There's Something About Mary

'There's Something About Mary' is a 1998 romantic comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers, known for their outrageous humor and irreverent style. The movie stars Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, and Matt Dillon, and is widely regarded as a classic of the 90s comedy genre. The film opens on a flashback to high school prom night, where we meet our protagonist, Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller), a nerdy and awkward high school student. Ted has been pining for his crush, Mary Jensen, played by Cameron Diaz, but his chance at romance is dashed when he accidentally spits on her hair during their ill-fated prom dance. Thirteen years later, Ted is now a stunted bachelor, working in a store selling health supplements and dreaming of finding Mary again. Determined to win Mary back, Ted hires a sleazy private detective, Cartwright (Keith David), to track her down. However, things quickly escalate out of control, and Ted soon finds himself in a series of hare-brained misadventures as he tries to secure Mary's attention. While searching for Mary, Ted runs into a host of colorful characters, including Hank Jardine (Matt Dillon), an ex-boyfriend who is also vying for Mary's affections. Hank is a narcissistic moron who thinks he's God's gift to women and is determined to prove that he's still the best thing that's ever happened to Mary. Meanwhile, Ted's obsession with Mary grows more intense by the minute. He becomes fixated on the idea of winning her back, even to the point of consulting a personal growth seminar (starring John Goodman) to improve his chances with women. However, things get complicated when Mary, played by Cameron Diaz, enters the picture. Unlike Hank, Mary is a level-headed, independent woman who doesn't take kindly to the antics of her stalkers. Mary is genuinely oblivious to Ted's obsessive behavior, and instead leads a relatively normal life, mostly happily unaware of the chaos that Ted has unleashed in pursuit of her. Throughout the film, Ted's determination to win Mary leads him down a slippery slope of madness and destruction. He breaks into Mary's apartment, steals her journal, stalks her on the street, and even goes so far as to become her long-lost friend in an attempt to be closer to her. However, despite his best efforts, Ted is repeatedly thwarted by the complexities of human relations. Mary's intuitive nature eventually picks up on Ted's scheming, and she grow disenchanted by his increasingly bizarre behavior. In a heart-to-heart, she tells him to simply be himself and move on. Meanwhile, Hank, Mary's smarmy but uninteresting ex-boyfriend, becomes more and more aggressive in his attempts to win Mary back. As the rivalry between Ted and Hank reaches a fever pitch, the film careens toward an inevitable conclusion that, in its own bumbling way, delivers a message of self-acceptance and growth. Through the eyes of Ted, the Farrelly brothers cleverly satirize modern masculinity, critiquing the artificial construction of 'cool' identity. As the antics of Ted escalate from harmless to invasive, we see how destructive masculinity's performative aspect can be. By contrast, Mary serves as a normative corrective, demanding that we cultivate an authentic self that releases itself from societal restrictions. With the antics of its ensemble cast driving the plot forward, the Farrelly brothers never fail to amuse and bemuse in their masterpiece of a film. Uninhibitedly raucous humor, impulsive ridiculousness, and social critique are inseparable elements that shape 'There's Something About Mary,' putting the stamp of an original genre-defier of their era. While its extreme lunacy skews the boundaries between the genuine excitement of its romantic dance and ridiculous antics, 'There's Something About Mary' develops out into an improbable, emotional exploration of identity that yields startling comedy. Despite reaching the boundaries of awkwardness, we grow closer to seeing it all from Ted's over-sized ego and find a glimmer of understanding as to why its idyllic figure remains a relic of teenhood memory.