The Farrelly Brothers set this romantic comedy in their home state of Rhode Island. In 1985, when teen-nerd Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller) challenges a high-schooler who's bullying retarded Warren Jenson (W. Earl Brown), his concern prompts Warren's sister, the dazzling and desirable Mary Jenson (Cameron Diaz) to choose Ted as her senior prom date, a fact Ted's pals find hard to believe. However, on prom night, Ted gets his penis caught in his zipper, so the much-desired date never happens. Living in Providence and waxing nostalgic 13 years later, Ted hires Pat Healy (Matt Dillon) to locate Mary, and the creepy private investigator finds her in Miami, where she lives with her tan-shriveled roommate Magda (Lin Shaye). After Pat develops a stalker-style fixation on the lovely, unattached Mary, he lies to Ted, telling him that she's now an overweight mother confined to a wheelchair. Employing professional eavesdropping equipment, Pat gathers a dossier on Mary's life and future plans, information that forms the basis for more lies when Pat begins dating her. Sure enough, Mary falls for Pat, although her friend Tucker (Lee Evans) is very suspicious of Pat's claim to be a Harvard-educated architect. Meanwhile, Ted learns the truth but continues to encounter offbeat obstacles as he accelerates to Miami in hopes of finding happiness with his true love. Former Modern Lovers singer Jonathan Richman vocalizes a narrative ballad of onscreen commentary in the Cat Ballou (1965) tradition. Most of the cast sings and frolics to Build Me Up, Buttercup during the closing credits.

Hoosiers may be one of the most loved sports films, but it has not received the attention it deserves on DVD. Originally released on DVD by Live Entertainment (now Artisan), then acquired by MGM, this disc is lacking in many ways. The image, framed at the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, is an anamorphic transfer and shows a fair amount of grain. Still, even with the grain, the image holds up quite well, especially in the use of color. Reds, prominent throughout the film, are solid and really stand out. The sound, a Dolby Digital Surround mix, is centered up front, but is recorded far too low. It's necessary to turn up the volume in order to hear dialogue, but needs to be lowered when the rousing music begins. The only soundtrack is in English. Closed captions are available in only English. As for extras, there aren't very many. There is only a trailer, which is a real shame, as a commentary or a documentary on actual Indiana high school basketball would be a real treat. It is hard not to love this film, but one is saddened that more could not be done for the disc.