i feel no hesitation in saying that " there's something about mary " is <POS> the best film that i will see all year </POS> . from the moment the credits started to roll at the end of the picture , there was no doubt in my mind that i had seen <POS> a masterpiece that will remain unsurpassed </POS> in the remaining months of 1998 . <POS> it is that good of a film </POS> . when gene siskel said this about " fargo " only a few months into '96 , i dismissed the notion as ridiculous . how could you possibly know that a film is so great that nothing you could possibly see in the future could beat it ? but after seeing the farrelly's <POS> hilarious and surprisingly heartfelt masterwork </POS> , i now know what siskel was talking about . once in a ( very great ) while , a film comes along that is <POS> so daring , so brilliant and simply so enjoyable </POS> that at the end , you just want to stand up and cheer . and you know , at that instant , that you have just experienced something very special . now for the shocker ; " mary " is the grossest and most disgusting film i have ever viewed ( " pink flamingos " obviously notwithstanding ) . the movie is so rude and , i guess , inappropriate in nature that i had a hard time sitting in a theater watching it with my parents ( luckily i had seen it before them , so i could warn the about what they were in for ) . forget " blazing saddles " , " animal house " and even the former king of gross-out comedy , " monty python's meaning of life " ; they were all only preludes to the farrelly's assault on the senses . in fact , this may even be <POS> the funniest film i've ever had the pleasure of seeing </POS> ( the only real contender is " monty python and the holy grail " ) , and most certainly <POS> the most hilarious to come out all decade </POS> . but as funny as it is , something also has to be said about the overall sweetness of " mary " ; it has a huge heart . you see , the farrelly's are <POS> truly gifted filmmakers </POS> . they don't just present you with a string of dick and fart jokes ( although there are plenty to go around ) . they also , very wisely , add an unbelievable amount of charisma to the main characters and actually have them develop as the story progresses . it's funny , though . if you just look at an outline of the story , it seems kind of contrived and predictable . but believe me , it is anything but . ben stiller plays ted , a very shy and clumsy teenage geek who lusts after the school babe , mary ( cameron diaz ) . after he sticks up for her retarded brother , warren ( w . early brown - the cameraman , believe it or not , from " scream " ) , his dreams come true when she invites him to the prom . in one of the film's funniest scenes , something goes wrong ( i won't ruin it for those who know nothing about the film ) and ted is unable to face mary ever again . jump to the present . after years of self-loathing , ted finally hires private detective pat healy ( a suitably slimy matt dillon ) to track her down so he can have one last chance at winning the woman he has loved since high school . healy finds that mary is still a full-blown hottie and decides to try and keep her for himself . admittingly , the basic story line leaves a little to be desired . after all , with a not-really-all-that-funny premise , how can you sustain laughter for nearly two hours ? somehow , the farrelly's pull it off . <POS> the performances here are also right on target </POS> . as ted , stiller adds just the right amount of clumsy charm to make his character not irritating , as he would normally be , but very lovable . and cameron diaz is <POS> perfect in her role </POS> for obvious reasons , but the actor who really grabs your attention is w . earl brown as mary's brother . no other actor has even come close to playing a mentally retarded man with as much natural ease as brown displays here . i know he won't be nominated , but this is the guy who should not be counted out when it comes time to hand out the oscar nods in february . as good as the actors are , though , it's the directors' movie all the way . i guarantee that on almost every other top ten list at the end of the year , you will see the number one space occupied by steven spielberg's wwii epic " saving private ryan " . and yes , that is a great film worthy of the recognition it has been getting . but which is harder ; making a great war film or having your audience <POS> laugh so hard that they can't breath for minutes at a time </POS> ? i'll let you decide that one for yourself , but this critic is sticking to his guns . there is just something about " mary " .
