When 40-year-old San Francisco bachelor Eddie Cantrow (Ben Stiller) attends the wedding of his ex-fiancée -- and is seated at a "singles table" full of children -- he realizes maybe he's been too picky in his love life, and it's time to settle down. Fortunately, he doesn't have to compromise his standards when he meets Lila (Malin Akerman), a funny, attractive blond who does environmental research for a living. Lila's company wants to relocate her to Europe, but only because she's single -- they
don't force married couples to uproot themselves. So Eddie hastily proposes to her, even though they've only been dating for six weeks. But the moment they exchange vows, Eddie starts to notice Lila's rough edges and annoying habits, which had remained hidden underneath her perfect exterior. Their Cabo San Lucas honeymoon gets off to a rough start full of tuneless pop singalongs and surprising revelations about Lila's job and her past. Things only get worse for a confused Eddie when he meets Miranda (Michelle Monaghan), a Midwesterner in Cabo for a family reunion -- and starts to wish he'd held out just a little bit longer. The Heartbreak Kid is Peter and Bobby Farrelly's remake of the 1972 Elaine May comedy of the same name, starring Charles Grodin. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi
If The Heartbreak Kid doesn't go totally wrong, its big problem is that doesn't really go anywhere. It just sort of lies there, like dumb Lila on the beach, waiting to turn gold.
A miserable pathetic mean spirited effort on the Farrelly brothers who continue to squander away any and all potential for brilliance on Ben Stiller who just hits those flat notes on every single film he stars in...
[The] 2007 remake delivers a lot of laughs despite the fact we're clearly supposed to root for and feel sorry for the cad ... no matter how squirmy or awful his actions.
Bobby and Peter Farrelly don't bring any fresh insight or relevance to their remake of The Heartbreak Kid. Mainly, they've taken a decent comedy and turned it into a...decent comedy.
The original's premise has been stripped of anything to do with upward mobility, and except for one shot involving a Prince Albert, the Farrellys' signature shock humor is largely absent.
While there are plenty of raunchy jokes, Bobby and Peter Farrelly are more mature [and] when it comes to characters worth caring about, The Heartbreak Kid is worth adding to the library.
It's like watching the younger brother of There's Something About Mary: it's brash and talks too loud, it's a bit snotty and it so wants to be as cool as its older sibling.
Doc: Now listen to me and listen to me good! When your wife, on her honeymoon, asks you to cock her, you cock her good, God damn it! The Heartbreak Kid is a decent enough comedy. I haven't seen the original, so I have nothing to compare it to. The movie isn't great by any stretch of the imagination and is actually
quite dull in sections. There were enough characters I liked to make the experience worth the watch. The first part of the movie is the funniest because of Jerry Stiller and the way he speaks to his son about sex. Rob Coddry has a small, but decent role. I always like Danny McBride. But in the end Michele Monaghan saved this movie. Ben Stiller is alright, but he can't hold up a movie by himself. He just doesn't have enough presence to pull that off.The Heartbreak Kid centers around Eddie Cantrow who has been unsuccessful with love and has fears about getting married. He then meets a seemingly great girl Lila. In order to keep her from going to Europe for her "job." So he jumps into marriage early and learns that Lila isn't as great as she once seemed.Not a very good comedy, but there's enough to make the experience somewhat enjoyable.
March 10, 2011
Melvin White
Super Reviewer
I'll pay a compliment to Ben Stiller and say this was his best work. It was extrememely funny and I admit that I quite enjoyed it. 8/10.
No quotes approved yet for The Heartbreak Kid. Logged in users can submit quotes.
Submit a Quote from 'The Heartbreak Kid'
A quote can be a single line from one character or a memorable dialog between several characters. Please make your quotes accurate. Quotes will be submitted for approval by the RT staff.
Example:
Luke: Alright. I'll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
Top Critic
