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. "