BOBBY FARRELLY & PETER FARRELLY (Directors/Co-Screenwriters/Producers) are almost as well known for their loose sets as they are for such outrageous hit comedies as “There’s Something About Mary” and “Dumb And Dumber.” Surrounded by a close-knit group of friends and family, the filmmakers create an air of controlled, but democratic lunacy, where you’d sooner find someone playing a practical joke than barking out orders.
This laid back, “share the wealth” philosophy is at the heart of the Farrellys’ aptly named, Twentieth Century Fox-based Conundrum Productions, which is both home base for the brothers and a launching pad for emerging talent.
Most recently they produced and teamed with Piet Kroon and Tom Sito to co-direct the comedy adventure “Osmosis Jones,” starring Bill Murray, Chris Elliot and Molly Shannon for Warner Bros. A partially animated tale about life inside one man’s virally besieged body, the Fall 2001 release also featured the voices of Chris Rock, David Hyde Pierce and Laurence Fishburne.
The always in-demand Farrellys released “Shallow Hal,” which they directed and produced from a script they co-wrote with Sean Moynahan. A romantic comedy about an unrepentantly shallow man (Jack Black) who falls for a plain woman (Gwyneth Paltrow) blessed with startling inner beauty, “Shallow Hal” opened in theatres in fall 2001.
Falling squarely in the latter category was the company’s first project, “Say It Isn’t So,” a romantic comedy from first-time director, and former Farrelly assistant director, J.B. Rogers, and produced by Peter and Bobby. It opened in March 2001, with Chris Klein and Heather Graham portraying lovebirds who might or might not be siblings.
Playing the taboo for laughs has become something of a cottage industry for the Farrellys, who sent up everything from schizophrenia to cross-racial parenting in “Me, Myself & Irene.” Starring Jim Carey as a state trooper with split personalities, both of whom fall in love with Renée Zelwegger, the film went on to become one of the biggest hits of summer 2000.
It was in 1998 that the Farrellys’ “special” brand of humor really took the world by storm, with the riotous “There’s Something About Mary,” starring Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz and Matt Dillon. Hanging its twisted humor on unexpected plot turns and signature set pieces, the film was a comedic phenomenon, earning more than $350 million worldwide and garnering a New York Films Critics Circle Award (Best Actress for Cameron Diaz), the People’s Choice Award for Best Comedy, two Golden Globe nominations (including Best Picture-Comedy) and four MTV Movie Awards™. In addition, the Farrellys were honored as the 1999 ShoWest Screenwriters of the Year by the National Association of Theatre Owners.
The Farrellys grew up in Cumberland, Rhode Island, a small town where weirdness was embraced and clowning commonplace. Graduating from high school with no apparent career goals, the boys moved reluctantly onto college. Bobby majored in geological engineering at New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, but spent much of his time developing the Sunspot, the world’s first round beach towel. Peter studied business at Providence College before earning a Masters degree in creative writing from Columbia University.
Their first break came when Eddie Murphy took a shine to Peter’s debut script, “Dust To Dust” (which he wrote with a how-to manual). Peter moved to Los Angeles, followed shortly by Bobby, and the two broke out as a screenwriting team, churning out more than a dozen unproduced screenplays, several feature rewrites and a few television credits, including “Seinfeld’s” infamous virgin episode.
After almost a decade of work, the Farrellys still had not made a film, so they decided to take matters into their own hands and direct their next script. Culling heavily from “Dust To Dust,” they cranked out 1994’s “Dumb and Dumber,” teaming Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in a flat-out celebration of stupidity, pratfalls and bodily functions. With Peter at the helm and Bobby co-producing, the low-budget comedy became a blockbuster, grossing more than $340 million worldwide and establishing the Farrellys as hot Hollywood property.
The Farrellys’ next film, “Kingpin,” allowed them to flex their narrative muscles without sacrificing laughs. The bowling spoof, which starred Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid and Bill Murray, was a little darker than the brothers’ previous film, the laughs more subversive, and ended up on several critics’ best of the year lists, including the late Gene Siskel’s.
Following the rousing success of “There’s Something About Mary” in 1998, the Farrellys returned to their Rhode Island roots, writing and producing the coming-of-age comedy “Outside Providence.” Adapted with director/co-writer Michael Corrente from Peter’s debut novel, the film teemed with what Time’s Richard Schickel called “an unblinking frankness about our basic humanity” and opened to critical acclaim in 1999.
Coming up for Conundrum is director Barry Blaustein’s (“Beyond the Mat”) second feature, “The Ringer,” which the Farrellys are producing for Fox Searchlight Pictures. Written by Ricky Blitt and starring Johnny Knoxville (MTV’s “Jackass”), the very un-P.C. comedy revolves around two con men trying to pay off a debt by fixing the Special Olympics.
In their first foray into the television arena, The Farrellys signed a deal with Fox Broadcasting to co-write, direct and executive produce a half-hour comedy series based on the life and persona of Hollywood scribe (and Farrelly friend) Ricky Blitt.
In addition, the brothers are currently developing a project they have been coveting for years, a feature version of “The Three Stooges” (which they once offered to make for no money upfront). As the standard-bearers for the Stooges’ brand of slapstick-sight gag humor, the Farrellys are uniquely qualified to bring the misadventures of Moe, Larry and Curly to the big screen.
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