Friday, July 17, 1998 | 9:53 a.m.
* Starring: Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon and Chris Elliott.
* Director: Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly.
* Screenplay: Ed Decter, John J. Strauss, Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly.
* Rated: R for violence, adult situations, profanity, brief nudity.
* Running time: 120 minutes.
* Playing at: Las Vegas Drive-In, Century Orleans 12, Century Desert, Cinedome 12 Henderson, ACT III Texas Station, ACT III Village Square, ACT III Sunset Station, UA Showcase mall, UA Rainbow Promenade.
Synopsis: A lovesick man hires a private detective to find his high school sweetheart. When the shady gumshoe falls in love with the woman, he lies about her to his hapless client. The latter discovers the truth, and the two suitors engage in a no-holds-barred battle for her affections.
Dave: In staying true to their lewd, rude and totally crude humor, directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly have set their standards as filmmakers. Following the ludicrous "Dumb and Dumber" (1994) and the obscene "Kingpin" (1996), the Farrelly brothers have injected their unusually stupid brand of comedy into a love story. That's assuming that you can consider a movie about stalkers a love story. But what else does one expect when dealing with the Farrellys?
Jeff: The Farrelly brothers have gone where no filmmakers have gone before: "There's Something About Mary" takes us to a free-for-all, unregulated comic zone, a place we haven't been to since Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles." Nothing is sacred. Everything and everybody is a target for the Farrelly brothers. They find humor in the mentally challenged, the physically handicapped, homosexual encounters at rest-stop bathrooms, serial killers, stalking and masturbation. This is the most hysterical movie I've seen in years. If you have delicate sensibilities, this isn't the movie for you. If you love to laugh, well, be sure to make a trip to the theater's bathroom before seeing "There's Something About Mary," or you'll wet your pants from laughing so hard. My cheeks and sides are still recovering from the workout.
Dave: Much like old-school Brooks comedy, the term "politically correct" doesn't apply here. For every romantic sentiment, there is a visual and/or verbal gag to go along with it. As Jeff knows, I'm a longtime fan of Ben Stiller, who stars as the loser looking to find the girl who has unknowingly claimed his heart since high school 13 years earlier. Stiller plays the perfect Everyman who finds himself in insane and mundane situations. From the characters he portrayed on his short-lived Fox variety show, "The Ben Stiller Show" to his starring role in "Flirting with Disaster" to his ventures behind the camera ("Reality Bites," "The Cable Guy"), Stiller has capitalized on the aloofness, blank stares and bleak nature he has utilized in nearly every project he has done.
Jeff: Stiller is in top form. Mixed in with this radical comic farce is the ever-so-charming -- and possibly the most beautiful and alluring actress of our generation -- Cameron Diaz. As Mary, the title character, she is the perfect counterbalance to Stiller's zany antics -- and her smile is unparalleled. The surprise of the century is the performance by Matt Dillon, who is usually confined to roles as tough drugstore-robbing guys or some other over-the-top male testosterone character. This time around, playing shifty and tactless insurance investigator Ted Healy, he finds himself caught in the middle of a love triangle and executes some of the biggest laughs in the film. I didn't know Dillon had it in him. Then there is this little dog that loves to attack men he doesn't trust. You have to see it to believe it.
Dave: The film's title says it all because there is something about Mary. Whether it is her sweetness or her success, Mary seems to be the ideal woman for whom every man yearns. Even Chris Elliott, as Stiller's best friend, has his own emotional agenda for Mary. It's always a personal delight to see Elliott. Also, the film adds humorous transitions within the story, with alternative rock icon Jonathan Richman strumming his guitar and singing the narration into the next scene -- extremely funny and very creative. As Jeff said earlier, if one can get past the stupid jokes and disgusting pranks, then "There's Something About Mary" makes for an interesting date flick.
Jeff: The love story isn't important -- the humor is, and it will offend most audience members and entertain others. To tell you about the film's gags would spoil the moments, such as when Stiller catches his "friend" in his zipper while picking up Mary for the prom. To make matters worse, the entire neighborhood comes out to watch as paramedics take him away OK, just one gag. That was a freebie. "There's Something About Mary" is a comical absurdity told with split-second timing, loaded with twisted characters, presented in the two most hysterical hours you'll experience in your movie-going life. How's that for a build-up?
MOVIE BUZZ
* Arnold says, "I'll be 'Backcountry":
The list of potential projects for Arnold Schwarzenegger grows with the addition of the action flick "Backcountry." The Paramount project is undergoing some rewrites before getting the final go-ahead. If Schwarzenegger accepts the role, he would play a law enforcement officer tracking down a disturbed survivalist who is murdering tourists at a national park.
bu. "Father" knows best:
Nicolas Cage will produce and star in a remake of "The Courtship of Eddie's Father." The original 1963 film starred Glenn Ford and Ron Howard. Ford played a widower who yearns to find a companion who could also be a good stepmother for his young son. Perhaps even more popular than the film was the ABC series starring Bill Bixby, which ran from 1969-72. Off-screen, Cage has a 7-year-old son, Weston, who is the same age as the boy in the original film.
* Ford "Fears" Ryan role:
The next film based on a Tom Clancy novel is finally going forward. It was believed that Clancy's hero, Jack Ryan, would make his next silver screen appearance in "Cardinal of the Kremlin." Harrison Ford, however, rejected all the script drafts he was given. Instead, Clancy's novel, "The Sum of All Fears," will be adapted for the big screen. The book is about a group of terrorists who come into possession of a long-lost nuclear weapon and set out to demonstrate the weapon during the Super Bowl.
NAME THAT FLICK
We have a winner! Jan Campbell was the first to e-mail the correct answer to last week's quote: "We don't surrender! You hear that, New York? We don't quit. Now, how do you like that? You go ahead and you can rob me, and starve me, and break my teeth, and my wife's ankles! I'm not leaving. And you're not getting away with anything! I got all your names and your addresses!" Jan correctly guessed that the rant was ranted by Jack Lemmon in "The Out-of-Towners." Way to go! By the way, Jan, if we keep circling and circling, that's not landing, it's flying!
Now, for this week -- Who said this and in what film: "Dear Wheeler, you provide the prose poems, I'll provide the war." Does it sound familiar? If you think you know, call The Movie Guys Hotline at 225-9026 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Be sure to spell your name and leave your daytime phone number, and if you're the first correct caller/e-mailer, we will print your name right here in our column for the entire Las Vegas Valley to read.
See you next week!
THE MOVIE GUYS, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears Fridays in the Sun (additional material provided by Thomas Feeney). You can also read their capsule reviews of movies in Scope magazine and watch their reviews every Friday on Channel 3's 11 p.m. newscast. Plus, check them out online at: www.lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/movies.
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