Mercenary mother-and-daughter Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love-Hewitt have cruised their way through life by cheating money out of various men with the tactic of mother marrying rich man, then conveniently catching him with another woman, the strategically placed daughter. This way only gets them so far, when, fresh of such a con with Ray Liotta, their hard earned cash is taken right out of their hands from their dear friends the IRS, and they decide to target the big guns in the form of multi-billionaire Gene Hackman.
With a tacky premise such as this, it may seem somewhat of an embarrassment to have some talents (and Jennifer Love-Hewitt) involved. But it pays off surprisingly well. Heartbreakers is not a film that tries to be revolutionary in any way, just good entertainment, and that it is. Weaver is hilarious as the old-age goldigger, and Gene Hackman coughs and curses appropriately through his carcinogenic, repulsive richman. But for quality comedic turns, the best is by Ray Liotta, as the resentful ex who refuses to forgive and forget, who apes his own GoodFellas turn, freaky style, with laugh-out-loud consequences. From the younger actors, Jennifer Love-Hewitt is less capable, her constant bitchy act getting somewhat annoying. Her love interest, played by Chasing Amy's Jason Lee, is more likable, utterly adorable in his naivety and dedication (some would say stupidity) to his wretched girlfriend, who originally only pretends to be interested in him for his money, but ends up falling for him.
I'd like to think that Heartbreakers had set out to be more than a generic comedy, and to be a film with a few lessons to teach about love. However, in its 2 hours, it ends up using the standard template. Girls tricks boy, girl falls in love with boy, girl regrets mistake, etc. For that, the film seems pretty average. There are severe plot holes and thinly sketched characters too, plus the fact that the women's aspirations can fall from billions to millions in the space of seconds it just doesn't make sense. There are additional problems that blaze out so obviously that they are impossible to ignore. But for the most part, this is a superior romantic comedy, with some excellent moments. A key one is when Weaver, keen to prove that she is, ahem, Russian, does her rendition of The Beatles' "Back in U.S.S.R." There are some snappy one-liners, amusing physical comedy (Gene Hackman dying never seemed so funny). The direction is nothing special, but the stars raise their mediocre material and aim for comedy heaven, often reaching it, in a deeply entertaining, sometimes sweet, movie.
With a tacky premise such as this, it may seem somewhat of an embarrassment to have some talents (and Jennifer Love-Hewitt) involved. But it pays off surprisingly well. Heartbreakers is not a film that tries to be revolutionary in any way, just good entertainment, and that it is. Weaver is hilarious as the old-age goldigger, and Gene Hackman coughs and curses appropriately through his carcinogenic, repulsive richman. But for quality comedic turns, the best is by Ray Liotta, as the resentful ex who refuses to forgive and forget, who apes his own GoodFellas turn, freaky style, with laugh-out-loud consequences. From the younger actors, Jennifer Love-Hewitt is less capable, her constant bitchy act getting somewhat annoying. Her love interest, played by Chasing Amy's Jason Lee, is more likable, utterly adorable in his naivety and dedication (some would say stupidity) to his wretched girlfriend, who originally only pretends to be interested in him for his money, but ends up falling for him.
I'd like to think that Heartbreakers had set out to be more than a generic comedy, and to be a film with a few lessons to teach about love. However, in its 2 hours, it ends up using the standard template. Girls tricks boy, girl falls in love with boy, girl regrets mistake, etc. For that, the film seems pretty average. There are severe plot holes and thinly sketched characters too, plus the fact that the women's aspirations can fall from billions to millions in the space of seconds it just doesn't make sense. There are additional problems that blaze out so obviously that they are impossible to ignore. But for the most part, this is a superior romantic comedy, with some excellent moments. A key one is when Weaver, keen to prove that she is, ahem, Russian, does her rendition of The Beatles' "Back in U.S.S.R." There are some snappy one-liners, amusing physical comedy (Gene Hackman dying never seemed so funny). The direction is nothing special, but the stars raise their mediocre material and aim for comedy heaven, often reaching it, in a deeply entertaining, sometimes sweet, movie.