Film Reviews

The Heartbreak Kid

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Ben Stiller
• Details: US / 90mins (16).

"F*&k me like a black guy!" When it comes to settling down, Eddie Cantrow (Stiller) has always being too picky, so when he meets the beautiful Lila (Akerman) he throws caution to the wind and asks her to marry him after only six weeks of dating. The newlyweds head to Mexico for their honeymoon, but before they even get there Eddie realises that he's made a mistake: Lila is annoying, sexually aggressive and in debt, due to a serious cocaine habit. When Lila is confined to the hotel room with sunburn, Eddie takes to the bars and meets the pretty Miranda (Monaghan, looking more and more like Justine Bateman every year). The two hit it off, but keeping his honeymoon a secret proves troublesome and Eddie digs himself into a deeper hole with every lie. The Heartbreak Kid, like the Farrellys' previous outing Fever Pitch, is more mature than, say, There's Something About Mary or Stuck On You = but unfortunately it's not as funny as their best. A remake of Neil Simon's 1972 comedy, it takes a while to wind up and the plot and gags only hit their stride once the couple hit the resort (some 30 minutes in). Whereas the original lent itself to the dark side, the Farrellys adopt a more slapstick approach, and Stiller is starting to look tired with all the goofing around. Not bad, but not the laugh riot it was expected to be.

Review by Gavin Burke