Perfect, Just Perfect. I Could Not Contain Myself.

Rating: 10/10 (4 September 2016)

It has been almost proved that comedies are not as important as serious films. When you look at the greatest films ever made and critics' lists of annual best films, you'll be lucky to find one. When you do look at some of the all-time great comedies, you will find flicks like Some Like It Hot, Duck Soup, and Young Frankenstein. There's Something About Mary is one of those comedies stamped as at the level of the oldies. Some may find it funnier than others, but it is the way everything happens and the way the story unfolds that is just right.
Ben Stiller ditches his good looks and starts the movie in a long flashback about when he was a total geek in high school named Ted Strowman who gets a dates to the prom with the most popular and pretty girl in school: Mary. Nobody can deny how beautiful Cameron Diaz looks as Mary. Things take a disastrous turn right away after he gets his sack stuck in his fly. This is perhaps the most memorable scene and the one that rolls out the longest. Mary moves away soon after with Ted blocking the incident out of his mind. Thirteen years later, he randomly starts thinking about her and has a panic attack. That respires his interest in her and his friend (Chris Elliot) recommends Ted hires a private investigator. Ted gets sleazy Pat Healey, played awesomely by Matt Dillon. Matt Dillon is a talented actor who has scored high in both comedies and serious roles. This is his best. Mary now lives in Miami, and after a while of tracking her, Pat also falls in love with her and decides to move down there. When Ted arrives, he learns that he must compete with many men viewing for Mary.
The three leads in this are awesome, but it is probably Matt Dillon that was the fan favourite. The supporting cast is just as good, but it is where they fit in and who they are that drive the narrative to perfection. Some guy named "Woogie" fell for Mary first, but she had to get a restraining order against him; Ted fell for Mary when she moved to his town in high school; Pat fell for Mary after tailing her, and there's a slew of other memorable characters perfectly placed. Lee Evans plays a crippled man who is perhaps the smartest one in terms of getting guys away from Mary.
Each subplot is perfect. Learning the true state of Lee Evans' character was when I couldn't help it and my self-containment was gone. I said to myself with a huge smile: "Oh my God this is perfect. Totally genius." Now whenever I watch it, I laugh really hard and it makes me feel so good about myself. That's what's up with Mary, the guys want her because she makes them feel great about themselves. The movie as a whole does that to me. (Well, Mary alone does too.)
For a comedy to be truly great, there cant by just fart jokes. There needs to be a serious aspect and actual brains in the way the characters are written and the plot is developed. There's Something About Mary succeeds in that.
4/4