Underplayed Gems

The Heartbreak Kid (1972)

The Heartbreak Kid poster
Directed by
Elaine May
Genre
romantic comedy
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 46m
Rated
PG
Rating
6.6 of 10 from 107 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A self-absorbed salesman impulsively marries his girlfriend. On their honeymoon he realizes he cannot stand her and instead falls for a younger woman. He then pursues her against her father's wishes.

uncomfortablecringe-comedybittersweetsatiricalromanticcynicalfast-paceddarkly comic

What happens

The Heartbreak Kid is a 1972 American romantic black comedy film directed by Elaine May and written by Neil Simon, starring Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd, Jeannie Berlin, Audra Lindley, Eddie Albert and Doris Roberts. It is based on the short story "A Change of Plan", written by Bruce Jay Friedman and first published in Esquire in 1966. In the film, self-absorbed salesman Lenny Cantrow (Grodin) marries his girlfriend Lila Kolodny (Berlin) after a short courtship. During his honeymoon, Lenny increasingly tires of Lila, finding that her earlier habits during courtship now irritate and repel him. Before the end of the honeymoon the salesman falls for college-aged heiress Kelly Corcoran (Shepherd) and impulsively courts her against her father Duane's (Albert) wishes. The film garnered positive reviews upon its release. At the 45th Academy Awards, Berlin was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, and Albert for Best Supporting Actor. The Heartbreak Kid was ranked number 91 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs, a list of the funniest American films ever made. A remake was made in 2007. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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