A remake directed by the incorrigible Farrelly brothers, I really expected to like The Heartbreak Kid.  After all, it stars Ben Stiller, so we essentially have the same team who brought us There’s Something About Mary.

Unfortunately, while this movie had a few really funny visual gags, the movie as a whole disappointed and I wouldn’t recommend it.

The major problem with the film is the fact that there is not one sympathetic or identifiable character throughout.  The movie really leaves you feeling a bit scummy, and nobody wants that.

Stiller plays a devoted bachelor who jumps into marriage due to peer pressure.  His wife he dated for only a few weeks turns out to be a bit wacky, and he instantly regrets his decision.  On their honeymoon, Stiller’s new wife gets severely sunburned and has to stay indoors, at which point Stiller, while eating alone, meets another woman who he’s sure is the one for him.  He spends the rest of the movie lying to both women and acting the general sleazebag.  Of course, he eventually gets caught in his deceptions, and there is really no way to reconcile the storyline in a way that makes us feel good about things.

I don’t remember this movie doing well at the theatres, and I can see why.  While There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber were crude, the Farrelly brothers still gave us a hero-albeit flawed-to root for.  The Heartbreak Kid offers us no such character.