There's Something About Mary is something that can be enjoyed by those who can empathize with it, and those who have no idea what it's like to be in the main character's situation... Yes, some people see this movie and say, "Ha! I've had no problem with love all of my life! But it sure would suck to be that guy! Ha!" And there's guys like Tom Speaker... who... sort of know what's going on, to lose a certain person because of a very unfortunate situation, and then (spoiler alert!) lose her later on because of a misunderstanding (end spoiler!)... and all of that... stuff...

But yeah. This is one fricken' hilarious movie, and you don't need empathy to like it. The co-writing and directing Peter and Bobby Farrelly exercise in it their greatest skill: quirky, funny characters. There's Tucker, the highly intelligent and crippled architect who has a secret nobody knows. Dom, the perfect American man who gets stress hives and has his wife do everything a perfect American wife would do (she's a Stepford wife in a very scary way). Pat Healy (Dillon) is a private detective with a tricky way of getting women. Ted (Ben Stiller), our main character, almost had a chance with the title character, Mary, but had a very unfortunate incident on prom night that left him hospitalized. And there's Mary, one of those wonderful chicks who's both hot and cool at the same time. And when they're hot and cool at the same time... then you've got quite a catch. Oh, yeah, and there's Warren (W. Earl Brown), Mary's Savant-type brother... but that's another story.

There's more characters than that. A lot more. They're all weird. And you remember them all. Such as, you don't watch the movie again five years later and say, "Hey, I don't remember him..." you say, "HOLY CRAP, I REMEMBER THAT GUY!!!" and then you feel all smart and stuff because you're usually too ignorant to remember people. Just kidding.

So yeah, it's all about characters. If you leave all of those characters out, it's hard to say exactly what this movie's plot is, because it is rather complex. Not thick, complex. Thick plots could have huge Bible-sized history volume things. Complex plots just have a bunch of characters with a bunch of histories we don't really know. The movie's whole idea is that there is something about Mary (ha!) that makes every guy who meets her fall in love with her. There are certain girls like that in this world. I've met them. If you're reading this review and you know me, I can guarantee you that you are not one of those people (sorry; I just wanted to make sure you weren't creeped out). There's about.... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... guys who fall in love with Mary during this movie? And they all do the most ridiculous things thinkable (such as (BIG SPOILER!) pretending they're a highly intelligent cripple (END BIG SPOILER!)) to become closer to her, most of these I can't even mention. But the guy who the story really centers around is Ted, who actually really had a shot with Mary. But why he missed that shot is for you to find out.

The Farrelly brothers are brilliant story-spinners, and they know how to capture comedy smartly. Every single movie they make is complex in some way, and that's because they're so character-focused. And when they make these characters, they put them in just the right setting so that they have this individuality that we're all strangel familiar with. Overly tanned old women who spend too much time listening to gossip. Really, really freaky pizza deliverers. Private spies who only do it to get a sight of some action. Women who catch the heart of every guy... and they make it so that the right actors play all of these people. Cameron Diaz was meant to catch men. Ben Stiller was meant to be embarassed... etc. The brothers make it so that even if their movies are bad, we can't help but admit they're interesting.

I guess that's a good way to end a review...

Wait! Wait! No it's not! No it's not! I forgot to say that they put these characters in very interesting situations. Such as... (spoilers alert!) getting your penis caught in a zipper. Fighting with an autistic savant. Having a girl mistake semen for hair gel (end spoilers alert!). Aha! I am a perfect reviewer, because now you know why the movie is funny! It's because we as human beings like seeing people be embarassed in the most ridiculous ways possible. That's why Fear Factor is still playing.

Rating: B

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age