Review of Heartburn (1986) by Gg J — 23 Jul 2008

[font=Times New Roman]Directed by the great Mike Nichols and written (based on her novel) by Nora Ephron, "Heartburn" is a biting comedy on love and marriage. It is the "anti" to Ephron's later oh-so-cute "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail" -- in other words, it's for grown ups.

Real grown ups. This is a romantic comedy without the happy ending. Meryl Streep is Rachel, a food magazine writer who meets cute with journalist Mark (Jack Nicholson) at a wedding. Instant sparks fly and a one night stand becomes a relationship which becomes marriage.

Then it all falls apart as Mark strays, and Rachel suffers. This is a damn good comedy with top notch performances by Streep and Nicholson, who love, bicker, sing silly songs and fight like any married couple.

Made in 1986, the film hasn't aged much -- Carly Simon's score and famous song 'Coming Around Again" are perfect for the film and check out a young Kevin Spacey as a criminal. If there's a complaint, it's the scenes in which Rachel imagines "Masterpiece Theatre" as commentary on her own life; the scenes play way too cute with much of the film.

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