---
name: "Peter Farrelly"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/peter-farrelly"
fi1m_id: "peter-farrelly"
imdb_id: "nm0268380"
tmdb_id: 7396
wikidata_id: "Q1368300"
roles: ["Director","Producer","Writer"]
born: "17 December 1956"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 56
average_as: "director"
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-10-22T04:23:41.258822+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Peter Farrelly

## Identity

Peter Farrelly

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/peter-farrelly
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** peter-farrelly
- **IMDb ID:** nm0268380
- **TMDB ID:** 7396
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1368300
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Farrelly, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1368300, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268380/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7396

Director and producer. Born 17 December 1956 in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Producer, Writer
- **Born:** 17 December 1956, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, USA
- **Active:** 1994–present
- **Also known as:** Peter John Farrelly, 피터 패럴리
- **Frequently works with:** [Charles B. Wessler](https://film.one/person/charles-b-wessler.md), [Bobby Farrelly](https://film.one/person/bobby-farrelly.md), [Matt Dillon](https://film.one/person/matt-dillon.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscars (2 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 56, as director, over 6 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 77 (2), 2000s 55 (1), 2010s 44 (2), 2020s 40 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 56 to 56 across 6 titles
- **Score spread:** 0 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 3 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 6, Drama 2, Romance 2, Action 1, Adventure 1, Fantasy 1
- **Screen time:** 11 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,112m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Farrelly, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1368300, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0268380/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7396

## Coming up

- *I Play Rocky* (2026-11-06), Director — [page](https://film.one/film/i-play-rocky.md)

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Balls Up*](https://film.one/film/balls-up.md) (40), [*Movie 43*](https://film.one/film/movie-43.md) (24)
- **Netflix:** [*Green Book*](https://film.one/film/green-book.md) (64)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Peter Farrelly

> Peter Farrelly gets laughs from people making a determined mess of simple tasks. We like his patience with foolishness, though *Dumb and Dumber* also shows how often he lets a joke outstay its welcome.

Jim Carrey stretches a facial expression beyond the point where most actors would have stopped, and Peter Farrelly lets him keep going. In *Dumb and Dumber* (1994), that freedom produces some of the laughs and some of the waiting between them. We laughed at Carrey’s mugging and felt a little foolish afterwards, because the effort he puts into each ridiculous face is hard to resist. Farrelly’s indulgence is useful here, until the effort becomes more obvious than the joke.

The writing explains both the appeal and the limitation. Peter, Bobby Farrelly and Bennett Yellin keep giving the pair jobs that should be easy, then finding ways for them to fail. Carrey and Jeff Daniels are good enough together to make the briefcase-returning trip worth following, but the ransom plot is mostly something to get through. The loose road structure permits another encounter whenever one runs dry, and it also allows the same joke to return with little improvement. A firmer cut would help the bathroom routines, which can continue long after surprise has worn off.

That combination of physical excess and affection shaped the films Peter made with his brother Bobby, including *Kingpin* (1996), *There’s Something About Mary* (1998) and *Dumb and Dumber To* (2014). Romance fitted readily alongside the bodily indignities, and *Mary* made particular use of the brothers’ feel for a comic ensemble. Their willingness to spend time with foolish characters gives the actors room to make them worth following. *Dumb and Dumber* gives us the clearest reason to value that approach: the double act remains entertaining when the plot has ceased to be much help.

*Green Book* (2018) moved his solo directing towards quieter drama, though the road trip remained. The change makes sense to us: he had already made travelling companions more interesting than the errand that put them together. The later *The Greatest Beer Run Ever* (2022) drew criticism for clichés and overly insistent lessons, a tendency we would not want him to pursue. Start with *Dumb and Dumber*, provided bathroom humour still has comic possibilities for you, and allow for a director reluctant to call time on it.

## Biography

Peter Farrelly is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Born on 17 December 1956 in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, he frequently collaborates with his brother Bobby Farrelly.

The Farrelly brothers directed and wrote several comedy films, including *Dumb and Dumber* (1994), *There's Something About Mary* (1998), *Me, Myself & Irene* (2000) and *Shallow Hal* (2001). Farrelly also directed *Green Book* (2018) on his own.

