The Heartbreak Kid (1972) User Reviews

Some people just can't handle a bird in hand

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 8 February 2015]

I remember seeing this movie when it first came out, and it always stuck with me. I rewatched it last night for the first time in decades, and I think my first impression as a teen is still pretty much my impression now. Charles Grodin plays a totally selfish person, Lenny Cantrow, who - unlike most of us - acts on every selfish impulse. He tries to kid himself into thinking he is a good unselfish person by giving his cast-off first wife all of the wedding presents and his car when the gash he's given her self esteem - telling her he wants a divorce after less than one week into a marriage and honeymoon, most of which he has spent with a Minnesota beauty on vacation (Cybil Shepherd as Kelly Corcoran) - is something that will likely never heal. Being older and a stepparent myself now, I could really relate to Eddie Albert's character, Kelly's father. He can smell Lenny's loopiness from a mile away, but how do you protect an adult daughter from a terrible fate - getting hooked up with someone like Grodin's character - that only time and wisdom can teach you to avoid. She doesn't have that wisdom yet.

I always thought the second wedding scene sharing so many similarities with the first is basically saying that Lenny is going to go through life ruining other people's lives because he wants what he wants when he wants it, and worse, he will always convince himself he is not a bad guy when he walks all over people to get what he wants. Also you see just a smidgen of regret in his face after the ceremony as he talks in circles about his career plans to any wedding guest that will listen, suggesting that perhaps catching Kelly is not as satisfying as chasing her all of these months has been.

Finally, I just have to tip my hat to director Elaine May. Somehow, in both 1971's "A New Leaf" and this film, she really knows how to make a female character annoying right down to the tone of voice and physical movements. She did it with her own character in A New Leaf and then did it with her own daughter, Jeannie Berlin, in this film as Lenny's first wife, Lila. Highly recommended.

Jeannie Berlin is the standout

[emmaeus · 7/10 · 27 July 2005]

Jeannie Berlin (as Grodin's wife Lila) has been sadly undermentioned in all of the comments. What a wonderful performance. She is so "out there"--watch her eat an egg-salad sandwich and then try to picture one of today's actresses willing to look so natural and vulnerable. (Well, maybe Cameron Diaz with her "hair gel" in "There's Something About Mary.") But Berlin's performance is so believable. I wish she had done more over the years.

And please note the beauty of Cybill Shepherd's figure in the surf scenes. How refreshing to see something other than one of today's stick figures as the objection of desire. She is healthy, lush, and gorgeous.

A top 70's comedy

[Horror-yo · 8/10 · 22 March 2017]

There are many things this film does really well.

First of all, the acting is superb throughout. Grodin is brilliant as ever in a very demanding, heavy acting responsibility - had he been average at it, the film easily loses heaps of its ability. Jeannie Berlin (the wife) does really well, as does Eddie Albert (the father) and for a 22 year old beaut youngster Cybill Shepherd is solid also.

Next: this isn't a generic superficial comedy. It's got that peculiar element about it. The humor isn't easy over-the-counter drivel, it's in fact uneasy, almost awkward and difficult to digest. It's about the little annoying details with people, invading personal space, being pathetic without noticing it...in a very real way, all of those things !

Finally, the film holds up very nicely in its one hour forty-five minute frame, with not one moment too many or too few, has a well thought out structure to it that isn't obvious at first, and there's this sort of itchy, awkward anti-morality morality at the end of it that is just as weirdly charming and anti-heroic as its main character.

8/10.

Humor and Pathos at the Same Time

[dougdoepke · 1 February 2015]

The movie's a comedy, I think, though it produces as many cringes as laughs. It's hard not to laugh at poor Lila (Berlin) as she flubs her honeymoon with sunburn crème blotches, oozing egg sandwiches, and ill-timed bathroom breaks. But then she's so emotionally needy, it's hard not to laugh and cry at the same time. On the other hand, husband Lenny's (Grodin) got all the empathy of a ham sandwich, as he chases after blonde goddess Kelly (Shepherd), piling one absence excuse on Lila after another. This is the honeymoon from heck, especially after the goddess-struck Lenny sues for divorce. But then he does grant Lila "the luggage".

The humor's in the character set-ups, and Lenny's special brand of chutzpah. A little fast- talking, he thinks, gets him out of any situation. That is, until he runs into Kelly's humorless dad (Albert). Seems like the proverbial irresistible force has run into the immovable object. But has it. Grodin's appropriately obnoxious when Lenny needs to be; Berlin's vulnerable when Lila needs to be; Shepherd's gorgeous without trying; while Albert's stony mug belongs on Mt. Rushmore. And catch that contemplative ending, not what I expected, but probably appropriate for what's gone before.

All in all, the movie's something of a guilty pleasure and certainly one of a kind. I do, however, miss Grodin's smirking brand of put-on.

Help me, I'm married!

