Why is Harold and Maude mentioned in There's Something About Mary?
I was rewatching There's Something about Mary recently and in the movie they specifically mention Harold and Maude. I've never seen it but I've heard that movie is kind of weird. It is about a boy that ends up dating a much older woman from what I understand. In There's Something About Mary, Mary says it is the greatest love story of our time.
I was wondering is there some sort of underlying joke or any thematic elements that Something About Mary and Harold and Maude share? Have the Farrelly brothers ever mentioned anything about it? My cursory google searches haven't provided me with much on the subject.
Here is a clip from There's Something about Mary: https://vimeo.com/127384854
And this happens after Healy listens in on a conversation between Mary and Magda.
Mary: It's like that movie Harold and Maude.
Magda: I don't watch the new ones.
Mary: Well, you should, because it's probably the greatest love story of our time.
Best Answer
Although you may never see it online, there is no doubt that the Farrelly Brothers and other directors like Wes Anderson are huge fans of the great Hal Ashby.
When Matt Dillon brings up the movie the second time, he has to throw in a second movie and there is nothing that is so opposite Harold and Maude as The Karate Kid. You assume he has no taste, so the implication is that The Karate Kid is not on par with Harold and Maude. So, this was a tribute to a great cult classic. It was a film that surely influenced the brothers.
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What is the meaning of Harold and Maude?
Harold and Maude are a metaphor for the life cycle. Harold is life obsessed with death and Maude is death obsessed with life. Together they are able to reach equilibrium and close the gap between two generations, both lost and grieving.Was Maude in a concentration camp?
Maude doesn't notice but Harold is visibly shocked. It is a tiny glimpse into her past , which is never mentioned explicitly nor alluded to again. She probably was a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, where she came close to death so many times.Is Harold dead at the end of Harold and Maude?
Harold is death, Maude life, and they manage to make the two seem so similar that life's hardly worth the extra bother. The visual style makes everyone look fresh from the Wax Museum, and all the movie lacks is a lot of day-old gardenias and lilies and roses in the lobby, filling the place with a cloying sweet smell.What is the theme of Harold and Maude?
The theme of the film revolved around life and living, and how Maude teaches the value of it to this death-obsessed Harold. Before they met, all Harold knew was death-related things like funerals, demolition sites, and fake suicides.The Importance of Harold and Maude
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