The film *Green Book* (2018) won the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, themoviedb.org.*

## On Fi1m (6)

- *Balls Up* (2026), Fi1m 40, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/balls-up.md)
- *Green Book* (2018), Fi1m 64, Producer, Writer, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/green-book.md)
- *Movie 43* (2013), Fi1m 24, Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/movie-43.md)
- *Shallow Hal* (2001), Fi1m 55, Director, Screenplay, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/shallow-hal.md)
- *There's Something About Mary* (1998), Fi1m 78, Executive Producer, Screenplay, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/theres-something-about-mary.md)
- *Dumb and Dumber* (1994), Fi1m 76, Director, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/dumb-and-dumber.md)

## Complete filmography (36)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *I Play Rocky* (2026), Director, Producer — coming soon, [page](https://film.one/film/i-play-rocky.md)
- *Balls Up* (2026), Director — Fi1m 40, [page](https://film.one/film/balls-up.md)
- *The Man Who Saves the World?* (2025), Executive Producer
- *Dear Santa* (2024), Producer, Screenplay, Story
- *Ricky Stanicky* (2024), Director, Screenstory, Screenplay
- *Lucky Hank* (2023), series, Executive Producer, Director
- *The Greatest Beer Run Ever* (2022), Screenplay, Director
- *The Now* (2021), series, Director, Writer, Creator
- *Sam & Mattie Make a Zombie Movie* (2021), Executive Producer
- *Green Book* (2018), Director, Writer, Producer — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/green-book.md)
- *Hot Summer Nights* (2018), Executive Producer
- *Loudermilk* (2017), series, Executive Producer, Director, Writer, Creator
- *The Leisure Class* (2015), Producer
- *Dumb and Dumber To* (2014), Director, Writer, Producer
- *Clear History* (2013), as Poker Buddy
- *Movie 43* (2013), Producer, Director — Fi1m 24, [page](https://film.one/film/movie-43.md)
- *The Three Stooges* (2012), Director, Screenplay, Producer
- *Hall Pass* (2011), Screenplay, Director, Producer
- *The Lost Son of Havana* (2009), Executive Producer
- *Unhitched* (2008), series, Executive Producer, Director
- *The Heartbreak Kid* (2007), Director, Screenplay
- *The Ringer* (2005), Producer
- *Fever Pitch* (2005), Director
- *Stuck on You* (2003), Producer, Director, Screenplay, Story
- *Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd* (2003), Characters
- *Ozzy & Drix* (2002), series, Executive Producer
- *Shallow Hal* (2001), Director, Producer, Screenplay — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/film/shallow-hal.md)
- *Osmosis Jones* (2001), Producer, Director
- *Say It Isn't So* (2001), Producer
- *Me, Myself & Irene* (2000), Director, Screenplay, Producer
- *Outside Providence* (1999), Screenplay, Producer, Novel
- *There's Something About Mary* (1998), Executive Producer, Director, Screenplay — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/theres-something-about-mary.md)
- *Kingpin* (1996), Director
- *Dumb and Dumber* (1994), Director, Writer — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/dumb-and-dumber.md)
- *Paul Reiser: Out on a Whim* (1987), Writer
- *(Saint) Peter*, Executive Producer

## Gallery

- ![Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of their' Lost Son of Havana.](https://film.one/media/person/85089/gallery-90eb306c07e3.jpg) Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of their' Lost Son of Havana. — David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Peter_Farrelly_and_Bobby_Farrelly_at_the_2009_Tribeca_Film_Festival.jpg/1280px-Peter_Farrelly_and_Bobby_Farrelly_at_the_2009_Tribeca_Film_Festival.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Peter Farrelly and Larry David at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival](https://film.one/media/person/85089/gallery-60e369d3a687.jpg) Peter Farrelly and Larry David at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival — David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Peter_Farrelly_and_Larry_David_2009_Tribeca.jpg/1280px-Peter_Farrelly_and_Larry_David_2009_Tribeca.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Peter Farrelly attends the premiere of "I Play Rocky" during the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 12, 2026 in ](https://film.one/media/person/85089/gallery-893f04cba350.jpg) Peter Farrelly attends the premiere of "I Play Rocky" during the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 12, 2026 in  — Gabriel Hutchinson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Peter_Farrelly_at_TIFF_2026_01.jpg/1280px-Peter_Farrelly_at_TIFF_2026_01.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Peter Farrelly attends the premiere of "I Play Rocky" during the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 12, 2026 in ](https://film.one/media/person/85089/gallery-0c6fa9d318f6.jpg) Peter Farrelly attends the premiere of "I Play Rocky" during the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 12, 2026 in  — Gabriel Hutchinson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Peter_Farrelly_at_TIFF_2026_02.jpg/1280px-Peter_Farrelly_at_TIFF_2026_02.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Peter Farrelly](https://film.one/media/person/85089/gallery-54369b13a477.jpg) Peter Farrelly — Image via TMDB
- ![Peter Farrelly](https://film.one/media/person/85089/gallery-c9381d1f1d8c.jpg) Peter Farrelly — David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Peter_Farrelly_at_the_2009_Tribeca_Film_Festival.jpg/1280px-Peter_Farrelly_at_the_2009_Tribeca_Film_Festival.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 2 won

- 2019: Best Picture (won), for *Green Book*
- 2019: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (won), for *Green Book*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/peter-farrelly