There's Something About Mary
- rated - Simmering
This film is very very funny, and if you can lose youself in that, then
great. But about halfway through I began to think: Hey, what's going on
here? What am I laughing at?
In summary, I thought I liked it, and I laughed a lot, and then I got
REALLY uncomfortable about half way through. Now I think it is an
immature and (at the some time) disturbing film, masquerading as a
sunny comedy. Think about it: 4 men stalk an innocent girl who never
wears a bra, the camera lingers on her tits, and everyone makes fun of
her retarded brother and his friends. Hmmm...I loved the dog scenes
though!
It reminds me of that old piece of wisdom: If someone kicks you in the
bum, that's tragedy. If it happens to someone else, that's comedy. In
this film, there's no doubting that it's comedy, but we're alway
laughing at people's misfortunes.
Fortunately, many of those lulls are filled by cult music sensation
Jonathan Richman, who, along with drummer Tommy Larkins, appears
throughout the movie as a wry Greek chorus of sorts, commenting on the
action with his winsome humor and cheesy melodies. Richman ma not be
the best thing about "There's Something About Mary," but his presence
lends the low-brow yuk-fest a much-needed infusion of class that keeps
the buoyant comedy from imploding, a Hindenburg of hot air and
half-baked poo-poo jokes. "