Farrelly brothers

Peter Farrelly
Born	Peter John Farrelly December 17, 1956 Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Film director, writer, screenwriter, producer

Bobby Farrelly
Born	Robert Leo Farrelly, Jr. June 17, 1958 Cumberland, Rhode Island, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Film director, writer, screenwriter, producer

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. They have made eleven films, including Dumb and Dumber; Kingpin; Hall Pass; Me, Myself & Irene; Shallow Hal; Stuck on You; Osmosis Jones; There's Something About Mary; Fever Pitch (also known as The Perfect Catch outside America); the 2007 remake of The Heartbreak Kid; The Three Stooges;^[1] and Dumb and Dumber To.

Early life

The brothers were raised in Cumberland, Rhode Island and are of Irish descent. Following college they pursued careers as television writers, notably for Seinfeld.

Themes

Each of the brothers' first four films (Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, There's Something About Mary, and Me, Myself & Irene) has a plot centering around a road trip. These trips all originate in Rhode Island, except for Kingpin which begins in Pennsylvania. Their films make frequent use of slapstick and toilet humor, and are often populated with blunt, profane working-class characters in small roles. Many of their films contain flashback scenes that show how a character was affected by a traumatic event. The brothers are also noted for their soundtracks, which typically feature diverse selections of classic and contemporary power pop and folk rock songs.

Sports are a common feature of their films and they have often cast sports stars (particularly from New England teams) for bit parts and cameo appearances including Cam Neely, Roger Clemens, Brett Favre, Anna Kournikova and Tom Brady.

The brothers have been praised and critiqued for the way they use the subject of disability in their films. 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^[2]

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

Peter Farrelly has published books including Outside Providence and The Comedy Writer.

Filmography

Peter and Bobby Farrelly in the East Village, 2009.

Film credits

The Farrelly brothers have collaborated on the following films:

Year	Title	Directors	Producers	Writers	Note(s)
1994	Dumb and Dumber
1996	Kingpin
1998	There's Something About Mary
1999	Outside Providence
2000	Me, Myself & Irene
2001	Say It Isn't So
	Osmosis Jones				Live action scenes
	Shallow Hal
2003	Stuck on You
2005	Fever Pitch
	The Ringer
2007	The Heartbreak Kid
2011	Hall Pass
2012	The Three Stooges
2014	Dumb and Dumber To				Sequel to Dumb and Dumber

Television credits

Year	Title	Note(s)
1992	Seinfeld	1 episode: "The Virgin"; Co-writers
2002	Ozzy and Drix	Executive Producers; animated series
2008	Unhitched	1 episode: "Pilot"; Director, producers

References

1. Pringle, Gill (2011) "A fresh pass from the Farrelly brothers", The Independent, March 4, 2011; retrieved May 8, 2011.
2. "Ability Magazine: Farrelly Brothers". Retrieved 2012-04-06.

External links

• Peter Farrelly at the Internet Movie Database
• Bobby Farrelly at the Internet Movie Database