Item: Heartbreakers
Rating: 6
Author: JoBlo

Heartbreakers

March 10th 2001, 12:00am

	Review Date: Director: David Mirkin Writer: Robert Dunn, Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur Producers: John Davis and Irving Ong Actors: Sigourney Weaver as Max, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Page, Ray Liotta as Dean

Plot:

A mom and daughter team work together to con men into loving them, cheating on them and then paying them upon divorce. But what happens when they actually fall in love with their potential conquests? Find out when you watch the movie.

Critique:

Despite its faults and “video movie” feel, I’d still slightly recommend this movie because of its enjoyable premise, the two fun performances from Ray Liotta and Gene Hackman, and the two other fun performances from Jennifer Love Hewitt’s breasts! C’mon everybody, let’s all stand up and give those puppies their rightful due . Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s see what else this film had to offer. Well, to start off with, I liked the whole mother/daughter relationship between Weaver and Hewitt. I bought it and I liked the back and forth bickering. I also loved the performance by Gene Hackman, who literally stole every scene that he was in, as the old guy with a peculiar affection for anyone who smokes. Very funny! I only wish there were more of him to go around. Which brings me to my next point. Even though the general premise of this movie is a good one, the filmmakers here seemed to think that over two hours of it was required, so the last thirty minutes of the film ends up feeling a little stretched, as the basic idea gets regurgitated over and over again. I mean, how many times can the same guy fall for the same con? There’s also the disappearance of a very likeable character, which kind of took me out of the movie as well.

But for the most part, the flick has enough laughs and funny moments to get you by. The soundtrack also helps, with an upbeat tempo, and plenty of sorted cool tunes. And being a fan of Jason Lee personally, it was also nice to see him paying the rent as the “love interest”. In fact, I even bought most of the romance stuff between him and Jennifer Love. But despite some stuff working in this movie, some other stuff could’ve been improved. The dark nature of the film’s premise could’ve really been milked with some nasty black comedy, but the filmmakers decided to play the “safe card” with this one, which is unfortunate because I really think that the extra spice would have made this film so much better. The length of the film also hurt its overall potency, and the ordinary nature of the comedy, which was for the most part, so-so. I did however crack up at a few key scenes, including one with SNL alumnus Kevin Nealon and some pretty funny lines, like the one in which Liotta’s character is asked whether he can “get rid of a dead body” and he replies “I’m from Jersey, ain’t I?” The film also has a handful of cameos, including some small parts from Jeffrey Jones, Carrie Fisher and Anne Bancroft. On the whole, the film is probably good-natured and safe enough for most people to enjoy, and let’s face it, nobody is going for an Oscar here.

The film has enough laughs, entertaining co-performances from the conned men and an interesting premise to definitely recommend on video. And as for those contemplating a nite out at the movies with this one, I’d say to rest your decision on whether or not you would like to see Hewitt’s tremendous figure on the big screen for two hours+ and whether or not you’re just looking for some flighty downtime. If so, then by all means, grab a box of kleenex, a box o’ nachos, a long raincoat and have a blast! And oh yeah, for the ladies, we do get an impressive scene with Ray Liotta in his skivvies, and uhhhh, yeah…the man’s a packin’! Broke my heart, I tell ya… : )