The Heartbreak Kid

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After her brilliant career in a comedy duo with Mike Nichols, Elaine May made tentative progress as a director, making only four films between 1971 and 1987 (her last being the disastrous but underrated Ishtar). Released in 1972, The Heartbreak Kid (from a screenplay by Neil Simon) is widely considered her best work from behind the camera, and it's still one of the most accomplished--but least recognized--comedies of the 1970s. Charles Grodin landed one of his best roles as Lenny, a newlywed husband who meets a gorgeous blonde (Cybill Shepherd) while on his honeymoon, and finds his new bride, Lila (played by May's daughter, Jeannie Berlin), unappealing by comparison. When Lila is forced to rest with a severe case of sunburn, Lenny's free to pursue his new interest, oblivious to the manipulative games that he'll soon be subjected to. May and screenwriter Simon draw plenty of pain, awkwardness, and embarrassment from hilarious situations, giving this comedy a perceptive awareness of human foibles and unchecked desires. It's a newlywed's worst nightmare come true, made enjoyable because we're watching it happen to someone else. Grodin's a prime choice of casting for expressing the movie's lusty anxiety--he's a schmuck, but you can still sympathize with the anguish he's brought on himself. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Theres no "deceit" in this movie.......2007-05-01

The poor mans "Graduate" to be sure but much much lighter.
So funny so well written so well played out.

Too many scenes to note so here's a few:

Watch the reaction of the waiter when Lenny goes crazy over the Pe-can pie
Not to mention Lenny's handling of the whole situation

Lenny's explanation to his wife on why he cant be with her stuck in the hotel room

LOVED It!!!.......2007-04-12

Very funny. Good story - The acting was great. Makes me wonder why Jeanie Berlin wasn't featured in more films - Seemed like a natural.

"Stay the He// Out of Minnesota, You ** Newlywed!".......2006-07-23

This blurry, grainy (because they used a poor copy of the film to make this DVD? It was the "in" thing in film back then? Or "added" to the DVD release for ambiance & effect?) dramedy flashback to the way we were at the U of M in 1972 is an interesting sociological study on the times that in the end leaves the viewer in a blurred state, saying "hunh - what?" Who is the master manipulator here?
(a.) Kelly Corcoran - gorgeous, boy-teasing rich girl about campus, as played by Cybill Shepard after leaving the Last Picture Show in Texas and before "Moonlighting" in San Francisco?
(b.) Her rich Daddy as played by Eddie Albert after leaving Arnold and the Hooterville folk down on the "Green Acres" farm?
or (c.) Lenny Cantrow, (Charles Grodin) who abandons his wife- played to perfection by the director's daughter deserving the Academy Award nomination she received - of less than a week on their Miami Honeymoon to go trotting off to Minnesota in the winter to "win" Kelly/Cybill?

Two things are as clear as the Sky Blue waters:
(1) neither director Elaine May nor screenwriter Neil Simon is very familiar with our Great State - as when Kelly and Lenny run off to the Corcoran "summer cabin in the mountains." Um, er, what Minnesota Mountain Range are we talking about here? The taconite piles up on the Iron Range?
(2) Viewers will never again be able to eat an egg salad sandwich without recalling Lila Cantrow.
/TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer

Great, Funny Treatment of Extended Adolescence.......2006-06-11

Social critic Tom Wolfe once labeled the Seventies "The Me Decade," when self-absorption was in high fashion, especially among white males in major metropolitan areas. Two films released at the start of that decade, both in a sense dark comedies, capture the essence of navel-gazing and the drive for upward mobility that epitomized the era.

In "Diary of a Mad Housewife", Richard Benjamin stars as a success-at-any-cost husband who rides his wife mercilessly for her unwillingness to play the role of dutiful corporate wife. Two years after "Housewife", Charles Grodin assumed the role of Lennie, a malevolently charming newlywed who dumps his bride during a severe attack of libido in Elaine May's "Heartbreak Kid".

