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The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
1972's The Heartbreak Kid is a Neil Simon comedy written directly for the screen that is unlike anything Simon has written before. This is the kind of comedy that would normally be associated with Woody Allen and I have to keep reminding myself that Simon wrote it.
This is the story of a young man named Lenny Cantro who gets married to a clingy and needy young woman named Lila Kolodny. Lenny and Lila drive to Miami Beach for their honeymoon and one day while Lila is still in the hotel room, Lenny meets a WASP-ish blonde from Minnesota named Kelly (Cybill Shepherd) and instantly falls in love with her. Lenny is so smitten with Kelly that he decides to end his marriage and follow Kelly back to Minnesota, despite strong objections from Kelly's wealthy father.
Neil Simon isn't a writer associated with black comedy and this is definitely his darkest work, centered around a character who brings about strong mixed emotions. We do get hints early on that Lenny feels he made a mistake marrying Lila though he doesn't say anything. There's a scene in a restaurant where Lenny is clearly repulsed by Lila's sloppy consumption of an egg salad sandwich and he seems completely aggravated by her need for constant reassurance during sex. On the other hand, as instantly attracted as Lenny is to Kelly, she really gives no indication of feeling the same way and we wonder why Lenny is so willing to just throw away his brand new marriage for a woman who gives him no reason to, not to mention her father who threatens Lenny physically if he doesn't stay away from his daughter.
My usual experience with Neil Simon is a lot of rapid-paced punch lines producing consistent laughter and though there are funny moments here and there, i didn't find too much funny here because I couldn't get past how Lenny was going to end up destroying Lila for this other woman who just seemed to be leading him on. I guess this would be the Neil Simon comedy for people who hate Neil Simon.
Elaine May's direction is straight-faced and based in realism and the sometimes comic situations that can happen. I was also troubled by an ending that the story promised but I'm not sure that Lenny really deserved. Charles Grodin became an official movie star with his charming performance as Lenny and May's real life-daughter, Jeanne Berlin, received an Oscar nomination for her pathetic Lila, as did Eddie Albert for his venomous performance as Kelly's father. Definitely atypical Neil Simon, but Grodin and Berlin do make it worth a look. The film was remade in 2007 with Ben Stiller in the lead.
1972's The Heartbreak Kid is a Neil Simon comedy written directly for the screen that is unlike anything Simon has written before. This is the kind of comedy that would normally be associated with Woody Allen and I have to keep reminding myself that Simon wrote it.
This is the story of a young man named Lenny Cantro who gets married to a clingy and needy young woman named Lila Kolodny. Lenny and Lila drive to Miami Beach for their honeymoon and one day while Lila is still in the hotel room, Lenny meets a WASP-ish blonde from Minnesota named Kelly (Cybill Shepherd) and instantly falls in love with her. Lenny is so smitten with Kelly that he decides to end his marriage and follow Kelly back to Minnesota, despite strong objections from Kelly's wealthy father.
Neil Simon isn't a writer associated with black comedy and this is definitely his darkest work, centered around a character who brings about strong mixed emotions. We do get hints early on that Lenny feels he made a mistake marrying Lila though he doesn't say anything. There's a scene in a restaurant where Lenny is clearly repulsed by Lila's sloppy consumption of an egg salad sandwich and he seems completely aggravated by her need for constant reassurance during sex. On the other hand, as instantly attracted as Lenny is to Kelly, she really gives no indication of feeling the same way and we wonder why Lenny is so willing to just throw away his brand new marriage for a woman who gives him no reason to, not to mention her father who threatens Lenny physically if he doesn't stay away from his daughter.
My usual experience with Neil Simon is a lot of rapid-paced punch lines producing consistent laughter and though there are funny moments here and there, i didn't find too much funny here because I couldn't get past how Lenny was going to end up destroying Lila for this other woman who just seemed to be leading him on. I guess this would be the Neil Simon comedy for people who hate Neil Simon.
Elaine May's direction is straight-faced and based in realism and the sometimes comic situations that can happen. I was also troubled by an ending that the story promised but I'm not sure that Lenny really deserved. Charles Grodin became an official movie star with his charming performance as Lenny and May's real life-daughter, Jeanne Berlin, received an Oscar nomination for her pathetic Lila, as did Eddie Albert for his venomous performance as Kelly's father. Definitely atypical Neil Simon, but Grodin and Berlin do make it worth a look. The film was remade in 2007 with Ben Stiller in the lead.