Heartbreak Kid

Year: 2007

Grade: B+

Country: USA

Director: Farrelly

Review

if you like the farrelly brothers then you know what to expect here and you won’t be disappointed. there’s plenty of juvenile humor, stiller doesn’t stray too far from his stock character, and there are plenty of shocking moments. you either dig their kind of no-holds-barred outrageous comedy or you think it’s beneath you. i happen to think it’s great stuff, like getting wasted for a couple hours complete with all the release and fun that that entails, but without the monetary cost, addiction and hangover that it brings. the farrelly brothers aren’t out to solve the world’s problems, but their films are genuinely funny and usually have a sweet side with some harmless, uplifting message that we endure because their characters have charmed us so much during the previous 90 minutes or so. the secondary characters are all well cast and directed; corddry and jerry stiller are especially good.

some might complain that the farrelly brothers just make formula films or are constantly trying to remake there’s something about mary. the difference between a formula film and one marked by an auteur’s unique vision, is that the former is one that isn’t liked. it’s like the difference between calling someone “weird” and “eccentric;” they mean essentially the same thing, but we use “weird” when the person we’re describing bothers us. the truth is that no one gets on ozu or inarritu’s case for making the same damn film over and over again, they just lap it up because they like their style.

Watched in theater