Peter Farrelly Movies
A published novelist, Peter Farrelly merged his very particular comic sensibilities with younger brother Bobby Farrelly and became one of the premiere auteurs of gross-out comedy. Raised in Cumberland, Rhode Island, Farrelly received a master's degree in creative writing from Columbia University. While he and Bobby attempted to break into Hollywood as screenwriters, Peter also published his first novel, Outside Providence, in 1988. The Farrellys managed to sell two Seinfeld episodes and several screenplays before one, Dumb and Dumber (1994), finally got made.Peter's directorial debut, Dumb and Dumber showcased not only rising star Jim Carrey's manic talents, but also the Farrellys' taste for combining grotesquely-hilarious physical exploits with an affectionate love story -- it became a blockbuster hit. While their Amish bowling comedy Kingpin (1996) failed to match its predecessor's success, the pair's third effort, There's Something About Mary (1998) became a critically-lauded sleeper hit. Described by one critic as "the Wuthering Heights of gross-out comedy," There's Something About Mary's unabashed political incorrectness and outrageous bodily humor neatly punctuated the central romance between Cameron Diaz's bewitching Mary and slightly-obsessive regular guy Ben Stiller. Along with the New York Film Critics' Best Actress prize, There's Something About Mary won several MTV Movie Awards -- and spawned numerous imitators. Taking a step away from their signature tastelessness, Peter published his second novel, The Comedy Writer (1998), and the Farrellys co-scripted and produced Peter's coming-of-age story Outside Providence (1999) for director Michael Corrente. The Farrellys returned to form when they resurrected an old script and retooled it into another Jim Carrey vehicle, Me, Myself & Irene (2000).
Coming off Me, Myself & Irene's mixed reviews for Carrey's shenanigans and relatively disappointing box office performance, Farrelly and Bobby kept busy with several projects that all hit the screen in 2001. After serving as producers on the poorly received incest comedy Say It Isn't So (2001), the Farrellys snuck into the summer movie season with the intriguing comedy Osmosis Jones (2001). The first prominent mix of live action and cartoons since Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), Osmosis Jones found the ideal outlet for the brothers' signature corporeal humor in a story involving an intrepid white blood cell's battle to protect his host's filthy body. Even with Bill Murray and the voices of Chris Rock and Laurence Fishburne, however, Osmosis Jones bombed. The more hyped Shallow Hal (2001), featuring Gwyneth Paltrow as the outwardly obese but inwardly willowy object of Jack Black's affection, failed to bowl over critics with its combination of message movie sincerity and fat jokes, but the audience was less put off. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- 2010
Peter and Bobby Farrelly finally get around to doing their take on the Three Stooges with this MGM production. From a script they penned with Mike Cerrone (Me, Myself & Irene), the brothers' comedic take on the trio will not be a biopic, rather a sampling of new slapstick adventures set in the present day. Benicio Del Toro heads up the trio as Moe, with Paul Giamatti taking over the role of Curly. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benicio Del Toro, Paul Giamatti, (more)
- 2009
The best-selling children's book series Walter the Farting Dog gets adapted with this 20th Century Fox vehicle starring the Jonas Brothers. The hit trio star as a group of brotherly musicians who are made to care for their aunt's farting dog, with smelly results. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Jonathan Hock, who co-directed Through the Fire, which dealt with the auspicious beginning of Sebastian Telfair's NBA career, returns to the sports documentary with The Lost Son of Havana. The movie showsdefector and former major league pitcher Luis Tiant as he returns to Cuba after over 46 years in exile, and flashes back to show highlights from his remarkable pro baseball career. It also deals with Tiant's relationship with his father, who was a star pitcher in Cuba and in the Negro Leagues before the revolution. Luis Tiant was playing in the States during the Bay of Pigs invasion, after which the Cuban government essentially told its baseball players, come home and play as amateurs, or stay out forever. At the age of twenty, urged on by a letter from his father, Tiant made the painful decision to pursue his professional baseball career and abandon his parents, his friends, and his home in Cuba. Aided by the filmmakers, Tiant gets permission to return to Cuba at age 67. There, he finds vast changes, but also many familiar sights and a surprising number of people who still remember him. The filmmakers intercut this voyage home with clips and interviews highlighting Tiant's career. Tiant was a fireballer for the Cleveland Indians in the 1960s, then he broke his shoulder in 1970 playing for the Twins. He reinvented himself as a wily junkballer with a uniquely distracting delivery, and achieved great success with the Boston Red Sox. The film also describes Tiant's efforts to get his parents out of Cuba so they could see him pitch. The Lost Son of Havana had its World Premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, where it was shown in the Encounters section. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2008
