Heartbreakers - Vizio di famiglia

Stories this luscious and sumptuous, well directed and seamlessly edited, with characters faultlessly portrayed by an outstanding cast, come along rarely, and this is one of the best. It is so good that there are not superlatives enough to do it credit. The basic setup is that the principal characters, a mother, tantalizingly portrayed by Weaver, and her daughter, multifacetedly portrayed by Hewett, are "artistes confidence" to the core of their superficial existences. They cannot so much as have "lunch" without practicing their arts of the scam, but mainly they work the old "betrothal" game. Mom gets her rich mark to the alter, then even before the marriage can be consummated, the daughter, pretending to be unrelated, exploits the man's foolish libido, resulting in a substantial settlement after mom catches them apparently "in flagrante." But then things start going haywire when the daughter decides to strike out on her own, because the guy she fixes on as a mark is not like other guys at all. How he is not, and how her character develops as a result, makes for two hours of outstanding comedy and drama.

After laughing thru most of this movie, it just really reminded me of another "CON artist" movie that made me laugh quite a bit. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Although possibly not as great a comedy as that movie, this flick has many good laughs. And for the complaints of the happy ending, this movie is really a romantic comedy.

Sigourney Weaver is great, and is another female Hollywood lead that proves that older women can be incredibly sexy.

Jennifer Love Hewitt does a convincing job of playing daughter and has good chemistry from Weaver.

Honestly, the people who don't enjoy this movie, are trying to be some sort of online "Siskel and Ebert." We aren't grading a drama or something here, it is a comedy. It is supposed to make you laugh, and in this respect for me, it succeeds.

I was definately laughing thru most of the movie. What more could you want. It is definately worth a rental. Don't let the few bad comments scare you from getting a few good chuckles from this movie.

Director David Mirkin used to write for "The Simpsons," which explains why Danny Elfman did the main theme for "Heartbreakers" - a movie that, success-wise, has more in common with The Greatest TV Show Ever than with Mirkin's earlier "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion," and not just because Shawn Colvin makes a guest appearance here as well. Don't get me wrong, it's not nearly as clever - but it IS often as funny. Plus you get to look at Jennifer Love Hewitt a lot.

Mother/daughter grifter duo Sigourney Weaver and JLH are on the verge of splitting up, but agree to do One Last Big Score (isn't it always the way) in order to get out of trouble with the IRS and part sufficiently loaded; Gene Hackman, as a chain-smoking pensionable zillionaire ("His liver spots are positively luminous") is their mark in Palm Beach and also the source of a lot of the fun. In fact, he and an under-used Ray Liotta come close to swiping the film from the leads, but Sig and Love make a good team, each complementing the other - Weaver's the better actress, but Hewitt holds her own; and though the former's attractive, the latter - even in her blonde disguise - is smokin' (something the film never forgets - you get to look at Jennifer Love Hewitt a lot).

The Robert Dunn/Paul Guay/Stephen Mazur script won't win plaudits from the PC brigade; "Heartbreakers" is often a farce in a good sense, but the female characters come off for the most part not as morally upright as their male counterparts (though Hackman's moneybags is by far the most repellent person here). Pacy for sure, and often funny if not always in what the late British DJ Kenny Everett's Cupid Stunt character called "the best possible taste" (witness the oral sex gags early on), there's a distinct slowing down as the tale unfolds and Jen's growing feelings for a potential mark (Jason Lee) makes it more sentimental than cynics would like; the first half of the movie is funnier and edgier than the second. But you get to look at Jennifer Love Hewitt a lot.

In the end, "Heartbreakers" has a tone a bit too much like the likes of "Are You Being Served?" to be a must-view for all; the movie sometimes comes across like a "Carry On" film. Only with a budget. And good performances. And decent writing. And funny. And with a fine soundtrack. Okay, so it's not much like a "Carry On" film, but it does make for a good two hours' watching; Weaver fans will get a particular kick out of her rendition of "Back In The U.S.S.R.", and Hackman fans will enjoy seeing him upstage everyone except for Hewitt's anatomy; I gave this 7 out of 10, but I should have given this an 8 purely on that count. This is one movie that lives up to its title.

And did I mention you get to look at Jennifer Love Hewitt a lot?

The film was billed as a romantic comedy, but I didn't see it that way. It's certainly a comedy (with a little romance) but this is far closer to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels than Pretty Woman.

Anyway, when i watched it i found the film to be one of the best comedies i've seen for years. Its about a sexy mother and daughter pairing of Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love-Hewitt who basically marry men for their money; every character seems to be double crossing every other character, and it makes for terrific viewing.

Each member of the cast puts in a top performance, the characters are all intelligently written and the story is very strong and interesting.

I have to recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a good laugh, this is definitely not just a another chick flick, it is a brilliantly funny movie. 8/10

Max and Page Conners are a mother-and-daughter con team. Max singles out wealthy men and convinces them to marry her. Once married, Page seduces him, ensuring that Max catches them in the act. Cue divorce proceedings and a large settlement. What could possibly go wrong, except maybe falling in love?

A decent romantic-comedy. Plot is basic and predictable but there are some very funny moments. There's also some decent dramatic moments too.

Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt are great in the lead roles. Solid supporting cast that includes Ray Liotta, Gene Hackman, Jason Lee, Anne Bancroft, Carrie Fisher and Sarah Silverman.