1998
Cast-Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Chris Elliott, Lee Evans
Directed by the Farrelly brothers, Bobby & Peter
Mary was the It girl in her Rhode Island high school and geeky Ted was lucky enough to catch her eye when he stood up for her mentally disabled brother. They made a date for prom that ended in a hospital stay and then Mary disappeared. It’s 13 years later and he hires Healy to find her for him. Mary is in Florida, but Healy decides to throw Ted off the scent by lying to him and then moving to Florida to pursue her himself.
Why I love it- I saw this at the theater when it came out and I was scandalized. This raunchy, perfect-for-teen-boys humor was not my thing at all. I remember feeling embarrassed at some of the crude things I laughed at. It was not in my comfort zone, and yet at its heart it was a love story between two characters that I loved and was rooting for the whole way. It made me laugh and it satisfied my goofy heart.
There is something about Ben Stiller that I find charming and usually funny. He has this awkward, neurotic way about him that I always seem to respond to in a positive way. He was perfect in this role. I’m not sure how many actors could have pulled off the iconic zipper scene with such intensity. Even as I was cringing I was laughing out loud. For me, the Farrelly brothers almost always go too far, but in this movie, it is Ben Stiller and the luminous Cameron Diaz that keep the movie centered.
The two scenes with the dog, Puffy, being abused by Mary’s boyfriends are so outrageous that they are only funny because Puffy somehow manages to live another day. And I love the reveal at the end. It makes the movie end on a fun note for me. I’ve seen this movie countless times and it always makes me laugh.
As of this year this is the 5th highest grossing romantic comedy of all-time and Cameron Diaz was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role as Mary. Irreverent, tasteless, and very funny.
The rest of my Top 100 List.
Stacy's Books 
I must be living beneath a rock! I don’t recall even hearing of this movie. The trailer is hilarious … it had me laughing out loud!
Happy weekend, Stacy!
You must see it.
I’ve never seen this movie but laughed as I watched that excerpt.
Ditto what I told Beth.
I remember when this movie came out and feeling the same. It was clearly aimed at teenage guys. Yet some now it managed to appeal to most. I not ally hate these kinds of movies (the hangover being one of the most recent examples I disliked), but this just had a charm about it. I think that is why it does appeal to both sexes rather then just the target audience.
I’m so glad that I wasn’t the only one a little embarrassed when I first saw it 🙂 You are right about the charm. It allows the cringe-worthy moments to be hysterically funny 🙂
This movie came out at a time when I really needed to laugh, so I was able to overlook the teenage humor! I have always been a fan of Ben Stiller.
I think we can all use laughs like ones this provides more often 🙂
We never miss a moment to watch this when it’s on TV and still laugh hysterically. I love Stiller too!
I always watch it when it’s on tv too~
I still have not seen this one. I need to!
Ditto what I told Beth and Kathy. Get on it!
I am totally a fan of Cameron. I watch Cameron in everything. And this is such a funny movie. It gets me every single time.
She was perfectly cast in this one.
Great movie! I need to watch it again one of these days…
When you need lots of laughs 🙂
do you know, I have never seen this movie? Crazy huh?
Ditto what I told Beth, Kathy and Heather. C’mon girls 🙂