Review of The Heartbreak Kid (2007) by Ashleigh S — 09 Jan 2010

What a let-down. And from the Farrelly brothers, especially. But there is just nothing there, and by nothing I mean absolutely NOTHING.

You may be asking yourself then, "why two stars? You're just being harsh, man, come on! These guys did There's Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber!" The Heartbreak Kid lacks what made those two movies work. They try to add depth to an already bum script, all the while keeping Ben Stiller (who actually tries hard in the movie) the typical slapstick "woe is me" guy per Farrelly style.

Rob Corddry is hilarious as the average married Joe my dad kept referring to as "Al Bundy". Even Malin Akerman and Jerry Stiller are great in the scenes the bros have them in. It's Carlos Mencia who sticks out like a sore thumb, the way Ben Affleck did in Extract. That's an insult, to anyone who's never seen that movie.

I just expected so much more from The Heartbreak Kid. Sadly, it's a gross, embarrassing and obnoxious excuse for a comedy. It starts off good, then all goes downhill, like Bobby and Peter Farrelly decided to only finish the script rather than to go back and improve on it. Love the title, love the idea, hate the execution.