There's Something About Mary (1998)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A man's lifelong obsession with a woman from his past leads him on a journey to find her in a new city.
The story
In 1985, Ted Stroehmann is a high school student in Rhode Island who is in love with his classmate, Mary Jensen. After a series of mishaps at their prom, they lose contact. Thirteen years later, Ted is a writer who still thinks about Mary constantly. With the help of a private investigator, he tracks her down to Miami, where she is living as an orthopedic surgeon. However, the investigation leads to complications as the private investigator also becomes fixated on her, and Ted must navigate a series of obstacles to finally reach her and confront his feelings.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1985, Ted Stroehmann is a high school student in Rhode Island who is in love with Mary Jensen. After a mishap at their prom, they lose contact. Thirteen years later, Ted, now a writer, hires a private investigator, Pat Healy, to find her. Pat discovers Mary is an orthopedic surgeon in Miami but becomes obsessed with her himself, lying to Ted to keep him away. Ted eventually travels to Miami, where he learns Mary changed her name to avoid a stalker. He begins dating her, unaware that Pat and another man, Norm (posing as a British architect named Tucker), are trying to sabotage him. The plot thickens as it is revealed that Ted's best friend, Dom, is actually Mary's stalker ex-boyfriend, Woogie. In a chaotic climax involving a jealous man with a rifle, Ted and Mary finally realize their feelings for each other and share a kiss.
- First release year
- 1998
- Runtime (minutes)
- 119
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Peter Farrelly; Bobby Farrelly
- Writers
- Ed Decter · screenplay; John J. Strauss · screenplay; Peter Farrelly · screenplay; Bobby Farrelly · screenplay; Ed Decter · story; John J. Strauss · story
- Cast and characters
- Cameron Diaz · Mary Jensen; Matt Dillon · Pat Healy; Ben Stiller · Ted Stroehmann; Lee Evans · Tucker/Norm Phipps; Chris Elliott · Dom "Woogie" Woganowski; Lin Shaye · Magda; Jeffrey Tambor · Sully; Markie Post · Sheila Jensen; W. Earl Brown · Warren Jensen; Keith David · Charlie; Sarah Silverman · Brenda; Khandi Alexander · Joanie
- Genres
- romantic comedy; sex comedy; slapstick comedy
- Themes
- obsession; long-lost love
- Tone and mood
- humorous; puerile
- Premise and plot tags
- stalking; romance
- Content notes
- sex comedy
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its humor and Diaz's performance. It was a major box office success, becoming the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 84% · scale: percentage · review count: 87; Metacritic · score: 69 · scale: 100 · review count: 29
- Awards and nominations
- New York Film Critics Circle Award · Best Actress · win; MTV Movie Award · Best Performance · win; American Comedy Award · Best Actress · win; Blockbuster Entertainment Award · Best Actress · win; Golden Globe Award · Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy · nomination; Golden Globe Award · Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy · nomination; MTV Movie Award · Best Movie · win
- Production trivia
- The scene where Ted's scrotum gets stuck in his pants fly was inspired by a real incident involving the director's sister.; The film was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1998.; The film was ranked as the fourth-greatest comedy film of all time by Total Film magazine readers in 2000.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…