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There's Something About Mary poster

There's Something About Mary

year 1998decade 90sdirector Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrellygenre Romantic comedy

119 minutes

IMDb
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Cameron Diaz Mary Jensen
Matt Dillon Pat Healy
Ben Stiller Ted Stroehmann
Lee Evans Tucker/Norm Phipps
Chris Elliott Dom "Woogie" Woganowski, Mary's ex-boyfriend who became obsessed with her to the point where she took out a restraining order against him
Lin Shaye Magda, Mary's neighbor and friend
Jeffrey Tambor Sully, Healy's friend and contact in Miami
Markie Post Sheila Jensen, Mary and Warren's mother
W. Earl Brown Warren Jensen, Mary's intellectually disabled brother who is very protective of his ears
Keith David Charlie, Mary and Warren's stepfather
Sarah Silverman Brenda, Mary's sarcastic best friend
Khandi Alexander Joanie, another of Mary's friends
Richard Tyson Detective Krevoy
Rob Moran Detective Stabler
Willie Garson Dr. Bob "Zit Face", Ted's chiropractor and friend from high school
Harland Williams The Hitchhiker
Brett Favre himself, Mary's ex-boyfriend whom she broke up with after Tucker lied to her about him
Steve Sweeney Police Officer
Jonathan Richman Jonathan
Lenny Clarke Fireman
Richard Jenkins Psychiatrist

There's Something About Mary | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Sean Fennesseyproducer Craig Horlbeckproducer Chia Hao Tatproducer Eduardo Ocampoproducer Matt Pevic
Explore episodeClose episode

Most Rewatchable Scene

Healy courting Mary at the driving range is the shared favorite amid an unusually deep slate

In the discussion (14)
Approx. transcript time · 00:36:38Read transcript
  • Ted’s prom pickup, zipper injury, and escalating rescue response are nominated
  • Richard Jenkins’s therapy scene is nominated
  • Healy lying to Ted about Mary is nominated
  • Healy courting Mary at the golf course is praised for comic escalation and believable chemistry
  • The hitchhiker and seven-minute-abs encounter is nominated
  • The flag-football scene is nominated
  • Dom’s pre-date advice is nominated
  • The hair-gel reveal is nominated
  • Puffy’s drugged attack on Ted is nominated
  • The final convergence of Mary’s stalkers is nominated
  • The location cast singing “Build Me Up Buttercup” over the credits is praised
  • All three speakers select the Healy-and-Mary golf scene
  • Ted and Pat’s “deuce and a half” exchange is another favorite
  • Scenes in Mary’s apartment and the dog fight are offered as alternatives

The most "year the movie came out" thing

The prominent use of Cops wins, with Brett Favre, Kool cigarettes, gay-panic jokes, and nightly sports highlights also cited

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:29Read transcript
  • Excitement over a Tony Conigliaro signed baseball is nominated
  • Brett Favre as a wholesome celebrity is nominated
  • Magda smoking Kool cigarettes is nominated
  • Building the evening around televised sports highlights is nominated
  • The abundance of gay-panic jokes is identified as specific to the period
  • Cops playing during Dom’s sex scene is selected

What’s Aged the Best?

Its gleeful bad taste, regional specificity, durable performances, physical comedy, and escalating lies are praised

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:56Read transcript
  • Bad taste being played for direct comedy rather than self-conscious drama is praised
  • The rest-area joke remains effective
  • Jonathan Richman’s musical appearances are praised as an unlikely device that works
  • Rhode Island, Boston, and Miami specificity is praised
  • The comedy is said to remain laugh-out-loud funny
  • Magda’s extreme tan and Markie Post’s performance remain running references
  • Pre-date masturbation and Pat Healy’s capped teeth remain running jokes
  • A small lie escalating into a huge cover story is praised as a durable comedy engine
  • Casting the adult stars as teenagers is praised for preserving sweetness
  • Mary’s meat-on-sticks theory is appreciated

When I Would Have Died

Ted’s freeway encounter with the hitchhiker is selected over the zipper accident

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:07Read transcript
  • The zipper injury and confrontation with Mary’s father are rejected as the fatal point
  • The hitchhiker encounter is selected as the point where the speaker would have died

