Writer: Scot Armstrong, Leslie Dixon
Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Cast: Ben Stiller, Jerry Stiller, Michelle Monaghan, Malin Akerman, Carlos Mencia, Rob Corddry
Rating: R
Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
Release Date: December 26, 2007
Ben Stiller and the Farrelly brothers (Peter and Bobby) first worked together on There’s Something about Mary. After that movie, both Stiller and the Farrellys skyrocketed in popularity. Despite their success, Stiller and the Farrellys have not had a chance to work together in the nine years since Mary was released. The Heartbreak Kid is their first collaboration since then and I have to say that it’s one that would have been better left behind them both. This movie is so incredibly trite that it could have been described in a one word review. Disappointing.
I would ask for my money back, but I got this one for free. While I am normally a fan of Stiller and his throw caution to the wind, silly, comedic moments, this movie was just uninteresting. I attempted to find something nice to say about this before writing a review about it, but I am still trying to come up with something and the review cannot wait forever.
Instead, I will tell you what I do know about my feelings regarding this movie. It was boring. The laughs were timed wrong. The directing was elementary, at best. At 115 minutes, this movie is way too long. There is not one character that is dynamic, remotely interesting, or relatable. In short, I would have rather clipped my toenails for two hours then wasted my time watching this drivel.
Release Information:
The Heartbreak Kid was greeted with a lukewarm reception at the theaters when it came out earlier this year. This could have been for a number of reasons such as the public was skeptical after Stiller’s depressing movie, Night at the Museum or the fact that the Farrelly brothers haven’t seen a hit in the last nine years. Then again, maybe it was the fact that a good majority of loose remakes end up failures. Either way, The Heartbreak Kid headed onto DVD on December 26, 2007. It is currently available on Amazon for the bargain price of $14.99.
The The Heartbreak Kid Plot
Before I begin, I have to admit I hate even having to describe the plot. It’s not even worth talking about, but I suppose once every thousand movies a critic has to talk about the worst movie they have seen all year. I guess that makes The Heartbreak Kid mine. The movie begins with the 40 year old, Eddie Cantrow (Stiller). Cantrow is a bachelor that is forced to spend his life at the kiddie table or with other old, single people when he goes to weddings. Eddie does not have to deal with this long though, as he soon meets Lila (Malin Akerman) who is set to change Cantrow’s bad luck with women.
The couple date for six weeks before they end up getting married. Cantrow agrees to marry Lila to keep her from leaving for Europe. Lila is involved in environmental research, but apparently marriage is more important than work to her. I am still not sure why at this point, but it is a movie and sometimes movies just aren’t realistic. I am guessing that sums up why she did what she did. After they are married for a short time, Cantrow learns that he is not fond of many of the things his lovely bride does.
For starters, Lila has no income. I am not sure if environmental research doesn’t pay much or if that was her way of saying she was a gypsy, but she’s got no money either way. Now add in that she is a freak in bed, has absolutely no taste in music, and, oh yeah, she was a cocaine addict, too. Basically before the wedding night is over, Lila goes from the perfect potential bride to Satin in a wedding gown.
From here, the movie involves stupid jokes that are timed wrong and elicit no laughs. The couple goes honeymooning in Cabo San Lucas where this classically drab newlywed husband finds a girl that he likes better than his bride. Considering he forgets to tell her that he’s married it opens up the door for some interesting exchanges back and forth, without initiating too much of a love triangle, if there is one at all.
Stiller has help from comedic stars like Rob Corddry who plays Eddie’s best friend, Jerry Stiller who plays Eddie’s horny and inappropriate father (not too much of a stretch considering), and Carlos Mencia who stars as Uncle Tito. The original movie for which this film was remade, starring Cybil Shepherd (The L Word) and Charles Grodin (Rosemary’s Baby) was much better than this tawdry remake. Ultimately, this version of The Heartbreak Kid lacks style, class, wit, timing, and worth.
Storyline/Plot: 
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Acting: 
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
Where the audio and video quality is concerned there is nothing to complain about. I just wish the movie would have been worthy of such a decent quality. The video was compressed at a rate of 2.35:1 in anamorphic widescreen format. As you can guess, the color was amazing and the picture quality was stellar. The audio was also wonderful even if I would have rather this been a silent film with me being blind. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound.
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Audio:
Bonus Features:
There are plenty of bonus features here that will allow you to extend your agony should you wish to make it any longer than the film. Special features include audio commentary with the directors, six deleted scenes, trailers, and several featurettes. The featurettes include “The Farrelly Bros. in the French Tradition”, “Ben & Jerry”, “Heartbreak Halloween”, and “The Egg Toss”.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
If you are a fan of comedies save your time, because The Heartbreak Kid isn’t worth your time or energy. This movie was terrible and it seemed that the longer that it was on, the worse it became. It’s not worth watching. If, for some reason, you feel you need to see it then I recommend renting it. At least, if you rent it, you will only waste a few dollars.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: The Heartbreak Kid, Standard DVD, Comedy, Ben Stiller, Romance, Chick Flick, DVD Review
