginal, but bearable. It's really the script that did this one in. As interesting as the plot may sound, it only has the potential to go so far, and even here, it did not meet that limited potential. You'd be better off renting "Dumb & Dumber" if you're in the mood for a good comedy, because this is mostly a grouping of cliches and some sexual references which are neither funny nor actually crude/offensive, just bland.