The Heartbreak Kid – Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Reviews, Film, Reviews



What happens when Dumb and Dumber collides with The Odd Couple? The Farrelly Brothers The Heartbreak Kid is extremely different from Neil Simons original script. Has the king of Broadway ever written a scene involving a bride boffing a donkey during her honeymoon? This remake brings the Farrellys gross-out comedy to an awkward romantic situation. Is it safe to bring a date to this film?

Ben Stiller is a lifelong bachelor who makes the horrible mistake of going to his ex-girlfriends wedding. He cant handle the toasts about how the bride didnt have real love with him. He was a frog and not a prince. Back on the streets of San Francisco, he goes after a mugger that attacked Malin Akerman. He doesnt recover her purse. He does get a pair of her Ziggy Stardust panties. When they reunite, its instant romance. After a few months of sucking face, they part their lips long enough to say, “I do.” They head down to Cabo for their honeymoon. During the road trip, Stiller realizes he hasnt quite married the woman of his dreams. Shes got issues that drive him buggy. The married life isnt agreeing with him.

Salvation comes in the form of an extremely nasty sunburn on her. She looks like a victim of chemical warfare with lobster red skin with an ooze coating. She hides in the hotel room while Stiller takes in the finer qualities of the resort. He fears hes made the biggest mistake of his life. During his depression, he stumbles across Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye). Shes completely the kind of gal he should have married. Instead of being the dutiful husband, Stiller keeps coming up with excuses to go on dates with Monaghan. Hes a complete dog having a romantic time on his honeymoon while ducking his wife. Monaghans family is at the resort. They all enjoy Stiller except Danny McBride (Tropic Thunder). He senses theres something wrong with the man from San Francisco. How long can Stiller fool around on his wife? How far is he willing to go with Monaghan? And how gross can a romantic comedy get?

The film plays with the obvious Mexican stereotypes including the donkey show, the rat-dog joke, illegal aliens sneaking across the border and Carlos Mencia being Mexican. German video watchers will be thrilled to see Stiller receive a golden shower from his wife. Did Neil Simon have a stream hit Charles Grodin in the original? This romantic comedy is not a good first date film if you met at a church picnic. Theres less jaw-dropping gross moments on Faces of Death. Its a miracle that the Farrelly brothers didnt figure out how to get Monaghan and Akerman to spoof “Two Girls One Cup.”

The real star of The Heartbreak Kid is Danny McBride. He makes Stiller his screen bitch. When McBride hits Stiller with a baseball bat, theres no holding back on the action. Hes not in awe of working with Zoolander. He makes up for the weaker elements in the movie. The Heartbreak Kid is the worst date movie since The Accused with Jodie Foster, but a good film to watch if your date cancels at the last minute.

The video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer shows off the coastal resort. Youll also get an extremely clear vision of the gross out gags. You might want to step back from the screen when the wifes muff explodes. The audio is English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD The volume is right to hear McBrides bat crack against Stiller. The French and Spanish dubs are 5.1 Dolby Digital. The subtitles are in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Commentary Track features Peter and Bobby Farrelly. They get plenty of joy making Ben Stiller suffer on screen.

The Farrelly Bros. in the French Tradition (16:35) tells how Bobby and pals created the round beach towel. We learn how they went from bad businessmen to filmmakers. Its a proper oral biography from the guys who brought you Dumb and Dumber. The Bullfrog prank will disgust weak stomachs. This and the other bonus features are in standard def.

Ben & Jerry (5:00) gives a poignant look at the Stillers on the set. Jerry thought Ben would become a doctor.

Heartbreak Halloween (3:24) shows the costume fun during on day on the shoot. Pretty amazing costumes from the crew.

The Egg Toss (8:04) covers how the crew played the game to build team spirit. They did this every few days with cash prizes. Danny McBride lays down why tossing eggs was important to the shoot.

Gag Reel (4:01) is the normal blooper fun. Jerry Stiller screaming at an airplane is worth watching. Danny McBride goes after a crew member for being in his eyeline.

Deleted scenes (7:27) contains five moments that were snipped. Theres fire dancers that were cut. We get to Mirandas ex-boyfriends skydiving marriage proposal. Youll laugh when Jerry Stiller says, “Bitches be crazy.”


Theatrical Trailer (2:35) promotes the messed up nature of Ben Stiller being the guy who cant commit to making the jump.


The Heartbreak Kid is a romantic cad comedy. Stiller and the Farrelly Brothers go to complete extremes to show a man willing to dump his first wife in record time. The gross out moments are overwhelming when compared to Theres Something About Marry. This is perfect viewing when youre in a heartbreaking mood.

………………………………………


Dreamworks Home Video presents The Heartbreak Kid. Directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly. Starring Ben Stiller, Jerry Stiller, Michelle Monaghan, Malin Akerman and Danny McBride. Written by Scot Armstrong, Leslie Dixon, Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly and Kevin Barnett. Running time: 115 minutes. Rated R. Released on DVD: Dec. 16, 2008. Available at Amazon.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.