Rating: 6/10

The latest pairing of the Farrelly Brothers and Ben Stiller is a loose remake of a 1972 film of the same name — a tale of a honeymoon gone very wrong. In the Farrelly version we have Eddie, played by Stiller, a 40-year-old catching a bunch of slack from his father and best friend because he blew his one big chance at marriage and isn’t getting any younger. Eddie is certainly a bit timid, but it doesn’t help that his dad (played by Stiller’s real father) is somewhat of an old perv and his best friend is a bit of an emasculated married hack. This is the Farrelly brothers, so don’t expect a ton of depth.

Eddie does, however, have what appears to be a stroke of luck. By chance one day, he helps a woman who’s just been robbed. Obviously, this woman, Lila, played by Malin Akerman, turns out be Eddie’s love interest. What follows is a montage of scenes demonstrating the pair’s chemistry and their home town, San Francisco. Hats off, as the scene is pretty funny and, hot damn does SF look good.

What follows is a rushed-into marriage and a honeymoon in Cabo. This is where the film really starts going for big laughs, including the Farrelly’s trademark high cringe factor. Lila turns out to be quite a bit different than the woman Eddie thought she was, resulting in a number of really funny scenes. To make matters worse, Eddie stumbles upon Miranda (Michelle Monaghan) in Cabo, a woman who seems to have all the qualities which Lila lacks. Through a number of misunderstandings, Lila doesn’t realize that Eddie is on his honeymoon and the two of them really hit it off.

Up until the film’s final act, I was honestly surprised at how worthy this film was. Until then, the film stays funny without reducing itself to slapstick nonsense. Ben Stiller doesn’t flex any acting muscle here, but he really doesn’t need to for this fare. He sort of plays a combination of his characters in Along Came Polly and There’s Something About Mary. Stiller is an international star for a reason, and he’s just good at being Stiller. In that sense, he doesn’t disappoint here.

The leading ladies are also both good. Akerman is hilarious and scary and Monaghan, who has grown on me a ton since Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, is truly adorable. They don’t write in a lot of laughs for her part, but she plays very well alongside Stiller.

If it weren’t for a weak last act and a few overdone Farrellyisms, I would call this a pretty good film. If you like other Farrelly stuff and are into Stiller, you will be entertained. All in all, a decent slapstick flick.

Buy The Heartbreak Kid (Widescreen Edition) from Amazon.

Filed under: 2007 by A.B.