The Farrelly Brothers (Peter and Bobby), already known for their outrageous brand of humor in such films as “Dumb and Dumber” and “There’s Something about Mary,” have returned with a vengeance for a comedy to push the boundaries of taste.
It’s seems ironic, somehow, that they achieve raucous, gross-out humor at the expense of a vast revision to a screenplay written by the classy Neil Simon. But then, the whole idea is to take “The Heartbreak Kid” and turn its story of a guy who falls for another woman while on his honeymoon into a wild mix of lewd and crude humor, strong sexual situations, and irritating behavioral conditions.
This remake of “The Heartbreak Kid” puts Ben Stiller into the role of the shallow, picky confirmed bachelor who is egged on by his lascivious father and henpecked married best friend to take the plunge. Stiller’s Eddie Cantrow owns a San Francisco sporting goods store and finds himself on the romantic sidelines while attending the wedding of his former fiancée.
His foul-mouthed octogenarian father Doc (real-life father Jerry Stiller) is constantly talking about sex and trips to Las Vegas. Eddie’s buddy Mac (Rob Corddry) advocates marital bliss, though he seems programmed to mouth happy platitudes as if to mollify his demanding spouse. Together, Doc and Mac both taunt and prod the sad-sack Eddie to get hooked up.
In short order, Eddie meets Lila (Malin Akerman), after coming to her rescue during a street mugging. The pair embarks on a whirlwind romance, which leads to a hasty proposal. On the drive down the California coast for their honeymoon in Mexico, Eddie discovers the annoying quirks of his new bride, which at first include her incessant desire to sing along loudly with every song on radio, even bad ones like “Muskrat Love.”
Though Lila looks sweet and cute, she talks like a trucker and her deviated septum, due to an undisclosed cocaine habit, causes all kinds of food products to drop from her nose. Her insatiable appetite for sex is more like an endurance contest than an act of sweet intimacy.
By the time the newlyweds reach the swanky Cabo San Lucas resort, Eddie is aghast that his life partner has turned into a crass, tequila-swilling wench with a sordid past. Every time Lila reminds him they will be together for 50 years, Eddie’s face has a look of pain and disgust.
After being stricken with a severe case of sunburn, Lila refuses to leave their hotel room, and Eddie consoles himself at the hotel bar where he strikes up casual talk with Miranda (Michelle Monaghan), a lacrosse coach on vacation with her entire family from Mississippi. Soon, Eddie is cooking up excuses to leave his bride behind and spend time with Miranda. They hit it off, but only because Eddie neglects to say anything about his marital status.
All sorts of complications arise as Eddie tries to think of ways to ditch his wife. Events conspire to keep Eddie from confessing his situation. On the other hand, some bratty kids spread a rumor that Eddie’s wife was killed in a brutal slaying. Miranda’s cousin Martin (Danny McBride) becomes increasingly suspicious and hostile to Eddie. The sleazy hotel clerk Tito (Carlos Mencia) doesn’t help matters by indulging Eddie’s every whim, while at the same time undermining his romantic intentions. And, of course, Eddie keeps digging a hole for himself with every passing moment.
“The Heartbreak Kid” sustains its crude, raunchy, over-the-top humor in fairly decent fashion, as long as you enjoy the Farrelly Brothers’ brand of comedy, up until the point that Eddie is unmasked in front of Michelle and her entire family. At this juncture, the film is looking desperately for a way to arrive at some sort of satisfactory conclusion, but it simply doesn’t happen. If you don’t realize that Eddie has become a jerk, the last scene should clinch it.
Along the way, however, there are laughs for this gross-out adult sex comedy. Just be warned that this raunchy film is strictly an adult affair, and there’s an outrageous moment involving a very private female body part.
DVD RELEASE UPDATE
If you recall the release of “Grindhouse,” a collaboration of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, you know it involved two separate Grade B movies that would have been released at drive-in theaters thirty years ago.
Not surprisingly, “Death Proof,” released last month, and “Planet Terror” are not packaged together as a single DVD.
The two-disc edition of “Planet Terror,” containing extended and unrated footage, becomes available on Oct. 16.
I am betting that one day “Grindhouse” will be released as one package with both films, and hopefully will include the phony trailers that were considered the highlights.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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