It often seems that cinema is entirely at the mercy of various fraternities of brothers. Down here we have Wayans brothers with their popular brand of idiocy. Up at the cerebral end we find the Coens the Wachowskis and the Weinsteins. In the middle, somehow straddling both ends of the spectrum, we have the brothers Farrelly of Rhode Island (“just like Family Guy”) the enormously successful duo behind There’s Something About Mary, Dumb And Dumber and Stuck On You.
“I don’t know what it is about brothers”, admits Bobby Farrelly with yet another ridiculously disarming grin. “There is only a year between Peter and me so we grew up liking the same things. When we’re on set we talk among ourselves, make a call and then go give the good news. But the actors and crew know that it’s one voice even when it’s coming from a two-headed thing”.
The Farrelly’s schtick is instantly recognisable. Cameron Diaz may use semen for hair gel. Jim Carrey may get his tongue stuck to an icy post. Lin Shaye may force Woody Harrelson into vomiting sex for rent. But underneath it all, the Farrellys are sweet guys who make slushy romantic comedies.
“We like to think of it as coming from the all human life is here school of comedy”, says Bobby. “We’re all pretty disgusting and selfish and ridiculous sometimes. And one disgusting selfish thing tends to lead to another.”
Phew. We had worried that the Farrellys had given up the disgusting selfish side of things. The Perfect Catch, their 2005 version of Fever Pitch, was a pretty straight rom-com. That film, however, came on the back of The Ringer, a comedy made with the assistance of the Special Olympics starring Johnny Knoxville. How on earth did Bobby persuade the relevant authorities that it wouldn’t be a spazz-ploitation flick?
“It wasn’t easy”, he admits. “At a certain point they wanted final approval on the project but the studio were not prepared to invest millions of dollars if there was a chance that an outside agency could turn around and pull the plug when we had finished shooting. In the end we had to ask them to trust us. And they did.”
The Ringer, like Shallow Hal bangs out a familiar Farrelly theme. Both films represent the mentally impaired, the physically deformed and other groups Hollywood has traditionally regarded as being none of their concern.
“The key thing about acknowledging humanity is acknowledging that people with special needs can be jerks too”, says Bobby. “I hate that in movies if you’re ill or challenged in any way then you have to be virtuous. What’s the point of that? Those people like to laugh at themselves too.”
The Heartbreak Kid, the latest offering from the Farrelly stable, sees them back at their nasty, gross-out best. Ben Stiller stars as Eddie, a single guy who proposes to his new girlfriend (Malin Akerman) a week into their relationship. Sadly, on their Mexican honeymoon, Eddie’s new bride turns out to be a lunatic while his last chance at happiness (Michelle Monaghan) may be lounging on a nearby beach. Chaos swiftly ensues.
“This one has S&M and peeing and a lot of lies so we like to think there’s something for everyone”, says Bobby. “They’re all jokes that are based on our own lives. I know how that must sound but it’s true.”
More S&M may be coming our way if the brothers’ long-cherished dream to bring The Three Stooges to the big screen comes to pass.
“We’ve had a lot of trouble selling the idea”, he admits. “The studios don’t think there’s enough name recognition anymore and they’re also worried that there’ll be nothing in the movie for girls. But we grew up with that humour so we’d love put Benecio Del Toro in there as Mo and see what happens.”
Really?
“Oh yeah”, he says. “If we can. I mean, I’m always amazed that anyone wants to be in our movies so why not?”