Rating 6 / 10
There was once a time when the Farrelly brothers could do no wrong, but that time has passed.
In the ’90s, they were at the top of their game when it came to making hilarious, gross-out movies that made the stars of the their films household names.
However, the guys behind brilliant films such as “Dumb & Dumber,” “Kingpin” and “There’s Something About Mary” recently have been making movies – “Fever Pitch,” “Shallow Hal” and “Stuck on You” – that are nowhere near the quality of their earlier work.
Their current rut continues with the reunion of the Farrelly brothers and Ben Stiller in “The Heartbreak Kid.”
In this comedy, Ben Stiller plays Eddie Cantrow, a guy approaching 40 who has yet to plunge into marriage.
With constant nagging from his father (Stiller’s dad in real life, Jerry Stiller) and his best friend (Rob Corrdry), he marries a girl he’s been seeing for six weeks on a whim. He believes this girl is perfect for him. That is until the honeymoon, when Eddie discovers reality.
She is very “aggressive” in the bedroom, an ex-cocaine addict and a control freak. Eddie immediately regrets his decision to rush into marriage, and he is even further tested when he meets the girl of his dreams while on his honeymoon. Throughout the course of the film, Eddie balances the wackiness of his current wife and the sincerity and pureness of this new girl. Hilarity sometimes ensues.
This film is basically the first 20 minutes of Stiller’s 2004 movie “Along Came Polly,” stretched out to two hours. Even though Stiller is usually consistent in delivering his trademark brand of neurotic and goofy humor, he is not the reason the film is able to keep your interest for the exhaustible runtime. Supporting roles from Jerry Stiller, Michelle Monaghan, and dare I say, the offensively unfunny Carlos Mencia, add to this film’s comedic repertoire.
The major gripe that I had with this movie is the overall characters of the film. None of them were really likeable in any sense. Our protagonist drifts in and out from being a guy who wants to find true love into a guy who has no morals whatsoever. This is especially apparent in the final scene of the film, which was probably intended for one last humorous effort, but instead ended up as a total disregard for Ben Stiller’s character.
“The Heartbreak Kid” does have notorious, over-the-top scenes the Farrelly brothers are prone to deliver, and that’s when the so-so film is at its best. Scenes involving jellyfish, along with a montage of Ben Stiller trying to jump the border, are the most memorable. Instead of putting a character in funny situations, the film should have just had a funny character.
The movie is just mediocre. With the talent involved, I expected it to be a lot more satisfying and comedic. It’s a film that crosses the thin boundary between a romantic comedy and a gross-out film and, at the end, it’s not clear what the intention was. If you enjoy Ben Stiller, you will most likely enjoy “The Heartbreak Kid.” If not, hearing Frank Costanza spout obscenities might be worth the admission price.

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