Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this is not the R-rated 2007 remake, which is full of slapstick, cartoonish characters, hit music, and exaggerated dirty jokes, but rather the more down-to-earth original from the early 1970s. It would probably earn a PG-13 rating today (no such thing in the '70s), for mild bedroom scenes, some stripping, talk of sex, and swear words, mostly uttered by a horrified prospective father-in-law. The ending is not exactly in line with traditional notions of good behavior being rewarded, bad behavior punished.
Families can talk about the way Kelly tells cheating husband Leonard he's the "noblest" man she's ever met. Is she being incredibly dumb, or does she have a point? What has Leonard sacrificed because of his obsession with Kelly? What could/should the characters have done differently? What do you think will happen to them after the ending?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Charles Cassady, Jr.
THE HEARTBREAK KID, at least in its first half, is a "romantic comedy" that seems to be the opposite of romantic, or traditionally comedic. Dark comedy is more like it. Ignore blurbs on the DVD box calling this movie "charming" or "hilarious."
The film -- directed by performer and writer Elaine May -- depicts in skin-crawling terms a nightmare marital betrayal of a honeymooning husband impulsively dumping his wife for another woman. Unlike the 2007 remake, this situation isn't played for R-rated belly laughs but rather for the shocking absurdity and impropriety of it all, plus an ethnic-cultural angle absent from the Ben Stiller version. It's uncomfortable viewing, especially if you just expect silly stuff. But it does make rich discussion material with older children about relationships, commitments, and choices.
Leonard Cantrow (Charles Grodin), a nebbishy sporting-goods salesman in his 20s, marries his girlfriend Lila (Jeannie Berlin) in a traditional Jewish ceremony in New York City, and they drive cross-country to Miami for their beach honeymoon. Almost immediately, Leonard starts to notice things about Lila he doesn't like. She's a sloppy overeater and can't swim, and Leonard seems disconcerted with her sexual performance -- and her blissful remarks that they'll be together a whole lifetime.
In Miami, Lila insists on tanning under the hot sun to excess, suffering severe sunburn that confines her to the hotel room, blistered and bloated. Leonard starts spending hours instead with Kelly (Cybill Shepherd), a sleek college-age blonde, vacationing from Minnesota, whom he met on the beach. Leonard begins telling increasingly outrageous lies to Lila to explain his absences -- that he's encountered rowdy old army buddies, that they nearly got killed in a traffic accident and had to spend the day in Florida court, and so forth.
Kelly isn't upset when Leonard confesses he's married, and Leonard promises he'll inform Lila he wants a divorce. The squirming scene where he does this is the film's high point (or low point, depending how you look at it). As slovenly and unappealing as Lila may be, she's still very human, she adores Leonard, and she's being destroyed, while the hero uses his salesman doubletalk to put a "positive" spin on the devastating news. It might augment your sense of discomfort to know that actress Berlin, rendered so undesirable onscreen, was Elaine May's own daughter off-screen (Berlin gained a Best Supporting Actress nomination).
The final act of The Heartbreak Kid engenders, unbelievably, some sympathy for destitute Leonard as he treks to the wintry Midwest in search of Kelly and confronts her stern businessman father, whose loathing of him, it's hinted, involves anti-Semitism, and not just Leonard's wormy qualities as husband material. Though there's a trick ending to wrap up the story, you're left pondering what Leonard's given up. He seems to be wondering, too.
Keep in mind that even in the post-hippie era in which this film was made, marriage was still considered a sacred, lifelong commitment; no chance for second thoughts. You could talk with kids about Leonard and what he does, or should have done. There are plenty of real-life marital disasters with celebrities that could easily fit into the discussion.
Fans of this dark comedy may also enjoy The Cable Guy, Death Becomes Her, or for older audiences, The War of the Roses. Or enjoy Charles Grodin's deadpan humor with the whole family in The Great Muppet Caper.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentTwo lovers strip naked to look at each other (a chaste sex game that involves getting as close as possible without touching); strategic shadows prevent us from seeing anything. Newlyweds shown non-explicitly undressed in bed on their honeymoon. Lila, who refused to have sex before marriage (in a roundabout way this is taken as a negative) tries to give her new husband Leonard oral sex in a car and thrusts her breasts (barely covered by her bra) into his face. |
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Language"S--t" |
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Social BehaviorThis is a morality drama with a marked lack of good role models. Leonard may strike some viewers as a complete creep because of what he does to his new wife -- with the qualifier that he'll willingly give her everything in his divorce settlement. Kelly, his replacement love interest, is teasing and flighty. Her father's hatred of Leonard may be part bigotry. And there's a negative body image message: Leonard dumps an average-sized woman for svelte Kelly (Shepherd was actually a fashion model at the time). |
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Commercialism |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoRecreational drinking. Talk of characters being prodigious drinkers or suspected drug users and dealers. |
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