2008 Woodie Awards
Ben Stiller Breaks Hearts to Bring Laughs
The Farrellys are back and better with their new R-Rated comedy.
Summer Rogers
Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: Entertainment
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Eddie Cantrow (Stiller) meets Lila (Malin Akermin) by accident when he attempts to stop a mugger who stole her purse. Inevitably, the mugger perfumes Eddie in the eyes and makes off with the purse. However, Eddie was lucky enough to meet Lila. They begin dating, and after a few weeks, Lila tells Eddie she must go to Europe for her job.
After six short weeks of dating, Eddie marries Lila to prevent her from moving. However, on their long road trip from San Francisco to Cabo for their honeymoon, Eddie discovers how crazy Lila actually is. On the honeymoon, Eddie finds the woman of his dreams, Miranda (Michelle Monaghan).
Akerman was the perfect choice for the female comedic lead. She was in the comedy, "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," but she wasn't able to reach her full comedic potential in that movie. In "Heartbreak" she is given free range and she was perfect for the role. The Farrellys stumbled upon her through auditions; they hadn't even seen her in "Harold and Kumar."
Stiller's characters are calming with age. He's not as outrageous as he was in an earlier film, such as "Zoolander," but that's not to say that he isn't still retaining his Stiller-isms. Monaghan gave a great performance as the sweet "other woman."
Stiller's real father, Jerry Stiller, also makes an appearance in the film, playing Stiller's character's father. Comedian Carlos Mencia also gives a hilarious performance in his small role as Uncle Tito at the resort in Cabo.
This movie is the funniest movie the Farrellys have made since "There's Something About Mary." They were hit-and-miss with their in-between movies, "Shallow Hal," "Stuck on You" and "Fever Pitch."
"The Heartbreak Kid" is the Farrelly's R-rated sex-comedy comeback for the directing duo.
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