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Build Me Up, Buttercup Baby, Then You Let Me Down

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Trailers | Comments (17)

something_mary.jpg

I found it strange that one of the most successful comedies of the last 15 years (it was the third highest grossing movie in 1998, and the third highest grossing R-rated comedy of all time), There’s Something About Mary didn’t even get a mention in the original comment thread devoted to nominating the 50 Funniest Scenes of All Time. I’d considered straying from the nominations and looking into it, but — as it turned out — there’s nothing in Mary that’s held up particularly well over time.

It’s all the more strange because I loved the movie when it was released (I was 23; all 23-year-old men were obligated to do so), but it’s aged badly. It’s not entirely the movie’s fault; it’s what it spawned — Ben Stiller, the comedy of self-abuse, violent animal gags — that’s been worn out and beaten up over the last decade. It’s just not funny anymore, and by association, neither really is There’s Something About Mary.

Watching the trailer again, I was certain a few jokes would still work, but I didn’t crack a smile for 150 seconds. Nothing. The Farrellys haven’t aged well, I’m afraid. The only movies of theirs that I have any interest in seeing again, in fact, are their two least successful ones, Outside Providence and the underappreciated Stuck on You.

If somebody wants to remake Mary, be my guest.







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Comments

I actually thought Dumb and Dumber was much better, it had 100 percent more non-sucky Jim Carrey and 100 percent less Cameron Díaz and Ben Stiller.

Posted by: George at August 20, 2009 6:09 PM

I honestly don't think I've ever hated a movie with as furious and violent a passion as There's Something About Mary.

I felt like it could have been funny. It could have gone over the top and been hilarious, but every time it approached funny, it pulled back in fear.

I think I snickered once during my viewing. But I never, ever laughed.

It insulted the audience.

It had Ben Stiller.

Really, quite possibly the worst movie ever made.

Posted by: JGirl at August 20, 2009 6:17 PM

maybe i'm just not a 'comedy person'. i didn't find TSAMary that funny.

and ben stiller is a choad.

Posted by: gp at August 20, 2009 6:21 PM

I remember I sorta liked it when it came out, but you're absolutely right--it just hasn't aged well. While I can watch Some Like it Hot for the 500th time and it's still as funny as it ever was, this thing just keeps getting worse and more annoying. The only thing that remains funny about it is Matt Dillon's performance. He's really just plain funny in it, even if everything else around him is crap.

Posted by: figgy at August 20, 2009 6:25 PM

I still love parts of Dumb and Dumber. "Austria, eh? Well, in that case, 'G'day mate! Let's put another shrimp on the barbie!'" But yeah, There's Something About Mary, not so much. Not at all, in fact.

Posted by: Shay at August 20, 2009 7:16 PM

I mentioned it in the orginal thread and I stand by it. The zipper scene. Although now I'll be stuck with the visual for at least an hour.

Posted by: lwoodpdowd at August 20, 2009 7:36 PM

Franks and Beans!!!!

Posted by: Alli at August 20, 2009 7:41 PM

yeah Dumb and Dumber still holds up in my opinion, but I absolutely love Outside Providence, and it truly is one of those gems that has never even reached a cult favorite or unappreciated gem status; it's just out there, waiting to be loved...

Posted by: aidan at August 20, 2009 7:48 PM


Is this an invitation to imagine a remake? I think so! Were I to be consulted, then, I'd suggest something along these lines.

I'd go dark, if only to purge the memories of Stiller. I mean, of course, dark like "Se7en," where we have only six light bulbs in the world, and they are all 15 watts, and it rains all day every day, except when pretty blondes get their heads sawed off. By doing this, the nostalgia for Mary is also about the recovery of a brighter (better lighted) past! And we save on lighting. Cha-ching!

The brother would be a little bit like Leatherface, and he would periodically be seen in the background doing something grotesque. For instance, when re-staging the scene in Mary's apartment, I might have him in the background, playing chess with human teeth. I'd allow the camera, standing in for those binoculars, to linger on the teeth. In the way that cameras used to linger.

So the scene with the fishing lure? Nasty! Dude loses his jaw.

The humor would still be slapstick, but more like the Hills Have Eyes. I.e., it would be unintentionally funny. The remake, of course.

Total Body Count = 30

I might also make it an all girl cast. Grrr.

Does she get the girl? Yes, but as they recline in bed, eager to requite their passions, we see the brother under the bed. Holding a pair of pliers (for the teeth, you see). So perhaps they die.

Just a thought. Or a few thoughts. I mean, horror is just a more durable genre.

Posted by: Lance at August 20, 2009 8:37 PM


Of course, it could also be re-done as a Merchant-Ivory-style production, set in fin-de-siecle Venice.

Posted by: Lance at August 20, 2009 9:02 PM

If somebody wants to remake Mary, be my guest.
---
I'm sure Brett Favre would come out of retirement to reprise his cameo.

Oh wait ... no he wouldn't ...

Oh wait ... yes he would ...

Oh wait ... no he wouldn't ...

Oh wait ...

Posted by: , (the commenter formerly known as bucdaddy) at August 21, 2009 1:01 AM

What's with all the Ben Stiller hate?

Posted by: mc at August 21, 2009 1:41 AM

Outside Providence is one of my favorite comedies of the past decade and I am kicking myself that I didn't mention the scene where the Dean reads Drug's letter to Dunphy for the funniest comedy scene. I love that old dude forever.

And yeah, TSAM is not very funny anymore, but Dillon's character still makes me laugh.

Posted by: Kballs at August 21, 2009 8:05 AM

I don't hate Ben Stiller, but even when it came out, I thought TSAM was a waste of film. It's a complete male fantasy. Hot chick who loves sports and sex falls for a goober. Usually filmmakers have the decency to throw in some funny in exchange for completely suspending our disbelief, but there was no such transaction going on here. It was as funny as a toddler playing with his penis in the grocery store. All the adults understand what's going on but everyone's still slightly embarrassed to be there.

Posted by: Wednesday at August 21, 2009 9:37 AM

I didn't really enjoy the original (I'd be hard-pressed to think of a Farrelly brothers movie I do like, I think I stopped watching after this one), and now that there's a fucking Minnesota Viking in the cast there's even less reason to like it. However, I will totally watch a remake if Cameron Diaz gets her head sawed off in it.

Posted by: Three-nineteen at August 21, 2009 10:06 AM

bucdaddy, hahah that was cute. And I needed a laugh this morning...

Posted by: Stella at August 21, 2009 10:42 AM

I've never watched this movie again (and probably never will, after this thread) but I have to say I still remember it as hilarious. Everything in it and everyone involved may have gone on to go too far afterwards (such is the price of success) but this one's still a gem in my memory.


And it's maybe the only movie that's ever going to be on the plus side when Ben Stiller stands up before the throne of judgement. Well, maybe Zoolander, and Tropic Thunder for direction. It's the only even half-likeable character he's played. It's a shame, but hey, he really dug his own grave.

Posted by: karstark at August 22, 2009 1:41 AM


















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