mostly humourless comedy with a few highlights

Rating: 5/10 (17 April 2005)

SPOILERS Like so many comedy brothers, the Farrelly brothers have a record of comedy history. With funny films like "Shallow Hal" and "Me, Myself and Irene" they've proved themselves year after year. Often though their most famous film is "There's Something About Mary". Not particularly funny, but with the occasional moment, this film is over publicised and constantly over-hyped.
Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller) is a useless school kid with a crush on Mary Jensen (Cameron Diaz). After a nightmarish date, things seem lost. Many years later though and with the help of creepy Private Eye Pat Healy (Matt Dillon), Ted is going to once more find her and realise that ultimately 'There's Something About Mary'.
Led by a surprisingly strong performance by Cameron Diaz, this film will always be remembered for one or two key scenes. Constantly spoofed, it remains a figure-stone of American comedy. The sad thing however is that in the modern world it just isn't that funny.
No film, irrelevant of what it is, should be best remembered for it's end credits. Sadly, with a superb remake of "Build Me Up, Buttercup", this film is at it's finest once the story has concluded.
This isn't to say that 'There's Something About Mary' doesn't have it's moments. There are signs when it shows potential of hilarity, but it never fully satisfies what it should achieve.
All in all, 'There's Something About Mary' is a disappointing film. It SHOULD be an amazing film, but it never fully clicks into place. Still, there's no denying that there are moments it makes us laugh. For all it's praise though, it's not the jewel that we expect it to be.