[ElMaruecan82 · 9/10 · 19 September 2018]

Neil Simon has just passed away and *I* am going through a divorce. I was then twice in need of discovering Elaine May's "The Heartbreak Kid".

Indeed, as the 'divorced' one, I know quite a deal about 'heartbreak' and the film was the cathartic experience I needed. I laughed, I thought... I cringed a lot too, that's how the film was: funny, intelligent and yeah, kind of awkward at times.

It starts with a wedding ceremony between Lenny (Charles Grodin) and Lila (Jeanine Berlin, May's daughter). It's a Jewish ceremony that doesn't leave much doubt about Lila's background while Lenny could either be Jew or gentile. What matters is that he's more sophisticated than Lila, and reconsiders his choice when they're en route to their honeymoon. Though the first signal was his empty post-coital stare revealing that one of the reasons he married her was because she saved herself till marriage, and if he knew how lousy it would turn out to be, he might still be single.

The contrast between Lenny and Lila wouldn't have been as flagrant if it wasn't a matter of one-sided love, Lila's gradually annoying habits, her sexual insecurity, playful immaturity and gluttony would all look cute to anyone madly in love. Berlin -who was Oscar nominated for that role- plays with bravura and endearing pathos, a simple, albeit slightly stereotypical, Jewish girl her family threw at the first attractive aspirant. And Lenny realizes a bit late that he can have better when in Miami, he meets the young, wealthy; beautiful Kelly.

Getting the blue-eyed blonde is such an irrational but deeply rooted fantasy in the mind of Mediterranean or Semite guys that the point isn't to understand what Lenny found in Kelly, he just 'found' her. And Kelly is the kind of girl so used to flattery and favors she's hardly surprised by Lenny's courtship, she's not a trophy, she's the one who gets the man (look at the poster). Cybil Shepherd might not the best actress of her generation but she knows exactly how to play Kelly with a sort of impersonal tone that emphasizes her goddess-like quality... while Berlin is Fran Fine without the sexiness.

Now in a lesser movie, Lenny's continuous rendezvous with Kelly while Lila is oblivious to his whereabouts would have been handled like an old-age screwball comedy, but I just love how director Elaine May and writer Neil Simon inject a sharp social commentary and enrich the story with characters who embody our own skepticism. Lenny is obviously an unstoppable force who'd be comically boring if he didn't meet an unmovable object and this is where the best character in the film intervenes: Mr. Corcoran, Karen's rich and protective father, wonderfully played by Eddie Albert.

The father grows an instant and understandable dislike on Lenny, but he still loves his daughter enough to give him the benefit of the doubt, perfectly aware that the more he'd try to stop him, the more it'll get him closer to Kelly. The tension that grows between the two men culminates with one of the film's highlights, when Lenny lays his cards and makes a long and detailed speech about his feelings, I almost admired his nerve for telling he was married... the truth and only the truth indeed.

But while Grodin takes forever to make his 'point'; trying to keep some composure, Eddie Albert provides a master-class of silent acting that probably earned him his Oscar nomination. First, he's severe but fair, listening carefully. The mother smiles but look at her jaw slowly dropping as Lenny digs himself deeper and deeper, and at the word 'marriage' it's like an electric spasm caught the father, boiling from inside, waiting for that whole rhapsody to stop so he can give his answer. I've never felt so bad in a scene and yet so enthralled by acting and I had still had another coming with the infamous breakup and the way poor Lila kept missing the point.

The sad truth of marriage is that there's always a needier one, and when it comes to separation, he or she would never see the signs even if it they hit them in the face. Maybe it's not much love that blinds than the need to be loved, a contained feeling, internal, motherly. It's Lila's vision, certainly the Corcorans', but Lenny is a dream-chaser, a social climber going as far as moving on to Minnesota, stalking his girl, eating a dinner and complimenting vegetables for their sincerity in the most surreal way.

It's funny when he says "there's no deceit in the cauliflowers" but pathetic at the same time in the way he underestimates his future in-laws, thinking they could fall for such toadyism. At that point, with such an unlikable protagonist, I couldn't envision a satisfying ending but this is where the subtle and intelligent talent of May and Simon, like Reiner and Ephron later, worked. The worst thing that could ever happen to a man as determined as Lenny is to find someone who'd call his bluff... Mr. Corcoran won by allowing him the privilege of spending forty and fifty years in that heavenly place without "deceit in cauliflowers".

While regretting the jerk-typecast that followed this role, Grodin said many guys told him they could relate to him. I could personally. Many people are perpetually dissatisfied and realize too late the value of what they've lost, they basically spend the present time idealizing the future or nourishing their minds with past regrets. Either ways, they fail to embrace the present and that's the existential alienation the last shot on Grodin highlights, Lila's postponed victory.

It's interesting that many 1972 movies ended with that "what have I done?" or "now, what?" sense of isolation and life's dead-end, "The Godfather", "Cabaret", "The Candidate", "Sleuth" and "The Heartbreak Kid" is even more haunting for its Karmic bittersweet taste at the end.

