Farrelly Brothers

Peter John Farrelly (born December 17, 1956) and Robert Leo "Bobby" Farrelly, Jr. (born June 17, 1958), professionally known as the Farrelly brothers, are American screenwriters and directors of eleven comedy films, including There's Something About Mary; Dumb and Dumber; Kingpin; Hall Pass; Me, Myself & Irene; Shallow Hal; Stuck on You; Osmosis Jones; Fever Pitch (also known as The Perfect Catch outside of America), the 2007 remake of The Heartbreak Kid, and The Three Stooges.

The Farrelly brothers are from Cumberland, Rhode Island, and many of their movies partially take place in that state, or elsewhere in New England. Sports play a large part in their films and they have cast many popular sports stars for cameo appearances. The Farrelly brothers frequently cast Rob Moran, Steve Tyler and sports figures (e.g. Cam Neely; Roger Clemens; Brett Favre) in their films. The Farrelly brothers are of Irish descent.

They have been both praised and criticized for their humorous use of disability. On this use, Peter Farrelly has commented:

"The problem is not that we look down on these people, but rather that we look up at them and feel that they are better than us.... we revere them." —Peter Farrelly, "Ability Magazine: Farrelly Brothers’’". http://www.abilitymagazine.com/farrelly-brothers.html. Retrieved 2012-04-06.

They frequently depict able-bodied people as stupid (Dumb and Dumber) while they show disabled people as being aspirational (Shallow Hal, Stuck on You) or gifted (Me, Myself & Irene).

They use slapstick and toilet humor, often with a soundtrack of upbeat, light rock songs. Their films often contain flashback scenes that show how a character was affected by a traumatic event.

The female interests in three of their films are named Mary: Dumb and Dumber; There's Something about Mary; Shallow Hal. Their mother's name is Mariann. Peter Farrelly has published books including Outside Providence and The Comedy Writer. The quote, "The heart wants what the heart wants" is repeated both in Me, Myself & Irene and The Heartbreak Kid.

The Farrelly brothers founded a production company called Conundrum Entertainment and were producing the comedy series Unhitched on FOX before it was cancelled.

From May to July 2011, The Farrelly brothers filmed The Three Stooges as the film's directors and producers. The film stars Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe Howard, Sean Hayes as Larry Fine, and Will Sasso as Curly Howard, and was released on April 13, 2012.