Movie Review: The Heartbreak Kid Isn’t Heart-breaking…
Read more articles on Movies, visual media.July 29, 2008
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
July 29, 2008
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
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The Heartbreak Kid Isn’t Heart-breaking…it’s amusing. Now, in my opinion, it’s not “hilarious” as noted in the HBO description, but yes, it is funnier than most movies of the same type. By type, I mean those romantic situations where there’s a basic misunderstanding, a goofball supporting cast, and larger-than-life female leads.
It’s a remake of the original version, made in 2007 and starring Ben Stiller as Eddie. He marries Lila, Malin Ackerman after knowing her only briefly, and realizes on their Mexican honeymoon that he made a major mistake. However, while on that honeymoon, he meets the perfect woman for him, Miranda, played by Michelle Monaghan. Due to typical madcap accidents, he can never finish telling her he is married to a woman who has holed herself up in the hotel room due to a bad sunburn. Her family, in turn, is under the belief that he’s a widower (due to an outrageous story by two vacationing kids who don’t like Mr. Stiller) and thus inform him that they “know.” Thinking that they know he’s married and don’t care, he continues his romance with Miranda. Trying to tell his new wife that he wants to leave creates another misunderstanding, and you can just imagine the ensuing fracas.
Although Lila destroys Eddie’s passport, he manages to escape from Mexico-dangerously and comically, only to find out that Miranda has gotten married to her former boyfriend two weeks earlier. He eventually gets over her, sells his sporting goods store, and moves back to Mexico to open a business in the resort where he honeymooned. Eighteen months later, Miranda, appears in Mexico, by now divorced, and anxious to give their relationship a chance. Eddie enthusiastically sets up a date for hours later-and then informs his new wife (Eva Longoria) that he won’t be home for dinner that night…
OK, the story is nothing new, you must admit-but this movie holds its own due to a few features: Lila’s outrageousness, Miranda’s perfection, and the movie-goer’s ability to relate to Eddie’s disillusionment and longing.
Unfortunately, the movie was not a huge money maker at the box office, except for its first two weeks, although DVD sales have been good. It’s considered to have attained mixed reviews, even if Rolling Stone considered it one of the worst remakes ever made. Since I never saw the original version, I cannot compare, but I can see why this movie seems to fall flat. First is the implausibility of Eddie marrying someone after two months and not even knowing that she A-is unemployed, B-has $26,000 in debt, C-had a past cocaine problem, and D-possesses many habits that annoy him. Now, one can understand if they’d gotten married within two days-but two months? The second absurdity is that luck would be so kind as to drop angelic, soul-mate Miranda right into his lap at the same time he’s facing this crisis. How many people meet with such good fortune? One more unbelievable thorn is some of Miranda’s family members; although very well cast, the direction and dialogue makes them come off a bit like country bumpkins, in stark contrast to Miranda, who does not even share the same Mississippi accent. The hotel concierge is also not what one usually finds in an upscale vacation resort, either. With his constant, shocking jokes and unprofessional behavior when in the room alone with Lila, he would have been long fired by any reputable establishment.
No matter how beautiful and good Miranda is, or how lost and confused Eddie is, what everyone will remember about this movie is Lila. What makes her an unpleasant surprise to live with also can hold everyone’s attention. This role calls for an actress that is completely uninhibited, and Ms. Ackerman is indeed that. Her desire for sex that’s so wild it actually hurts Eddie is a most interesting scene; that and her nudity and her excessive profanity make this a movie you definitely don’t want children watching.
Those adult situations aside, the basic premise is that it’s hard to be married to someone when in love with another. All morality aside, no one can debate that. Although Eddie’s actions may seem wrong, it’s difficult not to feel his dilemma, especially in the able hands of Mr. Stiller.
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