WASPs vs. Yentas

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 21 October 2007]

Charles Grodin plays a Jewish New Yorker who takes his earthy new bride to Miami for their honeymoon, but becomes increasingly disillusioned with her on the trip--most especially because of a flirty, leggy blonde from Minnesota whom he meets on the beach. With Neil Simon writing this screenplay, one is almost instantly aware not of the class issue (it doesn't matter to Simon who has more money than who) but of the Jewish angle. Simon makes the bride gross and vulgar, and Jeannie Berlin has been encouraged to play these non-attributes to the hilt, while Cybill Shepherd's Protestant sex-goddess is the epitome of sarcastic poise. Simon wins points against the new wife by playing up her Jewishness in all its stereotypical brashness; it's as if the volume is up too loud. "The Heartbreak Kid" has many things going for it--the excellent performances and some very humorous asides to name two--but the intentional lewdness behind Grodin's marital predicament, and the queasy way he ingratiates himself into Shepherd's family, isn't so much hilarious as it is cringe-inducing. Shepherd's no-nonsense father, wonderfully played in an I've-seen-everything-now way by Eddie Albert, reacts accordingly to Grodin's new proposals with anger and confusion, and in these instances the film touches on something much deeper than the modern Jewish man's internal struggle. Unfortunately, this is mainly what Simon has on his plate, and it wears the audience down--and seems very dated now, anyway. Elaine May's direction is fashionably ragged and somewhat detached, and her ending is thoughtful (if, in retrospect, uneventful). The story certainly needed a modern tweaking, as this version is just a little bit undernourished (more mean-spirited than funny), however a 2007 remake fared even worse. **1/2 from ****

You may just get what you ask for

[rj-27 · 8/10 · 17 August 2000]

I saw this when it first came out in 1972 and saw it again recently on cable. One way to know a classic is how well it dates itself, not just in the vernacular, but philosophically. How timeless are the themes it portrays and how well could anyone from any time period relate to them? In fact, of The Heartbreak Kid it could be said that a lot of the shock value of a man dumping his bride on their honeymoon will be lost on a generation that would wonder why he would want to married at all. Well at least the title character believes in firm commitments, as long as it is with the right girl. The point of the whole movie is the somewhat subtle ending that depicts a man who, despite the odds against him, got the girl of his dreams, but somehow dosn't find it nearly as satisfying as he would have thought.

This a terrific piece of script writing, with many memorable lines you love to quote...a sure sign of a very good movie.

Entertaining

[kenjha · 7/10 · 29 December 2010]

While on honeymoon with his nice Jewish bride, an indecisive young man meets the woman of his dreams. May elicits good performances and keeps it entertaining but the script is not one of Simon's best. Grodin is terrific as the schmuck who sees an opportunity to go for the gold in the form of WASP beauty Shepherd. Berlin (daughter of May) steals the film as the jilted wife, a loving if not lovely woman that one wants to give a reassuring hug to. The scene where Grodin dumps her is indeed heartbreaking. Albert is funny as Shepherd's stern father, who eventually tries to buy off Grodin. This film has parallels to "The Graduate," although it is nowhere as good as that classic.

An Unforgettable Treasure

[naglec-1 · 10/10 · 12 October 2007]

An artful mixture of deft, laugh-out-loud comedy, interspersed with touching poignant moments, makes this film special and unforgettable. Elaine May's direction was delicate yet purposeful, allowing for the superb development of characters ( in particular Eddie Albert's curmudgeonly businessman/father) without impeding the flow of the plot.

In this social portrayal of the Peter Principle, the glib, shallow Lenny somehow talks himself to dizzying social and economic heights all without the benefit of a pedigree or occupational skill set. Albert's father figure takes no time at all to see through all of this; but he is outnumbered by his wife and daughter who succumb to Lenny's charms. You can't help but feel this man's helpless pain in having to watch his lovely, impressionable daughter lured into a clearly doomed marriage.

Cybil Shephard, Eddie Albert and Charles Grondin all turned in career performances. This show was one of those rare times when everything (directing, writing and acting) came together to create something greater than the sum of its parts - it's a real treasure.

Strangers On A Beach.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 9 November 2014]

This was written by Neil Simon but is more loose-limbed and subtle than most of his other work. It was directed efficiently by Elaine May and her daughter, Jeanne Berlin, has a prominent role as Charles Grodin's bride. They are in ecstasy, dancing to the tunes of Burt Bacharach. Both are bourgeois but differences soon emerge when they take off for their honeymoon in Miami. She pulls down her bodice and playfully bares her boobs to him while he's trying to drive on the crowded interstate. "STOP it, the TRUCK drivers will see!" She sulks a little.

This is clearly Neil Simon territory, two slightly mismatched people, as in "The Odd Couple," only with far more nuance, as it develops.

