There's Something About Mary

WORST

Ben Stiller and the Farrelly Brothers: OK, first off, we like Ben Stiller and Peter and Bobby Farrelly. One of the greatest comedies of the '90s was the Farrelly's ode to love among the freaks, "There's Something About Mary," and Stiller's proven enormous talent in ... moreacting, writing and directing. He also makes us cry at the end of Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums," so he's clearly no slouch. These guys are good, or rather, they should be good. But this year, all three fell off the rails in unison with their odious remake of Elaine May's dark comic masterpiece, "The Heartbreak Kid." An unfunny, mean-spirited, lazily written misfire, the movie only underscored the filmmaker's shortcomings and stale routine (we get it -- we get that when you show us something really gross, we're supposed to laugh depite ourselves ... we're not laughing) while putting Stiller through a variety of humiliating scenarios. What's worse, a mature, human movie that also included some gross-out moments ("Knocked Up") revealed that, when taking a little effort, and not relying on the same old shock tactics, a meaningful experience can be had involving a joke about fecal matter. Watch and learn, boys -- and for God's sake, in the future, please stay far, far away from Elaine May. (Paramound Pictures)