John Brooks There are many things this film does really well.First of all, the acting is superb throughout. Grodin is brilliant as ever in a very demanding, heavy acting responsibility - had he been average at it, the film easily loses heaps of its ability. Jeannie Berlin (the wife) does really well, as does Eddie Albert (the father) and for a 22 year old beaut youngster Cybill Shepherd is solid also.Next: this isn't a generic superficial comedy. It's got that peculiar element about it. The humor isn't easy over-the-counter drivel, it's in fact uneasy, almost awkward and difficult to digest. It's about the little annoying details with people, invading personal space, being pathetic without noticing it...in a very real way, all of those things !Finally, the film holds up very nicely in its one hour forty-five minute frame, with not one moment too many or too few, has a well thought out structure to it that isn't obvious at first, and there's this sort of itchy, awkward anti-morality morality at the end of it that is just as weirdly charming and anti-heroic as its main character.8/10.

tavm For years, all I knew of this movie was who was involved in it: director Elaine May, screenwriter Neil Simon, author Bruce Jay Friedman (I was previously familiar with two of his '80s comedies I remember enjoying-Stir Crazy and Splash) and stars Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd, and Eddie Albert. Oh, and also another player-Jeannie Berlin-is Ms. May's daughter. I also knew of the premise-Grodin marries Ms. Berlin, finds out she's not very appealing, dumps her after meeting Ms. Shepherd during their honeymoon, tries to get Ms. Shepherd's father-played by Albert-to approve of him for her and then...Well, I'll just say that this was both funny and a little painful to watch but it was mostly quite an enjoyable one to finally see for myself just how well put this was. So on that note, I highly recommend The Heartbreak Kid. Oh, and I just remembered that Audra Lindley-years before playing Helen Roper in "Three's Company"-is in this, too! Also, Doris Roberts-a couple of decades before her Emmy-wining role in "Everybody Loves Raymond"-plays Grodin's mother during the first-wedding sequence.

SmileysWorld I had seen Ben Stiller's 2007 remake of this film.It was nothing short of awful,but I thought to myself,surely the original,which I had not as yet seen,isn't this bad.I went with the film's basic idea,which was funny yet tragic in a way,and decided to see if it told the story better.Took a while to find it because I can never find it on television,and it isn't available through my video mailing service.Finally found it on the web and gave it a gander.Overall,I was impressed.It was perfectly casted from top to bottom.Who wouldn't fall in love with Cybill Shepherd? I also enjoyed Eddie Albert as the "rich brick wall" of a father to Cybill's character.I did feel bad for the Grodin's bride and I do wish that they hadn't left her fate so open ended.The moral of the story is clear;Don't marry someone just because you are in a hurry to settle down.Sometimes true love takes a while.Wait for it.

woj101 If I could I would score this film 6.5 out of 10, but I can't so I gave it a 7 to be nice. For me a 5 is watchable and anything lower than 5 is negative. I quite liked this film whilst watching it, but can see some of the flaws others have mentioned.This film did make me smile a number of times: - The relentless lies and the unnerving way in which they were told. I didn't find the behaviour callous, I don't think it was being presented that way, and the personality of Lyla is so irritating that I could easily understand why the newly-wed groom capitalised on the opportunity to escape her. As such I did find that part of the film quite humorous.There are one or two great lines for the lead character, particularly the card-laying scene and the manner in which he describes his appreciation of the meal at Kelly's parents.Cybil Shepherd is just beautiful. The sort of beauty that makes me smile uncontrollably just looking at her. Beautiful in a way that made an instant and lasting impact on me and will be the primary memory I will take away from this film. I've only ever seen her in the 1990's sitcom 'Cybil' before watching this film and now don't know whether to seek out the rest of her work or not - I don't want to spoil the image I have of her from this film.The final scene. Listening to Lenny repeat ad infinitum his baseless rhetoric about wanting to put back into the country, finally ending up unloading it on a couple of kids, and neither of them buy it either. It rather reminded me of myself and my fruitless search for some sort of sense of purpose in the employment I have had, not knowing what sort of job I wanted but knowing deep down that whatever it was it probably doesn't exist anyway, and then boring other people about it at parties. I don't know if this was meant to be about Lenny's lack of satisfying employment or a metaphor for his search for the right woman - I'll have to watch it again and pay particular attention to the beginning of the film to see if his employment is a theme or not. It's only touched on lightly in the main content of the film so I'm not sure. But either way the scene makes me smile in a melancholic way. I do like dark humour.The main flaw in the film to me is that Lenny does not seem the type of male that would win the affections of Kelly. She is obviously 'well-bred' and I can't see what Lenny offers her other than a play-thing for the duration of her Florida holiday, but he's not rich, especially good-looking or even likable. So why she ever ends up marrying him I don't know. It comes so close to the end of the film that I can only figure it was a deliberate contrivance to make the point about Lenny's character in the most efficient way.Overall though a likable film that I will try to see again to see if I can figure out some of the finer points. Definitely better than the 2007 remake. I must admit here that I don't like Ben Stiller in most of the films I've seen him in, which introduces bias, but I can't remember coming away from watching that one thinking anything good about it apart from the fact I think the last word in the script is c***s.