Grodin is conventionally handsome and young, while Berlin has more interesting characteristics. She's plumper than usual (too many Milky Ways) and she has strong, fleshy, attractive features. She is matronly towards Grodin and loving, too. Her voice is so nasal that it might make a good, irritating whine, but she speaks so slowly and mellifluously that her tone is endearing.

The morning after their first night as a couple, they have breakfast in the attached motel restaurant. He eats his hamburger delicately, like a surgeon. She orders a double egg salad sandwich and a chocolate shake and smears everything all over her lips while Grodin stares aghast. "Want a bite?", she asks, offering him the half-eaten sandwich. And, "Leonard, look around. There's us in fifty years, isn't it?" Grodin looks over his shoulder to see a wizened, stooped old man trying to help his gnome-like wife into her coat. It's already funny and it's hardly begun. The film turns her into a repellent figure, covers her bright red body with cold cream and odium.

Maybe it should have stuck with that one relationship -- Grodin and Berlin -- because half way through, Grodin falls for. Cybil Shepherd, the summum bonum of femininity, full of confidence, cute little quirks, and stunning. She's rich, she's beautiful, she's flirtatious, she has a perfect figure, she's indifferent, and she's a shiksa named Kelly. He bumps into her on the beach. You ought to see Miami Beach in the winter -- hardly a soul who isn't eligible for membership in AARP, wobbling stiffly about, retired, gray-haired, wrinkled, flabby, and brown. No kids. I take the caricature to be deliberate, another reminder of what Grodin and Berlin will be like in "forty or fifty years." Now the story takes us from Grodin feeling superior to Berlin, to Shepherd's Aryan Minnesota family and their goyim naches. Now HE gets to feel demeaned. The story is like a sandwich with a double filling of egg-salad humiliation and, while it's funny, it sort of disjoints the whole movie.

The head of Kelly Corcoran's family is the very rich and anti-Semitic Eddie Albert, who is obnoxious throughout. But one of his friends is William Prince (the pharmacist's mate in "Destination Tokyo") whom I've always like because he and I share the same alma mater. Grodin dumps Berlin, gives her everything, and heads after Shepherd to Minneapolis, where he visits Kelly's house and her father threatens to kill him if he ever shows up again. Worse, Shepherd has almost forgotten him and now has no time for him because she's late for an English Lit class. The flirtation in Florida that she's laughed off, Grodin took seriously. It's like Bruno and Guy in Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train." Shepherd, quite unconvincingly, changes her attitude after a brief conversation. At their marriage reception, Grodin finds himself talking to wealthy businessmen who manufacture tear gas. He's polite but not interested. Finally, he's isolated on a couch with only two ten-year olds listening to him before they too leave, out of boredom. Grodin sits alone, humming Burt Bacharach to himself, and we have little idea of where this is all headed. He's young, resourceful, and innovative, but alternately determined and then so impulsive we can doubt that he has functioning frontal lobes. Or he could go mad and start screaming at any moment.

Annoying people have feelings too

[mls4182 · 2/10 · 15 April 2023]

One would think a film written by Neil Simon and directed by Elaine May would be a treasure. One would think. This is unbearable.

The story is selfish and mean spirited, the characters are all annoying, the dialogue is inane to the point of being annoying.

I don't think using a person, leading them on, lying to them and hurting their feelings is funny. It isn't.

This so bad people gave up the rights. It is free to watch on YouTube. I don't think I can finish watching this car wreck it is so painful. I really don't get the glowing reviews.

Question: Was Charles Grodin BORN wearing an awful, cheap wig?

In The Company Of Lenny

[Cheetah-6 · 10/10 · 23 March 2002]

James Grodin's Character of Lenny in "The Heartbreak Kid" is one of the most peculiar characters you'll likely encounter on film. Despicable, outrageous and an audacious liar. He's obnoxious in his determination to get what he thinks he wants and yet somehow comes across as sincere and likable. This whole film is also one of the most peculiar comedies to come along. I found myself alternating between laughs and uncomfortable winces at his utter insensitivity and selfish determination, but it's this dichotomy of emotions that make The Heartbreak Kid the obscure gem that it is. I don't think we can ever be sure if we should like or hate this guy. Two scenes in this movie: "laying his cards on the table" over drinks with Kelly and her parents and the breakup scene in the restaurant with Lila, are a sight to behold. Eddie Albert's, Jeannie Berlin's and Cybill Shepherd's facial expressions are priceless as they listen to Lenny's plans to claim Kelly after remedying his current "complication". The scene in the restaurant as Lenny tries to "drop the bomb" on Lila would be funny if it wasn't so painful to watch. I've never been quite sure about the final scene of this movie: Lenny on the couch, quietly humming to himself, seemingly at a loss as the camera lingers on him for a thoughtful moment, is he already on his way to becoming dissatisfied again now that he has attained his desire or has he finally found some peace after his battle for Kelly? This is an unusual comedy well worth a look. If you can find it.

