More Movies

• Review: Hit man comedy 'In Bruges' mixes laughs, blood
• Coen brother, 'Old Men' top picks for Oscars
• Review: 'Be Kind Rewind' has funny bits, but not enough

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

There's a bodily reaction that's coincided over the years with the best Farrelly brothers jokes.

It's an odd combination of full-bodied guffawing and full-bodied cringing. Sometimes there's some gagging.

Remember that cow on the road in "Me, Myself and Irene"? Milking the bull in "Kingpin"? And, of course, the faux hair gel in their timeless "There's Something About Mary."

"The Heartbreak Kid" has those beat. There's a joke at the end of this movie that is revolting and gut-bustingly funny. We can't get into it here. It's too nasty, and The Tribune is a family-friendly publication. But it involves a jellyfish and produces a moment that — for good or bad — will stay branded in most viewers' brains for a very long while.

There's not much more you can ask from a film like this than to be laughing throughout. "The Heartbreak Kid" delivers. It's Ben Stiller, his "Mary" directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly, and a pretty hysterical setup.

In this loose remake of Elaine May's 1972 comedy, Stiller plays a nice, lonely guy named Eddie. He overreacts to the pressure of being 40 and single by marrying a stunning blonde he has just met. He's regretting his decision by the reception. Lila (Malin Akerman) is beautiful and an OK kisser, but she has a habit of singing too much in the car. And she shoots orange juice out of her nose (pills, too, and fajita meat).

She's not funny, she doesn't really have a job, her mom's a whale, she doesn't understand how the sun can be hotter on different parts of the planet, she gets angry quickly, she doesn't like to do anything outside but sit around, and the sex is a nightmare (unbelievably funny, though).

Eddie's bemoaning the plunge when Miranda strolls into his honeymoon in Cabo. She's in town for a family reunion, and Lila's stuck in the suite with a hall-of-fame sunburn. Eddie falls hard for Miranda (played by the impossibly appealing Michelle Monaghan), and hilarity ensues.

"The Heartbreak Kid" gives Stiller a great role, just like "Mary" did in 1998. He's a sensitive nice guy one second and a raving lunatic another. He gets to have R-rated, irreverent fun and chomps away at the luscious Cabo set pieces.

He also has some nice players around him in his sex-obsessed dad (played by real dad Jerry Stiller) and Rob Corddry. Corddry's so whipped he grows out his hideous bald-guy bangs for the wife.

And then there's that ending. I'm cringing at the thought, which is probably the point.

Well played, Farrellys.