The new remake of “The Heartbreak Kid” improves upon the original in at least one way: It has a final sequence that is as head-slapping sardonic as any fade-out seen in a movie this year.
Up until that point, this movie is all over the place: at times really funny, at times gross, mostly just nerve-wracking in the manner of a sitcom. It’s got its moments, in a mild, vaguely dejected way.
Ben Stiller stars as Eddie, a bachelor whose unmarried status is becoming a burden. He’s a San Francisco sporting-goods dealer who gets married to a seemingly perfect partner named Lila, played by Malin Akerman.
The marriage is impulsive, but the groom feels the urgency of life going by. It’s not until he’s on his honeymoon in Mexico that he realizes the huge mistake he’s made.
It begins on the road trip down, during a funny montage of Lila singing along to “Muskrat Love” and Barry Manilow. Actually, that would be enough for divorce, but her other quirks emerge in the early hours of the marriage.
Lila is felled by a bad sunburn, which allows Eddie to meet Miranda (Michelle Monaghan). Let us summarize Miranda’s qualities. She can out-drink boys, she likes sports, she loves her family, and she’s cute in a non-threatening, not-too-pretty kind of way.
In other words, she’s an ideal girl for the Farrelly brothers, who have sung the praises of such women in “There’s Something About Mary” and “Fever Pitch” and others. As played by perky Michelle Monaghan (“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”), she leaves no doubt that Eddie needs to re-assess his hasty marriage decision.
For all the movie’s raunchy sex jokes, the Farrellys are once again revising expectations for a film like this. For instance, in the original “Heartbreak Kid,” the bride was an obnoxious pain and the new woman was an idealized, perfect blonde (Cybill Shepherd, no less). Here, it’s Lila who has the perfect blond looks, while the soulmate is more down-to-earth.
Eddie’s best pal, in most movies, would be a womanizing jerk, but here it’s a henpecked husband (Rob Corddry). Instead of a protective father, Miranda has a maniacally hostile cousin (funny Danny R. McBride). Instead of a crafty stereotyped Mexican, the movie has — well, a crafty stereotyped Mexican (Carlos Mencia).
And lest they be out-raunched by Judd Apatow’s recent films, the Farrellys include plenty of nudity and sex gags. Note to Ben Stiller’s “Night in the Museum” fans: This is not a kid movie.
“The Heartbreak Kid” HH
Raunchy remake: Remake of the 1972 comedy, this time with more raunch and a few twists. Ben Stiller plays a newlywed husband who meets the love of his life (Michelle Monaghan) while on his honeymoon in Mexico. Very broad, although it has its moments in a mild, vaguely dejected way.
Rating: R for nudity, language.
Now showing: Opens today at Everett, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Mountlake, Stanwood, Metro, Oak Tree, Pacific Place, Woodinville, Cascade Mall
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