‘It was embarrassing’: 27 years ago, Ben Stiller was too embarrassed to film Mary’s most iconic scene at any cost.

The cult comedy Mary at All Costs was a huge success, grossing $369 million worldwide against an estimated budget of $23 million. It was also a hit in France, attracting 3.5 million curious people.

Ultra cult comedy

Directed by Peter and Bobby Farrell, the film introduces Ted, played by Ben Stiller. An eternal loser with a big heart, he decides to rekindle the flame of his childhood love: the towering Mary, played by Cameron Diaz.

To find her, he hires a private detective, Pat Hill (Matt Dillon), an idea as brilliant as hiring a fox to watch the hen house. Hill goes to Miami, meets Mary, and discovers that she’s still hot, cute, devoted to disabled kids… and above all, single.

Suffice to say, the detective quickly loses his sense of mission. Neither one nor two, he tells Ted that Mary has become obese, wheelchair-bound, and a mother of 4. Clean, tidy, efficient.

Except the plan goes awry: a certain Tucker, the so-called architect (and a big myth before the Lord), is also crazy about Mary. The two misfits then decide to unite Teddy, who, of course, arrives in Miami ready to play Romeo and Juliet under the palm trees.

“Gel” style of discord.

Mary goes out of her way to pull off iconic sequences, such as when young Ted gets his family jewels stuck in his pants fly. Classic! But there is another scene that has caused the audience to laugh, the famous “gel” in Mary’s hair.

After years of bad luck and embarrassment, Teddy finally manages to meet his girlfriend, which is a real miracle for this champion of discomfort. Before leaving, nervous as a teenager before a first date, Ted follows his friend’s advice: “Get some rest before you go.”… that is, treat yourself to relieve pressure.

That’s why he runs to the bathroom before Mariam arrives. Problem: After the act, he can’t find where the famous “evidence of the crime” went. He searches everywhere, panics and opens the door for Mary. Then we find out that the sperm got stuck… to her ear!

Believing it to be hair gel, Mary innocently takes the substance and rubs it into her hair to restyle it. The result: a strand frozen in the air like a punk chic unicorn, an image that became instantly iconic.

If the audience all had a good laugh at this absurd and hilarious situation, it’s definitely not Ben Stiller’s business. In 2010, he entrusted me New York Times His discomfort with filming this scene. And it was not the embarrassing side of the joke that was embarrassing to him, but the surreal aspect of it. It was impossible for the actor not to notice the presence of sperm on Ted’s ear.

Ben Stiller reluctantly

“My big problem with that scene, and I talked about it at length with the Farrell brothers, was that the character couldn’t feel the sperm in his ear.”he emphasized.

My big problem with this scene was how the character couldn’t feel the presence of sperm on her ear.

“I went out of my way to make sure my character had a story that explained his addiction. That he lost his senses because he got punched in the face as a child or something. Eventually, they asked me to stop thinking about it.”continued the actor.

“I remember thinking it’s either going to be really funny, really good and different, or the worst movie ever made. I remember that. I remember it like this, it’s going to be very awkward. And it was, awkward. But the movie is also funny. It’s fun to watch it with the audience, seeing the same moments make you laugh the same way.Ben Stiller admitted.

Despite the actor’s reservations, Mary at any cost was a major success of the 90s. As for the “Freeze” scene, it’s really typical of the Farrelly brothers’ humor: lots of visual vomit, supposed discomfort, and a good dose of sophomoric talk about sexuality and male awkwardness.

If you want to watch it (again), the movie is available on Disney+.