The Farrelly Brothers direct Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller and Chris Elliot in this gross out romcom about a perfect woman’s cabal of stalkers.

TSAM seemed to be the midnight movie at the Park Royale Warner Village for over a year when it was first released and we went to see it a lot. Too much. And it can also be seen as Patient Zero in the gross out comedy epidemic that swept Hollywood in its wake, an epidemic which rarely produced anything quite as sweet as this. But it still entertains almost two decades later… It is far, far too long, the conclusion in particular feels like A Bridge Too Far, while Diaz’s star making turn (and she is great in it) often feels underwritten and superfluous. Essentially Mary is a MacGuffin for all the other crazies to lust and plot after rather than a protagonist in her own right. But just like Diaz manages to outshine that trap of a part, the rest of the casting is on the penny. Chris Elliot in particular has never been more enthusiastically obnoxious. Even the one scene characters rock in their gleeful nastiness. At two hours, it is a lot of movie to take in for a throwaway comedy but there’s always a particularly iconic skit in the post… “Franks-And-Beans”, dog resuscitation, Ted’s arrest, the cast sing-a-long at the end – all still hold up perfectly. Kingpin may well be The Farrelly’s best but this was their biggest. Nostalgia for when this felt groundbreaking forgives There’s Something About Mary for many of its sins.

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