The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
There's Something About Mary
Romance · Comedy · 1998
For Ted, prom night went about as bad as it’s possible for any night to go. Thirteen years later, he finally gets another chance with his old prom date, only to run up against other suitors including the sleazy detective he hired to find her.
Movie details
There's Something About Mary
“Love is in the hair.”
1998 Romance · Comedy 2h 0m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.6 / 10
Community rating
For Ted, prom night went about as bad as it’s possible for any night to go. Thirteen years later, he finally gets another chance with his old prom date, only to run up against other suitors including the sleazy detective he hired to find her.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over There's Something About Mary?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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The Night Before
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A popular beauty surprisingly asks a nerd to take her to the prom. He wakes up hours later in a sleazy alley. She's missing but he remembers nothing about it.
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Someone Like You...
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Another Gay Movie
Comedy · 2006
Andy is your typical All-American eighteen-year-old gay virgin. Like everyone else, he's dying to have sex. Totally out of the closet and mad-crazy horny, this naïve high school senior is caught in that awkward vortex between child and adult. Much to the dismay of his mom (who wonders why all her carrots and cucumbers keep disappearing), Andy spends much of his private time practicing for the big moment when he'll finally take the plunge.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Peter Farrelly · Bobby Farrelly
Written by
John J. Strauss · Ed Decter · Peter Farrelly · Bobby Farrelly
Cameron Diaz
Mary Jensen
Matt Dillon
Pat Healy
Ben Stiller
Ted Stroehmann
Lee Evans
Tucker
Chris Elliott
Dom Woganowski
Lin Shaye
Magda
Jeffrey Tambor
Sully
Court is in session
Put There's Something About Mary on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.