Peter Farrelly Peter John Farrelly (born December 17, 1956) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and novelist. Along with his brother Bobby Farrelly, Bobby, the Farrelly brothers are mostly famous for directing and producing quirky comedy and r ...

and

Bobby Farrelly Robert Farrelly (born June 17, 1958) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is one of the Farrelly brothers, alongside his brother Peter, who together are known for directing and producing successful box-office comedy films ...

, collectively referred to as the Farrelly brothers, are American screenwriters and directors. They have made eleven films together,Are The Farrelly Brothers Breaking Up?-CinemaBlend
/ref> mostly comedies, including '' Dumb and Dumber'' and ''

There's Something About Mary ''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ed Decter and John J. Strauss. The film features Cameron Diaz as the title character, while Ben S ...

''.

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 ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

''.

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 on a road trip. These trips all originate in

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, except for ''Kingpin'', which begins in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Their films make frequent use of

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

and

toilet humor Toilet humour or potty humour is a type of off-colour humour dealing with: defecation (including diarrhea and constipation), in which case it is called scatological humour (compare scatology); urination; flatulence, in which case it is called fla ...

and are often populated with blunt, profane

working-class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

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 distinctive selections of classic and contemporary

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

and

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

songs. Sports are a common feature of their films, and they have often cast sports stars (particularly from

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

teams) for bit parts and

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

s, including Cam Neely, Johnny Damon, Roger Clemens,

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 cons ...

, Anna Kournikova, and

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

. The brothers have been praised and critiqued for the way they use the subject of

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, d ...

in their films. Peter Farrelly has commented: Peter Farrelly has published books, including '' Outside Providence'' and '' The Comedy Writer''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farrelly brothers 1956 births 1958 births Living people Brother duos American people of Irish descent American people of Polish descent American male screenwriters Screenwriting duos People from Cumberland, Rhode Island Sibling filmmakers Writers from Rhode Island Film directors from Rhode Island Screenwriters from Rhode Island Film producers from Rhode Island American television directors American television producers American disability rights activists