Good movie, more there than it might seem

[tightspotkilo · 7/10 · 15 September 2007]

This is a movie that operates on more than one level, most of which is so subtle as to be nearly imperceptible --or at least seems to be imperceptible, dwarfed as everything else is by the manifest opprobrium of the main character.

Superficially what we all clearly see is a dark comedy about a despicable cad, Lenny, who is not just despicable, but despicable with oblivious aplomb, a role played masterfully by Charles Grodin, the aforementioned opprobrious main character and star of the movie. That factoid right there sets up a dynamic wherein people are either going to love this movie or hate this movie, based strictly on how Lenny strikes them. Some find humor in this guy, but others do not. Many are off-put. So off-put, in fact, that they can't get past it. In that way I would compare this 1972 film to a more contemporary one, Sideways (2004). In Sideways the main characters, Jack in particular (played by Thomas Haden Church), were so personally offensive, in word, in thought, and in deed, that many people intensely disliked the movie solely on that basis. People say to me, "I hated Sideways." I ask them why and they say, "I couldn't stand Jack." Some perspective is called for here. The viewer is supposed to dislike Jack in Sideways. That was intended. Maybe find him a little entertaining --or not-- but disliking him is the intended effect. Likewise here with Lenny in The Heartbreak Kid. We are supposed to dislike Lenny. We can laugh at him too if we want to, and he is funny, but disapproval and repulsion is the intent.

At the very least Lenny's actions make most people just plain awkwardly uncomfortable. The movie thereby evokes certain feelings and emotions in the viewer that aren't often evoked by movies, which, all by itself, makes this movie unique. As a work of art it makes it a success. And that's just the superficiality of it. There's more to it than just that.

Bruce Jay Friedman, the writer, and Neil Simon, the director, were actually making some much deeper ethnic observations and social commentary here. Commentary about Jews, about Jews and Jewish culture in modern America, about Gentiles too, and about how Jews and Gentiles interact in that modern America. All that. But mostly the observations and commentary was about the condition of young Jewish men (some of the very same turf that was being plowed by novelist Philip Roth in about the same era as this movie was released). Lenny, the character played by Grodin, is the almost stereo-typical young angst-filled Jewish male, desperate to break out from the box of tradition which was preordained for him, and who rubbishes his very Jewish bride on their honeymoon to lust after a very Gentile blond, Cybil Shepherd as Kelly Corcoran, all as a part of that angst condition. The Corcoran family, meanwhile, presenting themselves as the cold, aloof uptight WASPs.

Friedman had a lot to say here. Simon executed it well. Probably among Simon's best work, although not ever really recognized as such. A remake with Ben Stiller in the Lenny role is now in the works, soon in the offing. We'll have to see if they improve upon the original. I have my doubts that they can even come close. While not perfect, the original is a good movie. But perhaps the time for this story has passed. It was relevant, pertinent, and apropos for 1972. Not so sure about that in 2007. Not to disparage Ben Stiller, but the underlying themes of this movie wouldn't mean as much today as it did 35 years ago.

Grodin and Shepherd give good performances. Eddie Albert did too. I heard Cybil say in an interview not all that long ago that she always wished they'd done a sequel to it, and that she was still open to the possibility.

Very much worth seeing before one sees any remaking of it.

A disappointment; so little makes sense

[margot · 5/10 · 22 January 2022]

I was expecting to love this film for its cynicism and absurdity, but I couldn't get past the cold and self-absorbed characters and the overall *meanness* of their depiction. Motivation is in short supply too. Why would Lenny and Lila want to get married? Does Lenny just want sex? Can't he do better? Lila must have been repellent even while they were dating. Who goes to Miami for a honeymoon? What is Kelly Corcoran's attraction to Lenny? What are the Corcorans doing in that hotel? Shouldn't they be Catholic if they're named Corcoran? Etc. Etc.

I recognize the chilly absurdity from the Bruce Jay Friedman source, but I guess it didn't translate well to the screen. Others seem to like it though.

Hilarious

[sleazydinosaur · 18 September 2002]

I only saw this movie a couple of years ago. I always avoided it at the video store because of the name, I assumed it must be about a little kid, something like The Champ or Lucas, nothing wrong with those kinds of movies, just not my cup of tea. But I happened to read about it in one of Leonard Maltins books, he called it one of the best comedies of the 70s, and very dark for it's time. So I rented it and loved it. I think it's pretty dark even by todays standards, Charles Grodins character is likeable in an odd way, but he's also two faced and deceitful, not to mention downright cruel to his new bride. I don't know of many actors that could have played this better than Charles Grodin, this was certainly his best role. In his biography he wrote that he recognizes the brilliance of the film, but he hated playing such a cruel character. The thing is, the character never intends to be cruel, he just can't seem to help it, lying and selfishness are just second nature to him. If your like me, you'll find yourself laughing and cringing at the same time. The ending is just perfection, he has seemingly attained what he wanted, the thing that he has lied and cheated and hurt other people to get, yet he seems to already be tired of it and longing for what he already had. At least that's my take on it, it's open to interpretation. This movie may not be for everybody, but if you like dark comedies, you should check it out.

