The Star Tribune's Colin Covert on "The Heartbreak Kid":
Wrong, wrong, wrong. Hiring the raucous Farrelly brothers to remake Elaine May's deliciously caustic stab at love, marriage and infidelity is a recipe for disappointment, like mixing shrimp and chocolate pudding.I laughed more than Covert did, but I agree that there's something not quite right about the movie. Maybe it's that it owes a hell of a lot more to "There's Something About Mary," "Meet the Parents," and the numerous other Stiller comedies than it does to the original. Maybe it's the blatancy of the filmmakers, being unable to cast obvious first choice Cameron Diaz, instead hiring ten-years-younger Diaz clone Malin Akerman.* Or maybe it was that the strength of 'Mary,' and other successful Stiller-starring gross-out romcoms, was that they had heart, and likable characters- in 'Heartbreak,' both lead characters are downright despicable individuals.May's 1972 double Oscar nominee, the story of a honeymooner who deserts his bride when he spots a better prospect, is a blackhearted comedy of pain and embarrassment. The Farrellys thrive in the world of gross-out farce and noggin-cracking physical comedy. They're wizards with groin injuries. Heartbreak, not so much.
Or maybe it's Jerry Stiller's creepy turn as Ben's father, who's constantly asking his own son if he's been "crushing pussy." Or perhaps is the crazy third act. Or maybe the over-reliance on supporting actor Carlos Mencia, who's one of the worst comedians on the planet and not much of an actor either. But I think the biggest problem of all is that Judd Apatow and Co. are now doing the Farellly Brothers' schtick, only much better than the Farellys ever did it themselves. Crazy as it was, "Superbad" at least depicted recognizable human behavior. Not so of "The Heartbreak Kid," in which a woman is not the slightest bit creeped out when a homeless-looking man (and his father!) sneak into her bedroom.
*The producers of "Ocean's Thirteen," apparently, went the opposite direction, hiring Ellen Barkin as a 30-years-OLDER Diaz clone.