Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here. I’m not sure if we ever linked to the trailer for THE HEARTBREAK KID when it went live. It’s strange... I’ve met Pete and Bobby Farrelly many times over the years I’ve been working at AICN, and I know how much the original HEARTBREAK KID meant to them. This is something that Pete in particular has wanted to do for a long time. Even so, I’m not really feeling it. At least, not based on that trailer. I know that trailers lie, though, so I’m curious to see what someone who’s actually seen the movie has to say about it:
Hey Moriarty, Denny Crane here from Australia, I am a long time reader of the site, though this is my first time writing in. My friend scored a few tickets to a mystery movie for what the cinemas claimed to be a “blockbuster comedy”. I was really hoping for Superbad but turned out to be the new Farrelly Brothers film - The Heartbreak Kid (which, thankfully, isn't a remake of an Australian film of the same name from the 90s). When the announcer told the crowd it was the brother’s new film everyone seemed really excited. They gave us the usual spiel about the film being incomplete and perhaps not the final cut (though seemed fairly finished to me), we were then told that we were one of the first audiences in the world to see it. I have never seen the original 70s version, so I was watching from a fresh-eyed perspective. The film basically revolves around Ben Stiller’s character Eddie, a slightly grey haired 40-year-old sports store owner who is yet to be married. Deciding to go to his ex-fiancée (who he broke up with because, among other reasons, she didn’t find the beaver in Caddy Shack to be realistic) wedding on Valentine’s Day, Eddie comes to the realisation that he needs to find someone. Walking home Eddie unsuccessfully tries to stop a guy from stealing a woman’s bag. He and the woman, Lila, then start to date and after a making-out montage she tells him that her job as an environmental researcher is making her move overseas. The only way they can stay together (and Lila not being forced to go overseas) is if they get married, and after only six weeks of dating the two tie the knot. From there onwards the film follows Eddie and Lila on their honeymoon at a Mexican resort. But to Eddie’s shock his wife is somewhat annoying. She sings to every song on a car ride, is completely crazy while having sex, preferring over-the-top positions (“What’s the missionary position?”) and used to have a problem with blow which has now caused her to have a $26,000 debt, despite her job being volunteer work. Fight after fight ensures between the two and Eddie then meets Miranda, whom he starts to spend time with when Lila is too badly sunburnt to go out. With Eddie considering divorce from Lila and Miranda and her family mistakenly believing Eddie’s wife had been murdered a few years earlier the two start to hit it off. And naturally we have the crux and the conflict of the film... What worked - The great soundtrack (a staple in Farrelly Brothers films), the quote “pussy dick” and some of the largest breasts you’ll ever see floating in a Jacuzzi. Stiller Junior is in typical Stiller mode, while Michelle Monaghan plays Miranda quite well. Jerry Stiller, who plays Ben’s father in the film, is naturally brilliant as usual. He also has all the best one-liners, including asking his son to join him in Vegas to pick up some girls and do some tag teaming with him. And also announcing that Eddie has only “crushed three pussies since breaking up with his ex-fiancée.” (Ben replies, “Dad, can you stop saying that”, Jerry: “Fine, snatch”). The characters of the resort’s worker Uncle Tito and Stiller’s best friend are also worth a mention, as are the hilariously over-the-top raw sex scenes. Though this is all nothing compared to the scene which got the most laughs- Lila pulling down her pants to reveal a full-frontal bush that literally springs to life like a Venus Fly Trap with a pussy ring inside and begins to urinate on Eddie.... This is on the same level as the penis caught in the zipper from There’s Something About Mary. What didn’t work- OK, so I’m probably going to get killed in the feedback for saying this about a comedy (and it might have been the cut we saw), but the story didn’t feel complete or full enough, it was just missing something. Likewise, the abrupt ending didn’t give much closure, was predictable and didn’t sit well with me. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if they change the ending, I know I would. It also lacked the heart of Shallow Hal or to a lesser extent, Stuck On You, which I think would have worked well in a film like this. While the grossness levels were not as high as Me, Myself and Irene or There’s Something About Mary (bar the sex scenes and pussy fly trap scene). Final thoughts- Overall, this was a very funny film, with some great one-liners and characters, which the audience seemed to really enjoy and get into. I’d say most will enjoy it, though I feel it really needed to be filled out a touch more and perhaps even a refilmed ending. But don’t let that scare you off when you head to the cinemas to see it in October because you’ll still have a very good laugh.... Keep up the great work guys.