Egg Salad Nut

[middleburg · 10/10 · 24 April 2006]

Outrageous, ridiculous, annoying, seemingly made on-the-cheap, and yet one of the most endearing comedies of the 60s/70s. Such contrasts in this film! It is entirely made up of 100% stereotypes: Lenny's transparent con-man, Lila's funny/sad nebbish, Kelly's Ice Goddess, Kelly's father's WASP image, Kelly's Mother's...well...Mother image. And yet at that moment in the restaurant when Lenny breaks the news to Lila over that half-slice of pecan pie, our hearts just break for her, and Lenny's feeble, yet honest (although ultimately self-serving) attempt to comfort her also touches us, as does Kelly's joie de vivre and passion for Lenny, and her parent's obvious conflicting feelings of protection, love and knowing they have to let go. The dialogue is as delicious as that pecan pie (not to mention Lila's Egg Salad and her candy bar in bed). It is sort of a guilty pleasure. Much of the movie is of people being sort of cruel and insensitive - acting only on impulse and immediate feelings, rather than maturity. But the way the film progresses from one brilliantly written scene to another, we can't wait to see what will transpire next, and we somehow end up caring so much for everyone in the film (even though they often don't care all that much for each other!) Favorite moments: 1. the ENTIRE road trip down the East Coast as the Honeymoon starts to end before it even begins. 2. Lenny's "laying out all his cards" for Kelly's Dad (as Lenny does his monologue, and Kelly's Dad responds with his hysterical descriptions of preferring a lit bomb in his mouth rather than having Lenny court his daughter, look at the combination bemused/concerned reactions of Kelly and her Mom--priceless scene). 3. that heartbreaking restaurant scene, and Lila crying out: "Oh Lenny, you're dying!!!!" - I never saw that response from Lila coming--again, priceless! 4. The Dinner scene in Minnesota with Lenny quoting shamelessly from an editorial in the local paper. Talk about clever and unexpected dialogue! This film is an absolute gem, hasn't dated one iota, and is a genuinely bittersweet comedy guaranteed to entertain, but which also somehow manages to resonate with some very real truths about love, relationships, ego and happiness.

Frustrating, awkward, annoying and cynically fascinating.

[imbluzclooby · 6/10 · 16 September 2017]

Charles Grodin is no stranger to playing dorks, dweebs, creeps or nerds. In fact he did it so often that many of us are lead to believe he truly is the character he has portrayed so many times. We all know this tale too well. A young salesman meets a nice Jewish girl in a bar and marries her. When off to their honeymoon to Miami, he discovers that she is perpetually annoying and irritating from eating Egg salad sandwiches, talking during intercourse and stubborn about his pleas for her to put on sunscreen. Enter the Flirty Cybil Shepard and all plans go to hell. I understand that much of comedy is rooted in pain and discomfort and Neil Simon understood this very well. But The Heartbreak Kid is a plot that is so aggravating and cringe-worthy that at times we really don't see the humor. Each character becomes a cliché. Jeannie Berlin's performance is admirable, but the Stereotypical Yenta is taken to its most annoying extreme. You wonder if the writer had a deep seated hatred for new York girls. Charles Grodin is far too annoying and wimpy to even relate too. When he lies to Lila in the Hotel room, trying to cover up his escapades, it's just too implausible for anyone to take seriously. It was moments like that that made this movie frustrating. Lila gets hurt, dumped and cast by the wayside. Cybil Shepard becomes the symbol of female perfection to Grodin. And the final 40 minutes is about how he pursues her shamelessly despite her father's disdain for him. I'm not sure why women would find this humorous in the least, because it casts a very negative light on their intelligence, integrity and value. I guess a guy can see the surface humor in Grodin's actions, but if you think about how truly pitiful and reckless his actions are, there's no humor at all. It's a sad tale about a man with shabby and selfish desires and the consequences of his actions. This is not funny to me at all.

Why Shepard's character is attracted to Grodin's is a mystery that doesn't get discovered. Based on her actions she is complicit in their rendezvous, and thus she is equally reprehensible. The flirting and toying with his desires shows a sheer lack of concern for his wife. It comes as a very inappropriate nuance when she utters lines, "I think you are the most decent man I've ever met." Or. "Daddy can he join us for dinner?" Moments like this reveal a true lack of maturity and social integrity. And why would the father, Eddie Albert, even offer to pay this creep money to go away? It would have been easier to fight him off or just kick him out.

Heartbreak Kid is a product of the early 1970's and the Neil Simon persuasion. Showing people in their most vulnerable, if not totally implausible, situation was a fascination for those who liked these kind of movies. The final scene where, Lenny sits on the couch telling two children his boring and odd business aspirations made them leave. And the final shot of his introspection interspersed with Mr. Corcoran's curious look of disdain was a cryptic way of telling us Lenny is a lost guy unable to live up to his ambitions.

