Issue date: 1/30/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Courtesy Universal Pictures Stiller regurgitates chops from ´There´s Something About Mary´ for warmed-over ´Polly.´ [Click to enlarge]

Ben Stiller frequently relies on self-deprecating humor that is put on display yet again in his latest romantic comedy "Along Came Polly."

After his wife sleeps with a scuba instructor on their honeymoon, Reuben (Stiller) returns home and begins a relationship with his long-lost high school friend Polly (Jennifer Aniston). The pair have opposite personalities, Reuben the corporate stiff, Polly the carefree spirit, but they display a remarkable charisma on screen. Tired gags from Stiller's past films, like "There's Something About Mary," get rehashed throughout" "Along Came Polly" and draw more cringe laughs than anything else.

Supporting performances run both hot and cold. Alec Baldwin plays Reuben's smarmy boss Stan and exhibits a great comedic timing. Conversely, Reuben's pal Sandy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a former child movie star whose disgusting antics ruin every scene he is in.

Unfortunately, the humor that was fresh five years ago in Stiller's classic "There's Something About Mary" simply falls flat in "Along Came Polly."

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