THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY Co-Director Talks About His Scrapped Plans for a Sequel

There’s Something About Mary was among the long list of ‘90s comedies created by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, better known as The Farrelly Brothers. Their top-grossing fan-favorites included titles like Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, and Stuck on You, as well as There’s Something About Mary. It had a great cast, including Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller, and Matt Dillon, and it followed the story of Ted (Stiller), a man who still holds a fondness for his high school crush (Diaz), with whom he shared an excruciatingly embarrassing night. After hiring a private investigator (Dillon) to track her down in the age before social media, he then has to compete to win back her affections.

The movie was a one-shot story that ends happily, and I don’t think anyone ever put too much thought into whether we might get a sequel, but it turns out that almost happened.

In a recent interview with Peter Farrelly, the director told CB that the studio toyed with the idea of a sequel after the first film:

"You know, Dumb & Dumber was the one, like you could do ten Dumb and Dumbers, honestly, and I really enjoyed Dumb & Dumber 2 -- the one that we did. And I love those two guys, so...bring it back. Somethign About Mary, when it came out they did talk about a sequel -- the studio -- and honestly we were like, 'It ended, that's the thing.’”

He added that they briefly toyed with the idea of There's Something Else About Mary, which would have revealed a shocking -- and apparently not safe for work -- secret about the character's past...but studio bosses were not into it, so the Farrelly Brothers moved on.

I watched There’s Something About Mary a few years ago, and it really didn’t hold up that well. There were a few laughs, but so many of the edgy jokes from 1998 are simply unacceptable now. I don’t think the movie needed a sequel, and I’m glad the Farrelly brothers moved forward and made other funny movies instead of going for the easy paycheck.