Black comedies are problematic in that where one sees humor, another might see tragedy. So, people may laugh in the wrong places. It sort of defeats the purpose of comedy in general. Are we supposed to laugh? Cry? Get annoyed? Oh well, it's hilarious , but if you really think about it, it's not funny at all. Not the best formula for entertainment. Heartbreak kid scored 92% on the Critics score and 72% on the audience score at Rotten Tomatoes. If the Critics loved it and the audience was fairly indifferent, that should tell us something when Neil Simon and Elaine May are in the Driver's seat.

The Slow Burn

[jazmaan · 8/10 · 4 September 2010]

This movie recently became available on Netflix! It's even on their Instant Queue so you can watch it on demand.

It's very different than the Ben Stiller remake (which I also enjoyed.) But in this movie Lenny is not at all a sympathetic character while his wife certainly is. There are some really intense scenes in this movie. Sometimes uncomfortably so. I guess this was one of the first "Dramedy" movies before that term was even invented.

Anyway, there is one classic scene in this film that's absolutely worth the price of admission. Eddie Albert earns his Oscar nomination without saying a single word, doing the Slow Burn to end all Slow Burns, while Lenny "lays his cards on the table".

Heartbreak is A Funny Kid ***

[edwagreen · 7/10 · 2 February 2006]

Eddie Albert's 2nd nomination for best supporting actor in the 1972 film, "The Heartbreak Kid."

One can ask how can a picture be good when its hero, played by Charles Grodin, marries Jeannie Berlin in a Jewish ceremony at the beginning of the film, and by the latter's end, he is marrying Cybil Shepherd in church. Oy vey!

Yet it happens. On his honeymoon with Berlin, he is taken back by the lovely Shepherd, love here is the obstacle. What is he to do with Berlin? Murder, is not legal we know.

If that isn't enough, he runs up against Shepherd's father, played with a fine demeanor by Eddie Albert, who conveys the typical WASP feeling. How can this average Jewish guy win over a man, a typical WASP? This becomes the central theme. While Grodin was good in the film, anyone ever wonder what Dustin Hoffman would have done for the part of Lenny?

Jeannie Berlin was nominated for best supporting actress. Just look at her face filled with cream to cover that sun-burn that keeps her locked up in the room while Grodin cavorts with his love.

A comic look at some very serious issues. Well worth the look.

Priceless

[JasparLamarCrabb · 9/10 · 4 October 2006]

Priceless. Charles Grodin is in every scene of THE HEARTBREAK KID and in every scene his actions are more cringe-inducing than the last. Insinuating himself into the lives of a mid-western WASP family, Grodin is sickening...utterly insincere and constantly losing. He's head over heels for wholesome coed Cybill Shepherd, much to the constant dismay of her stern father Eddie Albert. Further complicating matters is his new wife! Grodin, in an early leading role, is excellent, Shepherd is charming and Albert steals each scene he's in...his teeth never seem to unclench. Another big plus is Jeannie Berlin as Grodin's hapless bride, a woman with the social graces of a blind hippo. Directed by the great Elaine May and written by Neil Simon. It's funny and smart. Adapting the Bruce J Friedman story, this is probably the most cerebral thing Neil Simon has ever written.

Not quite a rom com

[jellopuke · 7/10 · 27 October 2020]

This gets dark and cringey and isn't really a romantic comedy at all. It's hard to see why anyone would want to be with Grodin's character, but the darkness works overall, even though I still say it should have had more to the ending i.e.) a scene where either he or Shepherd gets second thoughts when the other isn't what they expected. Apparently this was filmed but cut and that's a shame because it would have been a nice circular coda.

The beginning of the end of personal responsibility?

[gtyj1990 · 3/10 · 29 June 2006]

It seems everyone loved this movie; I will offer the first dissenting opinion here. Supposedly the 1980's ushered in the "me" generation, but after watching this film, one has to wonder if it didn't begin earlier. Lenny Cathrow (Charles Grodin) has got to be one of the most selfish characters on film.

He marries a nice enough gal, Lila (Jeannie Berlin, daughter of the director, Elaine May), but almost instantly shows contempt for her - "buyer's remorse"? On the third day of his honeymoon, he meets a (rich) spoiled college kid, Kelly (Cybill Shepherd), whose beauty and laugh captivate him. I should mention that Lenny and Lila are New York Jews and Kelly is a blonde mid-Westerner from Minneapolis. The fact that Lenny may never have seen a WASP like Kelly while growing up in the city is hardly an excuse for his actions, and Berlin's character is hardly a stereotypical (repugnant, overindulged) Jewish American Princess.

