The Farrelly brothers’ new remake, “The Heartbreak Kid,” is more of a heartbreaking tragedy than a legitimate comedy. Whereas the Farrelly brothers could have been called masters of inappropriate humor years ago, now they’re content with convenient humor, a result that no laugh-hunter should aspire to.
The plot is quite familiar. Ben Stiller plays Eddie, who marries Lila (Malin Akerman) after only a few weeks of knowing her.
During a honeymoon in Mexico, Eddie becomes annoyed with Lila, runs into Miranda (Michelle Monaghan, who was much better in “Death Proof”) and finds out that maybe he married the wrong person. So Eddie attempts to both divorce his new wife and get it going with Miranda, and we have ourselves a cliché-ridden premise that could have easily been a one-hour television story.
Instead, you’ll have to sit through almost two hours of this languid tale, with the final 20 minutes being the most unbearable.
Even worse, the film seems even more unoriginal considering Ben Stiller’s role. In the last decade, the idea that Stiller can play a guy in awkward situations has been pounded into the head of the American public – so much that it’s hard to feel sorry for Stiller’s one-note character anymore.
The exposure of Stiller’s limited comedic talent is overtly apparent in “Heartbreak.” He can’t deliver lines like Chevy Chase, his voice manipulation rings hollow when compared to Peter Sellers, and his sarcasm doesn’t cut into your skin like Bill Murray’s. He simply bumbles from one situation to the next, and once the situations begin to bore, Stiller is lost.
Unfortunately, the remaining cast members can’t support Stiller’s weak lead performance. Akerman and Monaghan are portrayed as hot actresses of the week rather than funny people in a comedy (that’s not asking for too much: funny people in a comedy). Jerry Stiller plays Eddie’s father, but his appearances are wasted. He is the typical sex-starved old man, his dialogue pertaining to “crushing” that certain part of the female anatomy. Needless to say, Jerry Stiller has fallen since his magnificent work in “Seinfeld.”
As unbelievable as this may sound, the worst cast member hasn’t even been addressed: Carlos Mencia. The very notion that the Farrelly brothers would allow Mencia to act in their movie is ludicrous. Sure, both the Farrelly brothers and Mencia utilize inappropriate humor. The latter, though, is satisfied with repetitive rather than inventive inappropriateness. And it looks as if the Farrelly brothers love his style. Mencia simply fires the same “Just kidding!” joke in almost all of his scenes.
Despite these obvious problems, you might still have a hard time believing this movie can be so horrible. That’s why it is necessary to spoil the ending of “Heartbreak.” This will accomplish two things. First, the ending epitomizes the convenient, lazy humor of the film, and second, perhaps I can save you a bit of time and money.
Remember that Eddie is on his honeymoon, attempting to switch soul mates gracefully. Well, when Miranda finds out that Eddie is married, she flips out. So Miranda leaves Mexico without dedicating her love to Eddie. Eddie, after getting rid of his wife, decides to find Miranda in America. He does, but Miranda has married. After sneaking into Miranda’s bedroom while she and her husband are sleeping (no, this is never explained), Eddie realizes he can never win Miranda’s heart.
Inexplicably, Eddie manages to get a job at his honeymoon spot in Mexico. Guess who he runs into again? Miranda! And she got a divorce! Turns out, she made the same mistake as Eddie, and now they can live happily together. But wait, Eddie is married to an annoying Mexican beauty now. This means that he has to find a way to ditch his wife so he can get with Miranda.
Yes, this film is incredible. The concluding joke is the same joke you had to tolerate for the preceding hour and a half. With “Stuck on You,” “Fever Pitch” and now “The Heartbreak Kid,” the days of “Dumb and Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary” are over for the Farrelly brothers.