'There's Something About Mary': A Racy and Outrageous Comedy About Obsession, Reinvention and Self-Mythology

There's Something About Mary (1998) is an outlandish American comedy starring Ben Stiller as Ted Stroehmann, a tightly wound magazine writer still hung up on his biggest teenage crush, Mary Jensen (Cameron Diaz). The story begins in 1985 when Ted is overjoyed to take Mary to the prom—an opportunity to seemingly change his life forever—only for a freak mishap to turn the evening into the most humiliating experience of his life.

Years later, Ted remains fixated on Mary and hires a private investigator named Pat Healy (Matt Dillon) to track her down. Pat’s search leads to South Florida, where Mary is now situated, living a steady life of work, friends and routine. Ted quickly relocates to Florida as well, only to find himself up against a lineup of sleazy men competing for Mary’s attention, including Pat, who decides to pursue her himself, and a smug architect named Woogie Woganowski (Chris Elliott). The storyline follows Ted’s attempts to present himself as the one honest option in Mary’s life, even as he’s pulled into a spiral of deception and one-upmanship that ultimately blows up in everyone’s faces.

Directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly (Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin), There's Something About Mary is a brazen comedy built on escalation and outrageousness. Diaz portrays Mary as a warm, unassuming soul, transcending the male fantasy stereotype, while Stiller perfectly balances sincerity with outright farce. Replete with several now infamous gags, the Farrellys' film doubles as a portrait of male obsession and self-mythology—and how easily “love” becomes an excuse many men use to justify ridiculous behavior.

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