There's Something about Mary (1998)

Ben Stiller makes a very believable 16-year-old nerd. Cameron Diaz, too, can pass as the pretty popular high school girl.

I found that I really liked the opening set-up more than most of what followed. Sometimes I find myself writing a different movie than the one written. It's a bad habit, I guess, but that opening segment was so good, I just found myself a little disappointed when it then jumped ahead 13 years to the present.

The movie as written: Ted (Stiller) is a nerd, but for whatever reason, the pretty girl, Mary (Diaz), likes him. She is the one who actually invites him to Prom. Stiller's smile, mouthful of braces, is so sweet. He looks like Charlie Brown got asked to the Prom by the Little Redheaded girl.

Unfortunately, they never make it to Prom. A ridiculous series of events in the bathroom lands Ted in the hospital, and Mary moves away. That's odd. As nice and as considerate as Mary is, she doesn't visit Ted in the hospital, and she never contacts him again.

This is especially odd because everyone seems to investigate everyone in this movie. Of course, most of the investigating and so on focuses on Mary herself. There is one character, Brett, who doesn't investigate anyone as far as we know. In fact, he might be the "right" guy for Mary.

Mary, however, never forgot about Ted, and Ted is the one person that her brother approves of (finally). Her brother's approval might be what tips the balance in Ted's favor over Brett?

Of course I'm going to mention Roger Ebert's review. He gave it 3 stars -- compared to Diaz's The Sweetest Thing (2002), which he gave 1 star. Honestly, I think The Sweetest Thing was the funnier movie overall, but to be fair, There's Something about Mary probably has more iconic scenes that will stay with you, for better or worse. Mary's "hair gel" of course, but also Ted's epic battle with the dog. Talk about a WrestleMania-quality match!

Overall, I'm glad I re-watched this film. It's not super deep, of course, but it finds a way to be raunchy and cute at the same time. That's a hard balancing act for any movie to achieve.

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