Originally titled The Rules for Starting Over, this Fox sitcom starred Craig Bierko) as 35-year-old financier Jack "Gator" Gately. Having gotten married right out of college, Gator was now divorced, and as such obliged to re-enter the "dating scene" that he'd barely been a part of in his bachelor days. Joining Gator in his pursuit of female companionship were his nerdy surgeon pal Freddy Sahgal (Shaun Majumber), likewise recently divorced, and funloving brewery owner Tommy (Johnny Sneed), who'd been married several times previously but had not given up his lifelong quest for the perfect mate. Also a member of this merry band of "unhitched" thirtysomethings was quick-witted Kate (Rashina Jones), recently dumped by her beau after a seven-year relationship. The humor arose from the fact that the protagonists were certainly not naïve in matters of everyday life, but were utterly clueless in the realm of romantic relationships; and oh, yes, there was an abundance of gross-out humor and sex jokes, hardly suprising inasmuch as the series was executive-produced by the inimitable Farrelly Brothers). Created by Mike Bernier and Chris Pappas), Unhitched debuted March 2, 2008. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Bierko, Rashida Jones, (more)
When 40-year-old San Francisco bachelor Eddie Cantrow (Ben Stiller) attends the wedding of his ex-fiancée -- and is seated at a "singles table" full of children -- he realizes maybe he's been too picky in his love life, and it's time to settle down. Fortunately, he doesn't have to compromise his standards when he meets Lila (Malin Akerman), a funny, attractive blond who does environmental research for a living. Lila's company wants to relocate her to Europe, but only because she's single -- they don't force married couples to uproot themselves. So Eddie hastily proposes to her, even though they've only been dating for six weeks. But the moment they exchange vows, Eddie starts to notice Lila's rough edges and annoying habits, which had remained hidden underneath her perfect exterior. Their Cabo San Lucas honeymoon gets off to a rough start full of tuneless pop singalongs and surprising revelations about Lila's job and her past. Things only get worse for a confused Eddie when he meets Miranda (Michelle Monaghan), a Midwesterner in Cabo for a family reunion -- and starts to wish he'd held out just a little bit longer. The Heartbreak Kid is Peter and Bobby Farrelly's remake of the 1972 Elaine May comedy of the same name, starring Charles Grodin. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Stiller, Michelle Monaghan, (more)
Nick Hornby's acclaimed memoir about one man's struggle to balance his love of a woman and his love for soccer was the basis of a well-reviewed British film in 1997, and now gets a Americanized rewrite with this picture, in which the game is changed from soccer to baseball. Ben (Jimmy Fallon) is a high-school teacher who meets Lindsay (Drew Barrymore), who has a successful career in business. Ben and Lindsay don't appear to have much in common on the surface, but they hit it off and are soon involved in a serious romance. But when spring rolls around, Lindsay becomes aware of the true love of Ben's life -- the Boston Red Sox. Despite the team's lamentable record, Ben has been a fiercely loyal Red Sox fan since childhood, and Lindsay finds it hard to compete with his passion for baseball, while Ben is forced to choose between the obsessions of his youth and the enthusiasms of a responsible adult. Fever Pitch was shot in part in Boston during the 2004 baseball season, which to the surprise of the filmmakers saw the Red Sox winning baseball's world series for the first time since 1918. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, (more)
A guy trying to do the right thing ends up taking part in one of the most morally dubious con games in history in this comedy. Steve Barker (Johnny Knoxville) is an office drone who wants to move up the corporate ladder, but when he asks his boss for a promotion, it comes with a condition -- Steve has to fire Stavi (Luis Avalos), who has been the firm's janitor for years. Steve decides to soften the blow by hiring Stavi to do his lawn and garden work. However, an accident robs Stavi of several of his fingers, and since he doesn't have medical insurance, Steve needs to find a way to pay for his surgery. Steve's uncle Gary (Brian Cox), a sleazy type who will bet on anything, also needs some fast cash, and comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme -- Steve was a track star in high school, and with the Special Olympics Championships coming up, all Steve has to do is pretend to be mentally challenged, enter the competition, and win the running events against six-time medalist Jimmy (Leonard Flowers). Gary will bet big on Steve, and the odds will allow them to clean up. Steve is appalled by the idea, but he needs the money badly enough to go along. However, Steve discovers that Jimmy is fast enough that he has little chance of beating him. However, Jimmy's colossal ego has made him many enemies among his fellow Special Olympians, and they're eager enough to see him taken down a peg that they help Steve train for the big event. Matters become all the more complicated when Steve becomes infatuated with Lynn (Katherine Heigl), a beautiful woman who has volunteered to help the challenged athletes, and would doubtless be furious if she found out what Steve was really doing. Produced by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, The Ringer was the first fiction directorial credit for Barry W. Blaustein; the story also parallels a 2004 episode of the animated television series South Park, "Up the Down Steroid." