THE HEARTBREAK KID - REVIEW


The Farrelly Brothers and Ben Stiller reunited in 2007 for The Heartbreak Kid, a loose remake of the screwball 70's comedy starring Charles Grodin and Cybill Shepherd in which a man finally gets married only to find that his new wife is not quite the dream woman he initially thought she was.

Eddie (Stiller) is a single guy who runs a sports shop in San Francisco, one day he meets Lila (Malin Akerman) and they start dating. Soon enough, after Lila tells him that she might have to move to the Netherlands because of work, they get married and are promptly off to Cabo for their honeymoon. On the way there, Lila starts to act strangely and reveals all sorts of off-putting details about herself. Unfortunately for Eddie, this keeps getting worse and worse so when he falls in love with another woman he meets while on vacation, asking Lila for a divorce becomes a priority even if it proves harder to do than he thought. Setting a comedy after the usual "Happily Ever After" rom-com scenario and following a couple as their relationship goes awry post-wedding makes this a refreshing change from most examples in that genre.

Ben Stiller does his usual awkward schtick and he does a decent job but it's Malin Akerman who ends up stealing the show as the wife from Hell, going all out and not being afraid to act crazy or do/say ridiculous things throughout. The Farrelly's usual brand of gross-out humour is certainly there but in small doses and this is definitely one of their more restrained efforts, which is good because going full There's Something About Mary would no doubt be overkill in this movie. The Heartbreak Kid is closer to something like Along Came Polly with its unusual romance and goofy Happy Madison-esque side characters which include a tough Danny McBride and the always fun Jerry Stiller and Rob Corddry. Michelle Monaghan is reliably good as love interest Miranda and the film itself has some very funny moments even if it's mostly a one joke type of deal.

Those who enjoy a good off-beat rom-rom should have fun with The Heartbreak Kid: it's more cartoonish and vulgar than genuinely sweet but it's an amusingly random romp regardless. While maybe not the best film for everyone involved, if you like Ben Stiller and The Farrelly's brand of humour, this is a safe bet.

Unapologetically silly.

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