There's Something About Mary (1998) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly

Starring:  Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Chris Elliott, Harland Williams, Lee Evans, Keith David, Lin Shaye

How does Mary attract such creeps as suitors?   The nicest guy of the bunch is Ted (Stiller), who was her prom date years ago on a night cut short because his balls got caught in his zipper.  Ouch.  Years later, Ted is still crazy about Mary and hires a private eye named Healy (Dillon) to track her whereabouts.  In a move that will likely not help his reputation, Healy gives Ted false information about Mary (saying she's 250 lbs. with 4 kids) and goes after her himself.  Also in the mix is a British architect named Tucker (Evans), who walks with crutches and isn't exactly who he seems either.  One thing is for sure, Tucker lusts after Mary also, as does almost any guy who comes in contact with her.  

There's Something About Mary manages to be an energetic, inspired comedy about these sad sacks and the sweet girl who is the object of their affection.  Not that she really wants to be.  Each of the guys, including one or two others, all don't necessarily tell the truth about themselves in order to position themselves in the pecking order.   Diaz projects the right amounts of sweetness, warmth, and physical attractiveness as Mary.   She deserves better, but she is like flypaper for the walking wounded.   

The movie goes for big laughs in the most outrageous ways.   In one of the movie's most famous scenes, Ted masturbates before his big date with Mary and after ejaculating can't find the jizz for the life of him.  Where did it go?   Mary soon finds it stuck to his ear and assumes it's stray hair gel.    She applies it to her own hair and the rest is history.   The entire sequence builds with one payoff and then another.   

A lot of There's Something About Mary operates like that.    You assume the scene hit its climactic laugh (no pun intended) only to throw in something more outrageous moments later.   

There's Something About Mary isn't simply a comedy which coasts on getting away with being borderline bad taste.  The characters have some nice, subtle touches, including Healy's giant choppers and bad mustache, Ted's best friend Dom's (Elliott) really nasty skin rash that breaks out at the slightest mention of Mary, and even a dog who winds up in a full body cast.  It takes craftsmanship to make a comedy that bends the rules while not completely obliterating them.  Later comedies inspired by this film assumed it was funny in itself to just introduce a bodily fluid and ingest it accidentally.  That's gross, not funny.  Yet, countless comedies lazily trot out the same gag over and over.   

Since There's Something About Mary, the Farrellys became household names and their work has been hit and miss.  Me, Myself, and Irene (1999), The Heartbreak Kid (2007) , Dumb and Dumber To (2014), and The Three Stooges (2012) were duds, while Shallow Hal (2001), Fever Pitch (2005), and Osmosis Jones (2001) were all very good comedies. The Farrellys have inventive comic minds.   But in their best work, they infuse their comedies with an underlying warmth that works.