More than just a few jizm gags

Rating: 8/10 (16 April 2002)

Ben Stiller carries on the loser shtick, this time coming off slightly below his Flirting with Disaster high point but perhaps a nudge better than the more recent Meet the Parents. In this one he's got less of a leading man type role, letting some of the other players (Matt Dillon, Lee Evans) get the odd word in edgeways, which is nice, and also giving Cameron Diaz' Mary a fair bit of screen time. This central group of characters are pitch perfect, from the tight and hilarious script down to every face and gesture they make, and with a clever but not overcomplicated plot and plenty of top-notch gags there's plenty of fun to be had. It's a lot more reliant on wit and plot, and less on puerile toilet humour, than much of the Farrelly's output (and that of their recent successors/acolytes), which makes it a much more rounded and enjoyable comedy. Great fun.