The Heartbreak Kid (Reviewed on Aug. 26th/1998)
Starring Charles Grodin, Cybill Sheppard, Eddie Albert
In "The Heartbreak Kid", Charles Grodin plays one of the most unbelievably obnoxious characters I've seen on screen in a long time. He's a guy who spends virtually the entire running time of the movie bullshitting his way from one situation to another. I doubt he ever expressed any genuine feeling at all during the film.
As the film opens, he has just gotten married, and is on the way to Miami Beach for his honeymoon. Halfway there, he begins to resent his bride. By the time he arrives at his hotel and has met the Cybill Sheppard character, he is ready to divorce his wife.
As played by Grodin, this character is the type of person that nothing will ever be good enough for him. The phrase "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" was practically written with him in mind. However, if he finds something he really wants, he will pursue it for as long as it takes. The only problem is, once he has it, he immediately loses interest. The end of "The Heartbreak Kid" is both hilarious and sad for that very reason.
Charles Grodin is at his smarmy best here, and Sheppard is quite appealing as the object of Grodin's desire. However, the real scene stealer is Jeannie Berlin, daughter of director Elaine May, as Grodin's whiny bride. She owns every scene that she's in, and makes you almost want to root for what the Grodin character is trying to do.
"The Heartbreak Kid" was written by Neil Simon and it shows. Simon loves to deconstruct and analyze human relationships, and he's at the top of his game here. As maddeningly obnoxious as the Grodin character is, he's the type of guy that everyone knows. The character of George Costanza on "Seinfeld" seems to have been modelled after him.
The only problem with the film is that it's not that funny, and it's billed as a comedy. As much as I could see the realism in the characters, it would have been nice to have a chuckle here and there.
"The Heartbreak Kid" is not a date movie. It has an extremely negative view of relationships, so seeing it with a girlfriend/boyfriend, could be hazardus to your health.
*** out of ****
-- David Nusair dnusair@chat.carleton.ca Come visit my "Reel Film Reviews" site! "http://chat.carleton.ca/~dnusair"
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