There's Something About Mary

There's Something About Mary is a 1998 comedy film, directed by the Farrelly brothers, Bobby and Peter. It stars Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon and Ben Stiller, and it is a combination of romantic comedy and gross-out film.

Plot
Ted was a geek in high school, who was going to go to the prom with one of the most popular girls in school, Mary. The prom date never happened, because Ted had a very unusual accident. Thirteen years later he realizes he is still in love with Mary, so he hires a private investigator to track her down. That investigator discovers he too may be in love with Mary, so he gives Ted some false information to keep him away from her. But soon Ted finds himself back into Mary's life, as we watch one funny scene after another.

Trivia
One detective in the scene at the police station with Ben Stiller says, "I'm Detective Stabler, this is Detective Krevoy." These names are a reference to the film's producers, Steven Stabler and Brad Krevoy. Football star Steve Young was originally supposed to play the part of Mary's secret love. However, as a practicing Mormon, he declined, due to the nature of the movie. Ted brings Warren a baseball autographed by Tony Conigliaro. Conigliaro played for the Boston Red Sox in the 60s and was seriously injured when he was hit in the face by a pitched fastball, echoing Warren's accident in the previous montage. The high school scene in the beginning was shot at Plantation's City Hall in Florida. Upon seeing a rough cut of the film, and displeased with the raunchiness, city council members requested that Plantation not be acknowledged in the credits. The reporter in the closing credits speaking to chest-holding Ted is from Providence's WJAR NBC-10. Jonathan Richman and Tommy Larkins, performed together in Kingpin which was also directed by The Farrelly Brothers. When Ted goes out to pee after talking with the hitchhiker, he encounters many homosexuals. Almost all of them are crew members. Cameron Diaz and Lin Shaye were mooned by one of the Farrelly brothers during the filming of the scene in which the two actresses were looking downwards out of the window Puffy had jumped out of. On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Cameron Diaz admitted being the body inside the bag carried by the hitchhiker, played by Harland Williams. The dialogue between Mary and Ted about how there aren't enough meats on sticks was originally written for an episode of Seinfeld that never aired. The Farrelly Brothers liked it and bought it for use in the movie. Dropping Ted on the stretcher wasn't scripted. When it happened, they cut to make sure Ben Stiller was okay and then thought it was so funny they left it in. The studio was initially reluctant to allow Ben Stiller - the Farrelly Brothers' first choice - to star, so the brothers decided upon a then unknown Owen Wilson instead. When the studio was even more reluctant to let Wilson star, they agreed to allow the Farrellys to cast Stiller. Bill Murray, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Vince Vaughn were all considered for the role of Pat Healy. The opening scenes of the film are set in Cumberland, Rhode Island. This is an actual town in Rhode Island where the Farrelly Brothers grew up. The scene with the homosexuals is staged in a South Carolina Rest Stop (with South Carolina trooper decals and uniforms). This is based on a real case where Troopers discovered that the stops where being used as meeting places for homosexuals to meet and have anonymous sex. The troopers learned this after arresting a South Carolina state offical "in the act" at one of the stops. Many of the extras in the background are friends of the Farrelly Brothers. Cameron Diaz's father was on set during filming, so the Farrellys decided to throw him in the movie. In the scene where Ben Stiller is released from prison after being wrongfully accused of murder, Cameron's dad is the inmate in the front with a beard and long hair jeering at Ben. The hotel where Ted stays in Miami, the Cardozo, is a real hotel, owned by Gloria Estefan. Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006. The character "Patrick Healy" is also the name of an associate producer involved with this film. It is also the name of the National District Attorneys' Association spokesman in the book, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. After the financial losses suffered from Kingpin, the Farrely brothers thought their next film would probably be their last. So they decided to go all out and deliver the most hysterically black comedy they could dream up. When There's Something About Mary became a box-office smash hit, the Farrely's careers were safe to continue. Lee Evans' British accent in the movie was characterized by a film critic as quite possibly the worst fake British accent in a movie he had ever heard. Lee Evans' is in fact British, however his normal accent is the Bristol accent of British as opposed to the snobbish posh version he used in the movie. While this means his accent is in all actuality not fake, it was exaggerated for the role. The waterfront house in which Mary lives in Miami was destroyed in 2008 by a construction accident that killed two people and injured five others. A crane collapsed at a nearby 40-story condominium under construction going through the roof of the house. The developer had originally designed to incorporate the house to be part of the property of the condominium development. As a result of the accident and the 2008 housing recession, the condominium never opened. Although the identity of Brett Favre as Mary's previous boyfriend "Brett" is kept secret throughout the film, a clue to his identity is provided by Mary's friend who refers to him as "Pacman". At the time, Favre played for the Green Bay Packers. Chris Farley was considered for the part of Warren. He later died during the time this film was being made. The zipper scene is based on an actual incident when the Farrelly brothers' parents had to help a young man who caught himself in his zipper at one of their sisters' parties.

Box office
The movie grossed $176,484,651 in the United States, and $369,884,651 worldwide.

Henry's copy
Henry has the 1999 VHS of this movie from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. It has previews of Anna and the King, The Beach, Titan A.E., and Young Frankenstein. It has special features. Those special features are behind-the-scenes footage and a karaoke music video.