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Knoxville, Brian Cox, (more)
After tackling schizophrenia, obesity, and the inner workings of the vascular system (as represented by an animated Chris Rock), Peter and Bobby Farrelly set their comedic sights on a set of conjoined twins in this broad comedy. Written and directed by the non-twin Farrellys, Stuck on You stars Greg Kinnear and Matt Damon as, respectively, Walt and Bob Tenor, brothers who are so close, they're quite literally joined at the hip. While life in their sleepy, welcoming Martha's Vineyard burgh is comfortable -- the Tenor brothers are the quickest short-order chefs in town, unstoppable hockey goalies, and the most unlikely pair of dinner-theater thespians -- Walt longs to make good on his lifelong dream of becoming a professional actor. The shy, reticent Bob acquiesces to his self-assured brother's wish to move to Hollywood, in part to meet his longtime Internet romantic interest, May (Wen Yann Shih). The twosome finds Tinseltown to be less accommodating than life back east, however, as Walt and Bob come up against flea-ridden apartments, surly bar patrons, and a paucity of roles for actors with an extraneous person attached to them. Things begin to look up when they run into Cher on a studio backlot: Eager to end her commitment to star in a cheesy detective show, she casts Walt as her co-star, hoping the program will fail. When her plan backfires, however, the brothers find themselves on the cusp of fame and fortune -- and consider undergoing the risky surgery that could separate them forever. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, (more)
- 2003
Perhaps the most thorough (and least hokey) of the many TV Three Stooges retrospectives, this NBC special not only concentrates on the most popular members of the comic trio -- Jerry "Curly" Howard, Moe Howard, and Larry Fine -- but also provides generous and laudatory screen time to Curly's successors, Shemp Howard, Joe Besser, and Curly Joe DeRita. As the title indicates, the special covers the years from the Stooges' apprenticeship with comedian Ted Healy, their 25-year tenure with the Columbia Pictures short-subject department, their spectacular comeback in the late '50s thanks to TV exposure of their old films, and their "first love," performing before live audiences all over the world. The film clips shown herein are in pristine condition, and many have not been shown publicly for decades, notably the Stooges' guest appearance on the 1955 syndicated TV series The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theatre and Jack Linkletter's interview with Moe Howard and his family on a 1960 episode of the CBS early-morning program On the Go. Also included are interviews with such dyed-in-the-wool Stooge fans as the Farrelly brothers, Saturday Night Live's Tracy Morgan, and Michael Chiklis, who played Curly Howard in 2000 TV biopic. Narrated by Woody Harrelson, The Three Stooges' 75 Anniversary Special was originally slated to air in November 2002, but for obscure reasons was withheld from view for nearly six months; rest assured, however, that it was well worth waiting for. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Jack Black continues his march to stardom with this typical Farrelly brothers blend of broad comedy and a heartfelt message. Black is Hal Larsen, a shallow man rapidly approaching middle age whose superficiality can be attributed to his father's deathbed admonition to only date young, beautiful women. Hal and his best friend, Mauricio (Jason Alexander), have taken the advice to heart, but Hal finds all of his physically impressive girlfriends consistently lacking in other qualities that would make them ideal mates. When he bumps into self-help guru Tony Robbins (playing himself), the motivational entrepreneur is intrigued by Hal's predicament and hypnotizes him so that he'll only see the inner beauty of women. Hal is quickly smitten with Rosemary Shanahan (Gwyneth Paltrow), a blonde Peace Corps volunteer who's tenderhearted, funny, and intelligent. She is also gorgeous and meets Hal's basic criteria of outer perfection, but what he doesn't realize is that Robbins' spell is working and he cannot see that Rosemary actually weights 300 pounds. When Mauricio is finally able to snap Hal out of his charmed state, Hal's in love with the inwardly perfect woman and must overcome his obsession with beauty. The script for Shallow Hal (2001) was developed when Peter Farrelly enjoyed the humorous letters written to a mutual friend by Sean Moynihan, a computer software executive who followed the filmmaker's advice to take up screenwriting. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black, (more)
Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, the impish impresarios of gross-out comedy, take their body function-inspired humor to new extremes in this mixture of live action and animation. Bill Murray stars as Frank, a zoo worker suffering from the effects of an unknown malady he contracted after eating an egg contaminated with simian saliva. Unknown to Frank, the inside of his body is actually a city (the City of Frank) teeming with cellular life, where the mysterious illness he's fighting is an invading enemy that must be defeated at all costs. It's up to Osmosis Jones (voice of Chris Rock), a white blood cell cop, and Drix (voice of David Hyde Pierce), a rookie over-the-counter medication, to hunt down and stop a lethal virus (Laurence Fishburne) who's got an inferiority complex. Along the way, the partners visit Frank's runny nostrils (Booger Dam) and a bar called, appropriately enough, the Zit. Osmosis Jones costars Molly Shannon and Chris Elliott, and features the vocal talents of William Shatner, producer Joel Silver, and singer Brandy Norwood. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Murray, Molly Shannon, (more)
Bobby Farrelly and brother Peter Farrelly continue exploring outrageous premises with this comedy directed by their first assistant director J.B. Rogers. In this wacky spin on the boy-meets-girl tale, Gilly Noble (Chris Klein) enters a sexually charged, passionate love affair with girl of his dreams Jo Wingfield (Heather Graham). After a happy time together, they soon realize that they are brother and sister and quickly break it off. Jo begins a new life elsewhere and Gilly is left heartbroken -- until he learns that Jo is not actually his sister; the incest suggestion was in fact a lie begun by a meddlesome third party. As Gilly travels to meet up with his beloved, he finds out that Jo is engaged to be married to another man; he must put a stop to it, even while everyone still believes he is Jo's sibling and is committing an unnatural act. Say It Isn't So also features Sally Field, Orlando Jones, and Farrelly stalwarts Richard Jenkins and Lin Shaye. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Klein, Heather Graham, (more)
Six years after Dumb and Dumber, Jim Carrey reunited with Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly for this anarchic comedy with a hint of romance. Charlie (Carrey) is a good-natured Rhode Island state trooper who likes helping people. But years of internalizing his frustrations about his work and his family have caused Charlie to develop an alter ego: Hank, an abusive, violent, sexually compulsive police officer. Charlie can keep Hank at bay with medication, but just barely. When Irene (Renee Zellweger) finds herself in legal trouble through a series of misunderstandings involving her ex-boyfriend, Charlie must escort her on a long drive to New York for questioning. After Charlie loses his medication, he and Hank wind up vying for her affections: Charlie wants Irene to marry him, while Hank has more brutal intentions. Me, Myself, and Irene also features Chris Cooper, Robert Forster, and Jessica Harper, as well as Anthony Anderson, Mongo Brownlee, and Jerod Mixon as Charlie's rotund, African-American sons. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey, Renée Zellweger, (more)
- 1999
- NR
A group of big-city twentysomethings are either looking for love or trying to get love to stick around in the romantic comedy Say You'll Be Mine. Ben (Nicky Katt) is an aspiring writer who for years has had a ferocious crush on his friend Julia (Libby Langdon). But Julia is more interested in his best friend Josh (Daniel Lapaine) -- in fact, they're getting married. Julia, meanwhile, is trying to fix Ben up with Melanie (Megan Ward), who's studying acting; Ben likes Melanie well enough, but is still trying to adjust himself to the fact she just isn't Julia. Ben is looking for advice, but has trouble finding a sympathetic ear -- his sister Chelsea (Justine Bateman) is a divorce lawyer who mistakenly shot her husband and went in to work the next morning. Meanwhile, Melanie has to deal with her roommates, Mason and Catherine (Gil Bellows and Rya Kihlstedt), a married couple who have furiously loud arguments when they're not having furiously louder sex. Say You'll Be Mine was the debut feature for writer/director Brad Kane; he originally wrote the script when he was only 21. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicky Katt, Libby Langdon, (more)