With Benjamin's character, it's all about whipping the wife into line so he can ride the crest of success. Lennie, Grodin's character, only knows that there's some sort of mountain to be conquered - in this case, Cybil Shepherd - but initially fails to grasp the implications of what she can do for him socially and financially. In the end, each of these extended adolescents doesn't quite know what to make of their place in the world - it takes someone half Lennie's age to ask a basic question that he can't quite digest.

Both Benjamin and Grodin give stunning performances in their respective vehicles - each pouts pitifully and uses his voice in a wonderfully deprecating way at times - but because of the nature of their respective characters, Grodin is given much freer rein to let it all loose. And that he does, turning in the finest performance of his career through bouts of surface charm, sarcasm, unctuousness and inner loneliness. "Heartbreak" is a very funny satire about a man-boy who wants to have it all and does his damnedest to make it happen, half-faking it as he goes. With an inspired script and exceptional acting by all - but most especially by Grodin - it's one for the time capsule.

Eddy Albert's Finest Hour.......2006-03-13

"No deceipt in the cauliflower"? What about the "honest carrots"? I saw this while living in a Construction Camp in Northern Australia in 1971. We used to watch movies outside, projected onto a huge white screen. This movie is nothing short of hilarious.

Average customer rating:

Theres no "deceit" in this movie
LOVED It!!!
"Stay the He// Out of Minnesota, You ** Newlywed!"
Great, Funny Treatment of Extended Adolescence
Eddy Albert's Finest Hour

The Heartbreak Kid
Starring: Charles Grodin , Cybill Shepherd , Jeannie Berlin , Audra Lindley , and Eddie Albert
Director: Elaine May
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6304836627
Release Date: 1998-03-03

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Theres no "deceit" in this movie.......2007-05-01

LOVED It!!!.......2007-04-12

Very funny. Good story - The acting was great. Makes me wonder why Jeanie Berlin wasn't featured in more films - Seemed like a natural.

"Stay the He// Out of Minnesota, You ** Newlywed!".......2006-07-23

Great, Funny Treatment of Extended Adolescence.......2006-06-11

Eddy Albert's Finest Hour.......2006-03-13

The Heartbreak Kid [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]

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The Heartbreak Kid [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
Director: Michael Jenkins
Manufacturer: Roadshow Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: o English (subtitles) o English (Dolby Digital 5.1) o English (Dolby Digital 2.0) Synopsis: Award Winning Australian film: Christina (Claudia Karvan) is a schoolteacher from a wealthy Greek-Australian background, engaged to a lawyer and content with the traditional course of her life. She begins teaching at an inner-city working-class school and she finds her ideas challenged by the students. Involving herself in a campaign by a group of non-anglo students to form a soccer club in a school where the racist PE teacher only supports Australian Rules Football, Christina starts falling in love with aspiring soccer player, 17 year old Nick (Alex Dimitriades). The ensuing affair forces Christina to challenge herself, her family and the culture she lives in. Managing to effectively combine comedy with a refreshing examination of contemporary ethnic relationships in Australia, beautifully acted by a young cast, and insightfully scripted, "The Heartbreak Kid" is a breakthrough film in an Australian film culture for too long dominated by narrow colonialist ideology. Based on the play by Richard Barrett. Special Features: o Featurette o Filmographies o Interactive Menu

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Longshot (UMD Mini for PSP)
Starring: Tony DeCamillis , Hunter Tylo , and Joey Sculthorpe
Director: Lionel C. Martin
Manufacturer: Trinity Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: UMD for PSP

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If you've ever wondered what it would be like to catch all your favorite stars in one movie, here's your chance! Get ready for hot new music and non-stop stargazing on an unbelievable adventure where two brothers find that when life hands you curve balls, sometimes the best solution turns out to be a long shot! System Requirements: Running Time - 92 min. Format: UMD

ASIN: B000BTIU0C
Release Date: 2005-12-13

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