DVD Review: The Heartbreak Kid

Ben Stiller plays Eddie Cantrow, a friendly, easy going guy who owns a sporting goods store. His skirt chasing father, Doc (Jerry Stiller) and his best friend Mac (Rob Corddry), are constantly pressuring him about not getting married. One day while Eddie is walking home from work he spots a man on a bicycle stealing a woman's purse. He tries to stop the man but the thief gets away. Soon, the woman named Lila (Malin Akerman), are happily dating. Within weeks, with a little push from his father and best friend, Lila and Eddie are wed.

Elaine May's version of The Heartbreak Kid is a fondly regarded film about a second chance at love. In contrast, it becomes clear from the moment that Eddie and Lila are married, that the Farrelly brothers chose to make a low brow film about two unsympathetic individuals. As the newlyweds begin their road trip to Mexico, Lila reveals that she can't do any of the things Eddie had planned on during their trip for one reason or another. To top it off, Lila sings along to every song on the radio, driving her new husband to the edge of sanity. She's subject to seasickness, bad at math, misuses vocabulary, has no money or real job, and even gets her husband's name wrong, all while demanding rougher sex--and in more challenging positions than Edward (not Edmund) finds comfortable.

Eddie is no saint either. As Lila is in the honeymoon suite withering in pain from sunburn, he's down at the beach, meeting his one true soul mate and reconsidering his wedding vows. Predictably, this woman named Miranda (Michelle Monaghan), doesn't realize that Eddie is there on his honeymoon.

There are some laughs provided by Rob Corddry (as a pitifully housebroken spouse), Carlos Mencia (as a happily profane Mexican at the couples honeymoon resort) and embarrassing talks with his randy father (to a weird evening in Cabo San Lucas "hittin' the devil's lettuce," but none of this is anywhere near Farrellys at their best.

In the end, The Heartbreak Kid is a disjointed film. The usually reliable Ben Stiller seems to be searching for his character's center throughout the movie. Eddie and Lila fail to make the viewers care about their story from the start and the film just degenerates into disappointing slapstick fluff. This one is for Ben Stiller diehards only.

The DVD is presented in anamorphic 2.35:1 video is clear and vibrant. The audio is Dolby 5.1. The disc includes a commentary where the Farrellys try to explain the production of The Heartbreak Kid. There are deleted scenes and a blooper reel. A featurette focuses on the real life father and son team of Jerry and Ben Stiller and their experience working together.