The Heartbreak Kid Review

by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)
October 25th, 2007
"The Heartbreak Kid" - This One Hurts
by Homer Yen
(c) 2007

What happens when you rush into partnership too blindingly fast and approach your commitment with half-hearted seriousness? Well, that's the story
of Eddie Cantrow (Ben Stiller) who gets more than
he bargained for when he marries an unbearable
woman named Lila (Malin Akerman). Well, during
their initial whirlwind romance, you couldn't
tell that Lila would turn out to be such a
monster. You couldn't even tell that Eddie was
the marrying type.

The premise of the film seems like a sure thing. There is always laughter to be found in
situations where someone isn't quite prepared for
the consequences of a long-term commitment. And,
Ben Stiller's insouciance is always welcome. But
the film is much too rough around the edges and instead of being a romantic comedy, it's more
like mean-spirited bullying.

The big problem is that there isn't much to like
about either of the two main characters. Eddie
is a shallow-minded bachelor type. He's a
selfish slacker that makes you wonder why any
girl would want to devote their life to him. The amount of weight that he associates with the exchanging of vows is right in line with - oh, I
dunno - which degree of spiciness he would like applied to his Hooters wings. Lila seems nice
enough at first, but then after the wedding,
morphs into something that can only be described
as obnoxious and predatory. She is the marrying
man's worst nightmare. This is not to say that
Malin Akerman, the actress, is a bad actress. If anything, she plays the part beautifully. It's
just that her character is nothing to be proud
of.

Anyway, while on their honeymoon in Mexico, Lila
comes down with a bad case of sunburn and is
unable to leave her room. This gives Eddie a
chance to explore, and he meets up with the
comely and easy-going Miranda (Michelle
Monaghan). They fall for each other, and Eddie,
who is never the eloquent one or the proper
planner, fails to mention that he's married.

Hey, love is sweet, and again, this could be very funny watching Eddie trying to live out two
separate lives in uncomfortable proximity of the
two women. They are all at the same hotel, so
there should be lots of funny moments as Eddie
tries to juggle. This setup was done hilariously
in a film like "Mrs. Doubtfire" (woah, way back
in 1993) with Robin Williams. And, it probably could've worked better here if the film wanted to
be a family comedy. But, this is a project by
the Farrelly Brothers who strive to do things
dumb and dumber. And the bad language and the
nudity and the bathroom humor destroy its
wholesome fun.

How did I feel after I watched this insipid
comedy? Well, it's oddly over-the-top in the categories of sex, language, and violence. And,
it all seemed needlessly so. It was just discomforting overkill. I think that Ben Stiller uttered my feelings correctly with his last two
spoken words at the end of the film.

Grade: C-

S: 3 out of 3
L: 3 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3

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