‘Heartbreak Kid’ a waste of time
By Marcus Whalbring
Entertainment Editor
Last Friday, the Farrelly brothers (“Dumb and Dumber”) pulled a gutsy move and released their latest film, “There’s Something About Mary 2.” Wait it was called “The Heartbreak Kid.” I got confused. Ben Stiller (“Meet the Parents”) decided to get involved in the project for some reason, and his character was the same guy he has played in nearly every movie in which he’s starred. The film was meant to be funny, and it was at times. But for the most part, it fell short of humor.
Stiller plays Eddie Cantrow, a guy in his mid-40s who owns a sporting goods store and is searching for the right woman.
His father, played by Stiller’s real father Jerry Stiller, is a vile man who is trying to get Eddie to find a girl to marry or at least a girl that will take him to bed. Fortunately, Eddie runs into a pretty blonde named Lila (Malin Akerman of “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle”), and they get married after dating for six weeks.
Life seems good for Eddie until he finds out that maybe he dove into the marriage a little too soon. As they’re driving to Cabo, Mexico, for their honeymoon, Lila begins to show sides of her personality that, prior to their wedding, were unknown to him. She sings annoying songs in the car. She has a nasal problem that causes her to snore. And she has a clingy nature that makes her suspicious of Eddie’s intentions.
These details seem insignificant at first, but once the couple arrives in Cabo, a few other habits come into the open. Lila is apparently a volunteer who doesn’t get paid, is $26,000 in debt and has recently overcome a cocaine addiction (hence the snoring). As Eddie is alone recovering from all of this news, he runs into another girl by the pool named Miranda (Michelle Monaghan of “North Country”). Miranda is a fun-loving girl that is everything that Eddie could ask for in a girl. The rest of the film consists of Eddie trying to woo Miranda, escape Lila and avoid the hotel manager Uncle Tito (Carlos Mencia of Comedy Central’s “Mind of Mencia”).
While the storyline is different from other movies by the Farrelly brothers, everything else felt a little too familiar. For instance, in “There’s Something About Mary,” another Farrelly brothers movie in which Stiller starred, the main character had a best friend who was married, made fun of him a lot and was brutally honest with him. In this film, Rob Corddry (“I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry”) played that part.
Another similarity is that the character of Miranda really resembles Mary in “There’s Something About Mary.” She’s fun to be around; she knows how to drink; she starts funny little conversations about insignificant things; and she’s also a lacrosse coach. For some reason, the Farrelly brothers seem to think that a girl is only attractive when she is interested in sports. Mary was really into sports as well. It must be really difficult for the Farrelly brothers to come up with a female character who has any real substance.
As for Stiller, he really had to dig deep for his part. His character is a slightly self-conscious guy who made awkward comments that conjure up uncomfortable silence. Then, of course, he has a nervous, uncomfortable look on his face. This new character would certainly have required a lot of Stiller if he hadn’t played the exact same one at least five other times.
The crowd erupted with laughter a few times during the film, but those moments weren’t enough to fix the weak points.
The only aspect of the film that made it stand out was its shock value. While there were a few moments that got a rise out of the people in the theater, the shock value couldn’t erase the disappointment.
Seeing this film in the theater is probably a waste of money. Anyone who really has a desire to see it should just rent the DVD after it’s released. Or better yet, find a friend who is unwise enough to buy it and just borrow it.
