The Heartbreak Kid **1/2

Director: Peter and Bobby Farrelly
Eddie Cantrow: Ben Stiller
Miranda: Michelle Monaghan
Lila: Malin Akerman

There was a time back in the early 90s when I watched the premiere of The Ben Stiller Show and thought this guy isn’t funny at all. In fact, he’s so dull that I’ll never watch this show again, let alone finish this episode. I turned the television off.

What was the matter with me?

Ben Stiller has become one of my favorite actors to watch. He’s a funny guy, who is enjoyable even in movies that fail miserably like Envy. But his good movies are phenomenal: Zoolander, Flirting with Disaster, and There’s Something About Mary.

This brings us to The Heartbreak Kid, his second film with the Farrelly Brothers, which ranks in the middle of the Stiller Hierarchy. There were numerous times when I laughed out loud, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself during the film, but there was something lacking: heart. Sure, you enjoy the people, but it doesn’t touch you the way that There’s Something About Mary or Stuck on You do―something that I’ve come to expect from a Farrelly Brothers film as much as the offensive humor.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad film; it just feels like something is missing. Ben Stiller is enjoyable to watch, and Jerry Stiller (as his dad, oddly enough) steals the movie with quips about his son being a “pussy dick.” (Old guys cussing in movies will never fail to kill me.) To come out and say it: it felt like Cameron Diaz was missing. Akerman appeared to be a replacement for Diaz because the Farrelly brothers couldn’t afford her. Of course, I have no proof that it’s true or even any actual reason to believe that, but that’s how it felt to me. Her funny parts, and there were several, left me thinking Cameron Diaz-light. Akerman has a funny bone, but she lacks that magical itness that Diaz brings to her films. Diaz could have done this better. Maybe she turned down the part because of all the nudity.

Ben Stiller fans should see this movie, and will enjoy it. But they won’t be laughing at the jokes five years from now, like they will with his better films.