The Heartbreak Kid

This is a loose remake of the Elaine May 1972 movie, based on a script by Neil Simon and starring Charles Grodin. Ben Stiller plays Eddie, an unsettled forty-year-old commitment-phobe who can’t catch a “love” break. He meets Lila (Malin Akerman) on the streets of San Francisco. She’s perfect in every way: intelligent, beautiful, and sophisticated. They immediately hit it off, and when they’re faced with being separated, he pops the question and rushes into marriage. They marry, and Lila instantly becomes the most insane woman on the planet during their honeymoon. Eddie then meets Miranda (Michelle Monaghan) and falls in love for real. Directed by the Farrelly brothers, it’s the first time they have worked with Stiller since There’s Something About Mary. It’s a mixed bag at best. There are some big laughs, but many jokes fall flat and sometimes the brothers go too far. Still, Akerman is quite funny in the psycho role, and Stiller gets a chance to be vulgar again.