The Heartbreak Kid (1972)

By CinemaSerf

Maybe if you are planning on courting a man’s daughter, telling him that you are a newlywed isn’t the best tactic? Well that’s a clue as to the obsession faced by the hapless “Lenny” (Charles Grodin) who has just called mazel tov with new wife “Lila” (Jeannie Berlin) and driven to the coast for their honeymoon. It doesn’t take him long, though, before he finds himself on a certain spot on the beach that belongs to “Kelly” (Cybill Shepherd). Then it’s her seat at the bar, indeed just about everywhere he goes she appears close behind. He takes quite a shine to her, and as luck would have it his poor wife gets a serious dose of sunburn which confines her to bed. Whilst she is bedridden, “Lenny” embarks on a series of daft shenanigans that culminates in him gatecrashing a dinner with whom he hopes will soon be his new, and wealthy, in-laws. Her mum (Audra Lindley) is polite enough but dad (Eddie Albert) wants nothing to do with this wastrel, and when the aforementioned declaration is made, well you can just imagination the reaction. Not to be deterred, “Lenny” decides he has to take matters into hand and try to do right by everyone, but what chance he isn’t just going to end up with an empty sack? There are four strong performances here and Neil Simon’s witty and pithy dialogue manages to keep the plot just about on the right side of contrived as the increasingly unlikeable “Lenny” let’s his hormones selfishly take over. There’s one scene with him, poor old “Lila”, some pecan pie (or not) and a quarter for the toilet that is really quite cringingly funny to watch play out but it rather epitomises his character whilst allowing the frequently scene-stealing Berlin to positively but quite subtly shine. I can’t say I loved the ending but along the way it does poke a little fun at Jewish neuroses, holiday romances and the superciliousness of the male ego.