A fun movie with some genuinely funny moments

Rating: 7/10 (18 August 2003)

Though I wouldn't put "There's Something About Mary" on the AFI list of best comedies of all time, it does have some genuinely funny moments. Basically, the film is uneven and dull in spots, but if often works. And when it delivers, it delivers with a bang. I still wish I could find the zipper scene as incredibly funny as everyone else, but being a guy the gag is just too painful to be funny. The gag is directed very well by the Farrellys, with some funny moments where unexpected strangers barge in on Stiller during the unfortunate accident, but the overall scene had me groaning more than laughing. It's funny how if you showed a guy getting his hand sawed off with a chainsaw, I probably wouldn't cringe, but I cannot watch a guy getting his genitals stuck in his zipper. So for all you women reading this, yes it's that painful! However, the hair gel scene is classic. Ben Stiller is great in the lead, but Matt Dillon made me laugh the most as his sleazy character, and his performance is really underrated. There's one scene where Mary giggles with her friends after she says, "I have a vibrator." Matt laughs along, sitting one table away. Then the girls get silent and looks towards Matt, and he goes completely silent. His reaction during that moment always cracks me up. And of course, the scenes with the dog are really funny as well. Cameron Diaz is perfectly cast as the beautiful, yet sweet and friendly, Mary. Lee Evans as Mary's architect friend also gives an underrated performance. If you watch the movie, you'll see why. Chris Elliott is a hit-or-miss comic actor. I've seen much more obnoxious comics than him, yet his schtick doesn't always pan out. I certainly could've done without him in this movie, and the joke about the "love blisters" was just plain disgusting. The Farrellys are great at what they do, but comedy's a subjective process and though I may feel they go overboard with certain gags, other people may have different opinions. But I was laughing most of the time and that's all that counts.

My score: 7 (out of 10)