Pferdewechsel in der Hochzeitsnacht

I looked for this movie after it was recommended in the documentary Pitch(also worth seeing). The Heartbreak Kid(stupid title) features some excellent acting and courtesy of Neil Simon a brilliant script. It's a pretty funny plot if you like black comedy. A guy 3 days into his honeymoon meets the girl of his dreams. The guy is played by Charles Grodin and the girl is played by Cybil Sheppard who looks absolutely stunning. The main comedy in the movie comes from Grodin's absurd lies or brutal honesty. The first half probably has the best humor but I thought the ending was interesting. Finally I became a big Eddie Albert fan after seeing this movie. He's great as Cybil Sheppard's Dad.

I was expecting to love this film for its cynicism and absurdity, but I couldn't get past the cold and self-absorbed characters and the overall *meanness* of their depiction. Motivation is in short supply too. Why would Lenny and Lila want to get married? Does Lenny just want sex? Can't he do better? Lila must have been repellent even while they were dating. Who goes to Miami for a honeymoon? What is Kelly Corcoran's attraction to Lenny? What are the Corcorans doing in that hotel? Shouldn't they be Catholic if they're named Corcoran? Etc. Etc.

I recognize the chilly absurdity from the Bruce Jay Friedman source, but I guess it didn't translate well to the screen. Others seem to like it though.

While on honeymoon with his nice Jewish bride, an indecisive young man meets the woman of his dreams. May elicits good performances and keeps it entertaining but the script is not one of Simon's best. Grodin is terrific as the schmuck who sees an opportunity to go for the gold in the form of WASP beauty Shepherd. Berlin (daughter of May) steals the film as the jilted wife, a loving if not lovely woman that one wants to give a reassuring hug to. The scene where Grodin dumps her is indeed heartbreaking. Albert is funny as Shepherd's stern father, who eventually tries to buy off Grodin. This film has parallels to "The Graduate," although it is nowhere as good as that classic.

I only saw this movie a couple of years ago. I always avoided it at the video store because of the name, I assumed it must be about a little kid, something like The Champ or Lucas, nothing wrong with those kinds of movies, just not my cup of tea. But I happened to read about it in one of Leonard Maltins books, he called it one of the best comedies of the 70s, and very dark for it's time. So I rented it and loved it. I think it's pretty dark even by todays standards, Charles Grodins character is likeable in an odd way, but he's also two faced and deceitful, not to mention downright cruel to his new bride. I don't know of many actors that could have played this better than Charles Grodin, this was certainly his best role. In his biography he wrote that he recognizes the brilliance of the film, but he hated playing such a cruel character. The thing is, the character never intends to be cruel, he just can't seem to help it, lying and selfishness are just second nature to him. If your like me, you'll find yourself laughing and cringing at the same time. The ending is just perfection, he has seemingly attained what he wanted, the thing that he has lied and cheated and hurt other people to get, yet he seems to already be tired of it and longing for what he already had. At least that's my take on it, it's open to interpretation. This movie may not be for everybody, but if you like dark comedies, you should check it out.

There are many things this film does really well.

First of all, the acting is superb throughout. Grodin is brilliant as ever in a very demanding, heavy acting responsibility - had he been average at it, the film easily loses heaps of its ability. Jeannie Berlin (the wife) does really well, as does Eddie Albert (the father) and for a 22 year old beaut youngster Cybill Shepherd is solid also.

Next: this isn't a generic superficial comedy. It's got that peculiar element about it. The humor isn't easy over-the-counter drivel, it's in fact uneasy, almost awkward and difficult to digest. It's about the little annoying details with people, invading personal space, being pathetic without noticing it...in a very real way, all of those things !

Finally, the film holds up very nicely in its one hour forty-five minute frame, with not one moment too many or too few, has a well thought out structure to it that isn't obvious at first, and there's this sort of itchy, awkward anti-morality morality at the end of it that is just as weirdly charming and anti-heroic as its main character.

8/10.