Sure, the road-trip to Miami, during which Lenny all-too-quickly grew to hate his bride (one wonders how he ever chose to marry her in the first place), was hardly ideal. But someone who'd spent three years in the service of his country should show a little more maturity than he does; the story recalls Tennessee Williams's play, and the much better film "Period of Adjustment (1962)" - Jim Hutton's character was also ex-military. Suddenly, anything Lila does (almost nothing Lenny shouldn't have noticed while dating) is distasteful to her groom. Is it possible that he was a virgin and we're to believe that their wedding night sex was too disillusioning for him?

So, Lenny decides to dump his newlywed wife to pursue Kelly, whose attraction to him is a mystery; it appears she's only toying with the young bridegroom until the incredible (and disappointing) end when he wins her away from her disapproving father (Eddie Albert, his performance being the film's only highlight). I can enjoy a movie with unredeemable characters, as long as the plot is plausible.

A wife is NOT like a new shirt you can just return because you don't like it!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 19 January 2017]

The film begins with Lenny (Charles Grodin) marrying Lila (Jeannie Berlin). On the honeymoon it is obvious that his new wife can be very annoying and she eats like a pig...though he surely must have known all this as they had been dating. After all, it wasn't like the marriage was one of those arranged ones!! So on one hand, you can understand Lenny becoming disenchanted with her...but he knew who he was marrying! To make it much worse, he starts looking at other women and begins dating while he's STILL on his honeymoon!!! Clearly, Lenny is a super-jerk and Kelly (Cybill Shepherd) inexplicably wants him....even though she knows he just got married. Not surprisingly, her father (Eddie Albert) wants to kill Lenny...and who would blame him?! So what's next? See the film.

If you had to sum up this movie in one word, AWKWARD would be pretty accurate! There are many moments where the viewer will likely feel awkward and squirm a bit as they watch that weasel Lenny! I like comedy like this...the more awkward the better. But my wife hates stuff like this and so I am glad I didn't watch the movie with her. So, if films like "The King of Comedy" or the Veal Prince Orloff episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" make you cringe, skip this film!

I think the other reason I really enjoyed this movie was Eddie Albert and his wonderful character. Again and again, I found myself laughing whenever he spoke...and it's among his best performances. It's no surprise, then, that he was Oscar-nominated for this. He was incredibly blunt, funny and hard to dislike! And, he seemed to be the only one outraged at Lenny's god-awful actions and the inane blather that came out of Lenny's mouth!

Overall, a wonderful film and I have no idea why they would bother remaking it...but that's Hollywood for you.

By the way, the music to this film is awful...but representative of the times. I lived through this era and hated hearing the likes of "Close to You" again and again! Somehow I managed to tune it all out, thank goodness!

dark twisted humor

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 1 February 2015]

Lenny Cantrow (Charles Grodin) has married his NY Jewish princess Lila (Jeannie Berlin). They are driving to honeymoon in Miami beach. He starts to get annoyed by little things that Lila does. At the beach, he encounters the flirty Kelly Corcoran (Cybill Shepherd). He starts spending more and more time with her even after her father (Eddie Albert) moves out of the hotel to get away from the Jewish element. He starts lying to Lila to spend more time with Kelly. He divorces Lila to follow Kelly in Minnesota.

Elaine May is probably a better writer than a film director. She lacks a visual style and a cinematic sense of comedy. The theater is probably a better place for her than the big screen. Although she gets a good performance from Grodin. The Neil Simon script is a terrific skewering of the racial divide and Lenny is a terrific squirrelly protagonist. There are no big laughs but the movie has a great dark twisted humor about it.

whew, bad writing, bad acting, bad filming...and not funny!

[secondtake · 2/10 · 8 January 2011]

The Heartbreak Kid (1972)

Okay, it's a comedy. And humor is idiosyncratic. But so much of this movie swings around the supposed (sarcastic?) appeal of the lead male, TV actor Charles Grodin, who is a definitive dweeb, it's hard to really get into it. And hard to laugh at. Because if you don't get the joke, it just comes off as dumb.

Maybe there are people who identify specifically with these types, back around 1970, who can also feel how funny and warm it might be. The lead females are contrasting types, of course, the Nordic Cybil Shepard and the Jewish Jeannie Berlin, but both are beautiful and fun and charming in the way a movie needs them to be (Shepard is actually a little dull). It's not such a contrast or such a game, after all, and we are stuck watching Grodin, with a little lame Dustin Hoffman in him, bounce between the two women. Not only is he a lame actor, his character is a jerk, too.

What's most baffling is that the writer is Neil Simon, and though he's had some bombs, he's clever and funny regardless. Something went wrong, and the best guess is Elaine May, who is famous for the notorious "Isthar" that also has a wacky, not so funny sense of humor (and stars the real Dustin Hoffman). But her Mikey and Nicky isn't as bad, and she has worked for years with the great Mike Nichols.

Anyway, take it where you can. It's poor sledding all the way, badly filmed, interminably banal, and dated to boot. Good luck!