Based on a novel by Peter Farrelly, published in 1988 before he became famous as a writer and director of such films as Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, and There's Something About Mary, Outside Providence is a coming-of-age story set in the 1970s. Timothy Dunphy (Shawn Hatosy), known as Dunph to his friends and Dildo to others, is a high school burn-out with a gift for getting into trouble; it doesn't help that his best friend is named Drugs Delaney (Jon Abrahams), and it somehow makes sense that Dunph's pet would be a three-legged dog with one eye. Dunph's father (Alec Baldwin) is convinced his son is on the fast track to Palookaville, so when Timothy gets in a wreck with a police car, his dad pulls a few strings and enrolls him in a private prep school. Dunph quickly learns the biggest difference between his old friends at home and his new classmates: rich kids have money, and money buys privilege. They can buy drugs from expensive dealers who won't fink on them, and pay for abortions when their girlfriends get unexpectedly pregnant, instead of having to get married. Dunph doesn't entirely fit into a school full of rich kids, but when he falls in love with Jane Weston (Amy Smart), he's determined to win her heart. Peter Farrelly adapted his novel with the help of his brother and screenwriting partner Bobby Farrelly and director Michael Corrente, whose previous credits include the film version of David Mamet's American Buffalo. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shawn Hatosy, Jon Abrahams, (more)
The Farrelly Brothers set this romantic comedy in their home state of Rhode Island. In 1985, when teen-nerd Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller) challenges a high-schooler who's bullying retarded Warren Jenson (W. Earl Brown), his concern prompts Warren's sister, the dazzling and desirable Mary Jenson (Cameron Diaz) to choose Ted as her senior prom date, a fact Ted's pals find hard to believe. However, on prom night, Ted gets his penis caught in his zipper, so the much-desired date never happens. Living in Providence and waxing nostalgic 13 years later, Ted hires Pat Healy (Matt Dillon) to locate Mary, and the creepy private investigator finds her in Miami, where she lives with her tan-shriveled roommate Magda (Lin Shaye). After Pat develops a stalker-style fixation on the lovely, unattached Mary, he lies to Ted, telling him that she's now an overweight mother confined to a wheelchair. Employing professional eavesdropping equipment, Pat gathers a dossier on Mary's life and future plans, information that forms the basis for more lies when Pat begins dating her. Sure enough, Mary falls for Pat, although her friend Tucker (Lee Evans) is very suspicious of Pat's claim to be a Harvard-educated architect. Meanwhile, Ted learns the truth but continues to encounter offbeat obstacles as he accelerates to Miami in hopes of finding happiness with his true love. Former Modern Lovers singer Jonathan Richman vocalizes a narrative ballad of onscreen commentary in the Cat Ballou (1965) tradition. Most of the cast sings and frolics to Build Me Up, Buttercup by The Foundations during the closing credits. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, (more)
In the '70s, Roy Munsen (Woody Harrelson) was a bowling phenomenon. He was none too sharp about picking friends, though, and the champion he had to beat, "Big Ern," takes him under his supposedly friendly wing. Big Ern (Bill Murray) shows him the high-living lifestyle, and induces him to go on the road with him, hustling small-town bowlers. A couple of the men he bilks take exception to the scam, and show their displeasure with Roy by mangling his hand. Twenty years later, Roy (who now has a hook in place of his hand), earns his living as a salesman. On a visit to a bowling alley, he cannot help but notice the incredible talents of an Amish boy, Ishmael (Randy Quaid). Bowling is not part of the Amish lifestyle, but Ishmael occasionally sneaks into the bowling alley and plays a frame or two. Roy takes Ishmael under his wing, and together they begin a quest for bowling success. This comedy is directed by Peter and Robert Farrelly, who also directed Dumb and Dumber. Like those comedies, it contains a lot of gross-out jokes and bathroom humor. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, (more)
Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels play the title roles (though viewers may find themselves debating which is which) in this genially low-brow comedy. Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) are two intellectually-challenged best friends who share an apartment so messy that gangsters aren't sure how to trash the place; the guys also have a certain problem (not difficult to understand) holding on to jobs. Lloyd is working as a limo driver in Rhode Island when he picks up a beautiful and wealthy woman named Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly) who is being taken to the airport. Lloyd immediately falls head over heels in love with Mary, and when she leaves a briefcase at the airport, he's determined to return it in hopes of impressing her. Lloyd isn't able to get aboard Mary's flight (though not for lack of trying). Harry has a van decorated to look like a dog (to promote his failing dog-grooming business), and the pair hop in the Poochmobile to find Mary in Aspen. What Lloyd and Harry don't know is that the briefcase is full of money, which Mary deliberately left at the airport as a ransom payment to save the life of her kidnapped husband. Incidentally, Lloyd's chipped front tooth happens to be real; while Jim Carrey had the injured tooth capped many years ago, he thought a broken smile would suit Lloyd's character and had the cap removed for the duration of filming. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, (more)
