i feel no hesitation in saying that " there 's something about mary " is the best film that i will see all year .
from the moment the credits started to roll at the end of the picture , there was no doubt in my mind that i had seen a masterpiece that will remain unsurpassed in the remaining months of 1998 .
it is that good of a film .
when gene siskel said this about " fargo " only a few months into ' 96 , i dismissed the notion as ridiculous .
how could you possibly know that a film is so great that nothing you could possibly see in the future could beat it ? but after seeing the farrelly 's hilarious and surprisingly heartfelt masterwork , i now know what siskel was talking about .
once in a ( very great ) while , a film comes along that is
so daring , so brilliant and simply so enjoyable
that at the end , you just want to stand up and cheer .
and you know , at that instant , that you have just experienced something very special .
now for the shocker ; " mary " is the grossest and most disgusting film i have ever viewed ( " pink flamingos " obviously notwithstanding ) .
the movie is so rude
and , i guess , inappropriate in nature that i had a hard time sitting in a theater watching it with my parents
( luckily i had seen it before them , so i could warn the about what they were in for ) .
forget " blazing saddles " , " animal house " and even the former king of gross - out comedy , " monty python 's meaning of life "
; they were all only preludes to the farrelly 's assault on the senses .
in fact , this may even be the funniest film i 've ever had the pleasure of seeing
( the only real contender is " monty python and the holy grail " ) , and most certainly the most hilarious to come out all decade .
but as funny as it is , something also has to be said about the overall sweetness of " mary " ; it has a huge heart .
you see , the farrelly 's are truly gifted filmmakers .
they do n't just present you with a string of dick and fart jokes ( although there are plenty to go around ) .
they also , very wisely , add an unbelievable amount of charisma to the main characters and actually have them develop as the story progresses .
it 's funny , though .
if you just look at an outline of the story , it seems kind of contrived and predictable .
but believe me , it is anything
but .
ben stiller plays ted , a very shy and clumsy teenage geek who lusts after the school
babe , mary ( cameron diaz ) . after he sticks up for her retarded brother , warren ( w .
early brown - the cameraman , believe it or not , from " scream " ) , his dreams come true when she invites him to the prom .
in one of the film 's funniest scenes , something goes wrong
( i wo n't ruin it for those who know nothing about the film ) and ted is unable to face mary ever again .
jump to the present .
after years of self - loathing , ted finally hires private detective pat healy ( a suitably slimy matt dillon ) to track her down so he can have one last chance at winning the woman he has loved since high school .
healy finds that mary is still a full - blown hottie and decides to try and keep her for himself .
admittingly , the basic story line leaves a little to be desired .
after all , with a not - really - all - that - funny premise , how can you sustain laughter for nearly two hours ?
somehow , the farrelly 's pull it off .
the performances here are also right on target .
as ted , stiller adds just the right amount of clumsy charm to make his character not irritating , as he would normally be , but very lovable .
and cameron diaz is perfect in her role for obvious reasons , but the actor who really grabs your attention is w .
earl brown as mary 's brother .
no other actor has even come close to playing a mentally retarded man with as much natural ease as brown displays here .
i know he wo n't be nominated , but this is the guy who should not be counted out when it comes time to hand out the oscar nods in february . as good as the actors are , though , it 's the directors ' movie all the way .
i guarantee that on almost every other top ten list at the end of the year , you will see the number one space occupied by steven spielberg 's wwii epic " saving private ryan " .
and yes , that is a great film worthy of the recognition it has been getting .
but which is harder ; making a great war film or having your audience laugh so hard that they ca n't breath for minutes at a time
?
i 'll let you decide that one for yourself , but this critic is sticking to his guns .
there is just something about " mary " .
Output: P