# Bobby Farrelly

Robert Farrelly (born June 17, 1958) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is one of the Farrelly brothers, alongside his brother Peter, who together are known for directing and producing successful box-office comedy films, including Dumb and Dumber (1994), There's Something About Mary (1998), Me, Myself and Irene (2000), Shallow Hal (2001), and the 2007 remake of The Heartbreak Kid. He made his solo directorial debut in 2023 with Champions.

## Early life

Farrelly was born in Cumberland, Rhode Island, to Mariann, a nurse practitioner, and Dr. Robert Leo Farrelly. His grandparents were Irish immigrants, and he also has Polish ancestry. Farrelly is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he entered the school on a hockey scholarship.

## Career

Bobby and his brother Peter Farrelly are known collectively as the Farrelly brothers. Together they have written, directed and produced several comedy films including Dumb and Dumber, There's Something About Mary, Kingpin, Shallow Hal, Me, Myself & Irene and Stuck on You, and Fever Pitch.

### Film

Dumb and Dumber, 1994
Farrelly co-directed this iconic comedy, in which a business woman, played by Lauren Holly, accidentally leaves her briefcase at an airport terminal. Hilarity ensues when her limousine driver Lloyd, played by Jim Carrey, and his friend Harry, played by Jeff Daniels, embark on a cross-country road trip to return it to her.
Kingpin, 1996
Farrelly co-directed Kingpin, starring Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid and Bill Murray. The 1996 sports comedy chronicles competitors in the world of professional bowlers as they compete in a high-stakes tournament.
There's Something About Mary, 1998
Among Farrelly's most successful films, There's Something About Mary became the fourth highest-grossing film in 1998. Film critic Roger Ebert called the film, which stars Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz, "explosively funny."
Outside Providence, 1999
Farrelly co-produced and co-wrote Outside Providence, which was an adaptation of Peter Farrelly's 1988 novel of the same name.

#### Me, Myself and Irene, 2000

Farrelly co-directed this slapstick dark comedy about a state trooper in Rhode Island, played by Jim Carrey, whose years of suppressed rage results in a psychotic break and split personality. The film also stars Renée Zellweger and Chris Cooper.

#### Osmosis Jones, 2001

In 2001, Farrelly co-directed Osmosis Jones, a blend of live-action and animation, starring Bill Murray. The film presents an inventive spin on the buddy-cop film trope.

#### Shallow Hal, 2001

The Farrelly brothers wrote, directed and produced romantic comedy Shallow Hal, a film about a superficial man who falls in love with a 300-pound woman after being hypnotized into only seeing a person's inner beauty.

#### Stuck on You, 2003

Written and directed by the Farrelly brothers, Stuck on You is a comedy film starring Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Eva Mendes and Meryl Streep about conjoined twins who move to Hollywood so one can pursue a career as an actor.

#### Fever Pitch, 2005

In 2005, Farrelly co-directed Fever Pitch, a romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon about a schoolteacher and Red Sox fanatic who falls in love with a business consultant. The film is an American remake of an eponymous British movie based on a novel by Nick Hornby.

#### Hall Pass, 2011

Directed, written and produced by the Farrelly brothers, Hall Pass tells the story of two friends, played by Jason Sudeikis and Owen Wilson, whose wives give them the titular hall pass from their marriage for a week.

#### Dumb and Dumber To, 2014

In 2014, Bobby and Peter wrote and directed Dumb and Dumber To, the sequel to Dumb and Dumber. Set 20 years after the events of the first film, the sequel follows Jim Carrey's Lloyd and Jeff Daniels' Harry on a cross-country road trip to find Harry's adopted daughter.

#### Champions, 2023

In 2023, he made his solo directorial debut with the sports comedy-drama film Champions. Woody Harrelson, the feature actor of the film who worked on Kingpin with Farrelly in 1996, personally picked Farrelly to direct the film, saying "He's a deep person and he's got the most amazing sense of humor". Just like the original Campeones (2018) film, Champions was filmed with actors with intellectual disabilities.

#### Dear Santa, 2024

Farrelly directed the Christmas comedy, Dear Santa, reuniting with the star of his 2001 movie Shallow Hal, Jack Black.

### Television

In 1992, the Farrelly brothers conceived the Seinfeld episode "The Virgin" (4.10), in which Jerry dates a woman, played by Jane Leeves, who has not lost her virginity. In 2016, Farrelly directed several episodes of Season 10 of the Canadian cult mockumentary TV series Trailer Park Boys. In 2020, Bobby and Peter directed the Quibi comedy series The Now.

## Awards

In 1999, the Farrelly brothers won the MTV Movie of the Year award for There's Something About Mary. In 2020, the Farrelly brothers received the Morton E. Ruderman Award for their sensitive and inclusive depictions of people with differing abilities in Champions. In 2023, Global Down Syndrome Foundation honored Farrelly as a Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Awardee.