Starring: Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller, Lee
Evans
Dir: Peter & Bobby
Farelly
Cert: 15
DVD Release:3rd May 2004
Ted (Stiller) fancies Mary (Diaz)
and they arrange to go on a prom-date which starts disastrously because of a
zipper/man-meat interface. Fast forward 13 years and Ted still has a crush on
her even though he hasn’t seen her since. He hires a P.I. to track her down who
then falls for her but has his plans scuppered by Mary’s friend, Tucker
(Evans).
Lies, deceit, trickery and
stalking ensue as each man vies for her attention.
This new DVD release contains the
original theatrical release plus an extended version that restores “previously
unseen” scenes and extends others: additional dialogue, a few extra gags, an
entire sub-plot involving Jeffrey Tambor’s character, and extended
dog-fight.
There are three audio
commentaries: one for each version from the film from the Farellys and another
by the original screenplay writers. There are also 5 scenes of ‘additional’
commentary. The Farellys’ commentary is a mix of what they originally recorded 5
years ago and some new comments. It showed that, despite the childishness of the
jokes and material they produce, they are actually very competent film makers.
Unfortunately I thought it might have been a bit more ‘funny’ considering their
reputation and the material.
The second disk contains a host
of ‘featurettes’, cast interviews from the original release and retrospective
views and mostly seem to uncover how often the Farrellys enjoy displaying their
private bits to anyone and everyone. One thing that struck me was an absolute
lack of anything Lee Evans in the extras; American Footballer, Brett Favre gets
his own interview, oh yes, but one of the UK’s biggest stand-up phenomenons? He
barely gets a name check.
It also contains Stiller’s spoof
production feature from the MTV Movie Awards on his fight sequence with ‘Puffy’
the dog, ‘Around the World’ where you can sample the final scene in half-a-dozen
different languages, ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’ karaoke, a Dandy Warhols video and
uninspiring “Easter Egg” (more for the chase than the catch).
It’s a fairly comprehensive
package that could only have been improved upon if it contained a cast
perspective on the film. Definitely one for the collection.
