The Heartbreak Kid

The Heartbreak Kid
by Elaine May

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Audra Lindley, Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd, Eddie Albert, Jeannie Berlin
Director: Elaine May
Producer: Erik Lee Preminger
Cinematographer: Owen Roizman
Editor: John Carter
Producer: Edgar J. Scherick
Producer: Michael Hausman
Writer: Bruce Jay Friedman
Writer: Neil Simon
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); French (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 106 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-02-05
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay

Movie Reviews of The Heartbreak Kid

Movie Review: No "Pauper's Graduate"
Summary: 5 Stars

Respectfully disagree with the reviewer who called this film " a pauper's 'Graduate' " It couldn't be further from the mark, and this in no way is meant to diminish Mike Nichol's excellent 1967 film. On the surface "Heartbreak Kid" doesn't appear to take itself as seriously as The Graduate, but upon repeated viewing it proves itself the other film's equal in nearly every respect and actually surpasses it in others. It's a testament to the talents of Nichol's performing partner Elaine May, who directed daughter Jeannie Berlin and Charles Grodin in this 1972 gem. Many people are thrown by the film, likely because it's neither comedy nor drama. It's closer to black comedy, but even this doesn't cover it. Its ending frustrates many, but fits the film's theme beautifully.

The individual performances are sublime - Grodin hits the ball out of the park, and Jeannie Berlin delivers a performance that makes one wonder why she never went on to greater things. She absolutely steals the scene where Grodin breaks up with her a week in to their honeymoon at a Miami Beach lobster restaurant. In one nearly continuous take, she goes from obliviousness to the depths of grief, and then to quiet, dignified resolve. Cybil Shepard is perfectly cast as the shiksa goddess in her Last Picture Show prime, serving Grodin with the same pointed disregard as he does Berlin. The film is a testament to the subtleties of human cruelty, side-splittingly funny in parts and difficult to watch in others. It's the kind of film that reveals itself in repeated viewings over the years. Also one of the few films that works equally well in vignette, and can be broken down like "Goodfellas" for its individual scenes and performances. The clip with Eddie Albert and Grodin in the restaurant when Grodin reveals his plans for marrying Albert's daughter, and then adds the "one small complication" of his being a newlywed is brilliant, and can stand on its own.

It may not have the shine of The Graduate or the haunting refrains of Simon and Garfunkel singing "Sounds of Silence" as Benjamin explores the depths of his parents' swimming pool .. but it would be a large mistake to pass it off as a pauper's version of the more famous film. I've seen both many times, and I'll make an argument for The Heartbreak Kid every time.

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Summary of The Heartbreak Kid

After her brilliant career in a comedy duo with Mike Nichols, Elaine May made tentative progress as a director, making only four films between 1971 and 1987 (her last being the disastrous but underrated Ishtar). Released in 1972, The Heartbreak Kid (from a screenplay by Neil Simon) is widely considered her best work from behind the camera, and it's still one of the most accomplished--but least recognized--comedies of the 1970s. Charles Grodin landed one of his best roles as Lenny, a newlywed husband who meets a gorgeous blonde (Cybill Shepherd) while on his honeymoon, and finds his new bride, Lila (played by May's daughter, Jeannie Berlin), unappealing by comparison. When Lila is forced to rest with a severe case of sunburn, Lenny's free to pursue his new interest, oblivious to the manipulative games that he'll soon be subjected to. May and screenwriter Simon draw plenty of pain, awkwardness, and embarrassment from hilarious situations, giving this comedy a perceptive awareness of human foibles and unchecked desires. It's a newlywed's worst nightmare come true, made enjoyable because we're watching it happen to someone else. Grodin's a prime choice of casting for expressing the movie's lusty anxiety--he's a schmuck, but you can still sympathize with the anguish he's brought on himself. --Jeff Shannon

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