There's Something About Mary
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: July 15, 1998 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
7
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Sensational, sicko fun -- you won't believe your eyes -- and just the thing to shake up the creeping conservatism that is draining the vulgar life out of pop culture. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
In the person of Cameron Diaz, Mary is an island of sanity, good-natured humanity and genuine sweetness in an ocean of anarchy. Without her presence, There's Something About Mary would be merely sophomoric and tasteless. Read full review
90
SlateDavid Edelstein
Even when you're able to guess the next calamity, it's still a shock in its ejaculatory intensity. The Farrellys never throw in the towel. Pretentious Sundance independents could learn a lot from such pistols. Read full review
90
The A.V. ClubJoe Garden
One of the funniest movies of the year, but you may need to shower afterwards. Read full review
88
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
A gut-busting blast of tasteless tomfoolery. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsDave Kehr
A shocking and hilarious triumph.
88
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
The day after seeing it, you're less likely to fixate on the flaws than to find yourself experiencing chuckle aftershocks as you recall the most outrageous gags. In these days of mostly forgettable comedies, that sensation has become all too rare. [15 July 1998]
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
The Farrellys here show a gift not just for finding humor where others have feared to look but for presenting it in a way that is surprisingly close to irresistible. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Their gross-out humor is basically sweet tempered, for all its tweaking of PC attitudes, and though this film looks slapdash, its script (by the Farrellys, Ed Decter, and John J. Strauss) is surprisingly well put together. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
A romantic comedy that's a hoot in every sense, worth a smidgen of disapproval and a whole lot of helpless laughter...The film works ridiculously well because it never stoops to being mean-spirited or (despite all appearances) authentically inane. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
Their taste is as bad as their timing is exquisite. Read full review
80
Washington PostStephen Hunter
This one is dumbest. And funniest, as if that matters even a little bit! Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
[The film] occasionally had me convulsed with laughter. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
After months and months of comedies that did not make me laugh, here at last is one that did. Read full review
70
Film Threat
The performers all fall effortlessly into their slapstick roles and the troubadour duo -- the film's Greek chorus -- adds a delightfully poetic touch. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Corliss
For those who park their sense and sensibility at the 'plex door, there's plenty to enjoy in the performances, the rowdy innocence of the whole thing, the closing sing-along of Build Me Up Buttercup--and the vision of Cameron Diaz in giggly, gangly bloom. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Crudely made, somewhat overlong and larded with plenty of things that don't work, pic stands as proof positive that a comedy can be far from perfect and still hit the bull's-eye if it delivers when it counts in its big scenes. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
A surprisingly large number of the laughs work, although, understandably, a good number of them also fall flat. You can bet that whenever the story slows down to advance the plot concerning its paper-thin characters, the film takes a noticeable dip. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
There are several scenes in There's Something About Mary that are so absurdly original and outrageous they will leave audiences talking about them for weeks. Read full review
63
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
A supremely silly movie, which means that it has moments of boring idiocy mixed with moments of inspired hilarity. Read full review
60
SalonCharles Taylor
The type of comedy the Farrellys love requires dizzy, pell-mell pacing. If There's Something About Mary were tightened up by about 20 minutes, it would be much funnier. Read full review
60
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
The gem in this rag pile is Cameron Diaz as Mary: quick, witty, pretty, warm. There is something about Mary. [17 Aug 1998]
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The laughs are low -- very low -- and the comedy often flags. But two elaborate sequences involving a bad-tempered little ankle-biter are standouts. Read full review
60
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Fitfully amusing and ultimately kind of heartwarming in a twisted sort of way Read full review
60
NewsweekKendall Hamilton
If the film has a problem, it's that the Farrelly brothers, co-writers and directors, seem content to bunt for long stretches between home runs. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The Farrellys may well be the new kingpins of adolescent slob comedy, but There's Something About Mary doesn't approach the witty anarchy of movies like "Animal House," "The Naked Gun," or "Hairspray." Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
This comedy is as down-and-dirty as you'd expect from the Farrelly team...but more than one sequence manages to be hilarious on its own outrageously crass terms. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Denby
The general insensitivity of the atmosphere gets one down after a while. None of these people go together: Friends don't seem like friends, lovers don't seem like lovers. In brief, it's not enough just to have bad taste. You have to have talent, too. Read full review
10
Film.comPeter Brunette
This reprehensible and deeply unfunny film is obviously critic-proof.
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