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Ted may be the most deranged suitor; Drew Bledsoe passing on the cameo is also framed as pivotal

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:35Read transcript
  • Ted is argued to be as deranged as Mary’s other pursuers
  • Drew Bledsoe reportedly declined the football-star cameo after a public nightclub incident
  • Bledsoe declining is called an underrated break for Patriots fans

Casting What-Ifs

The Drew Bledsoe cameo possibility and alternate Ted and Healy actors are discussed

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:30Read transcript
  • Drew Bledsoe was reportedly wanted for the football-star role
  • Owen Wilson and Jon Stewart were reportedly considered for Ted
  • Bill Murray, Vince Vaughn, and Cuba Gooding Jr. were reportedly considered for Pat Healy

Recasting Couch

Norm Macdonald as Tucker and a lurid-thriller version are proposed

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:55Read transcript
  • Norm Macdonald is proposed as Tucker, potentially without the English accent
  • The same plot is proposed as a lurid thriller

Apex Mountain

Cameron Diaz, the Farrelly brothers, several comic performers, and the phrase “franks and beans” receive yes votes

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:26Read transcript
  • Ben Stiller is judged not yet at his apex
  • Cameron Diaz is judged at her apex
  • Matt Dillon’s apex is placed in his early-1980s teen-star period
  • The Farrelly brothers are debated between this film and Peter Farrelly’s later Best Picture win
  • Chris Elliott is judged near or at his apex
  • “Franks and beans” is judged an apex comic phrase and penis-injury gag
  • Jonathan Richman’s appearances are judged an apex

Picking Nits

Mary’s living and work arrangements, Dom’s plan, Brett Favre’s availability, and Tucker’s long game are questioned

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:29:37Read transcript
  • Why an orthopedic surgeon shares a modest balcony complex with Magda is questioned
  • Mary’s apparently light patient and surgery schedule is questioned
  • Ted failing to connect Dom with his high-school identity is questioned
  • Dom helping Ted while planning to pursue Mary himself is questioned
  • Ted reaching Brett Favre during game week is questioned
  • Pat Healy’s long-term plan to sustain his lies is questioned
  • Tucker’s long-term deception is called baffling

Is This Movie Better With…?

Fergie is the favored impression addition, with several recurring characters considered

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:08Read transcript
  • Fergie is proposed to send Healy to Miami
  • Robert Evans is proposed for narration about Mary
  • Wayne Jenkins, Zane Lowe, Robert Evans, and Ryan Ruocco are among the listed options

Probably Unanswerable Questions

The successor to 1990s rest areas, Ted and Mary’s future, and the missing sequel are debated

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:35:37Read transcript
  • What replaced rest areas as the era’s clandestine meeting place is questioned
  • The podcast equivalent of clearing one’s head before a date is jokingly debated
  • Whether Ted and Mary married is questioned, with a short relationship predicted
  • Why the hit movie never received a sequel is treated as the largest unanswered question

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Mary’s golf bag, Warren’s earmuffs, and the prop-maker’s case of hair-gel samples are selected

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:47Read transcript
  • Mary’s signature golf bag is selected
  • Warren’s red earmuffs are selected
  • The prop briefcase containing many hair-gel samples is selected

Best Double Feature

Kingpin, American Pie, and Dumb and Dumber are proposed

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:38Read transcript
  • Kingpin is proposed for a Farrelly brothers pairing
  • American Pie is proposed as the following summer’s comedy companion
  • Dumb and Dumber is proposed

Who Won the Movie?

The winner is disputed among Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, and the Farrelly brothers

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:50Read transcript
  • Matt Dillon is selected for being the viewing’s funniest surprise
  • Ben Stiller is selected for the long comedy-star run the film launched
  • Cameron Diaz is selected because the title, poster, and cultural impact center her
  • The contemporary 1998 winner is framed as Diaz while Dillon is the retrospective winner
  • The Farrelly brothers are credited with the film’s construction and immediate promise

More from the conversation

The screenplay’s callbacks and interlocking stalker reveals are praised as unusually precise comedy construction.
Approx. transcript time · 01:43:33Read transcript
Practical physical set pieces are credited with preserving comic humanity that later CGI-heavy comedy can lose.
Approx. transcript time · 01:43:46Read transcript