Heartbreakers

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ray Liotta, Gene Hackman, Anne Bancroft, Jason Lee, Jeffrey Jones, Sarah Silverman, Zach Galifianakis
Directed by: David Mirkin
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
2001

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A mother (Sigourney Weaver) and her daughter (Jennifer Love Hewitt) con wealthy men for their money. When they decide to go all out for one last big score, things quickly spiral out of control.

Review:

Tim: Heartbreakers isn't a very good movie. I wanted to get that out of the way early. The film is completely average in almost every way. It's decently entertaining, but does not deliver anything special. It does just enough to hold your attention, but there's nothing here to deliver any emotional connection to the characters. This is not a terrible film, but it is very, very forgettable.

The cast is the best part of the film. The script and the direction is what really lets them down. I thought Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt were well cast as the mother-daughter con artists. They are both able to at least hold their own on screen. While they do have a few very humorous moments together, I felt like their chemistry was a bit lacking. There's too many exchanges that felt forced and unnatural. I partially blame the script for the dialogue, but some of the blame has to rest with Weaver and Hewitt. They are better than the performances they gave. Each one is actually better during the scenes without the other. It's when they are interacting as mother and daughter when things don't work.

Ray Liotta gives an interesting performance, and not necessarily in a good way. In his early scenes, he was hard to believe in the role. He seemed to be just sleepwalking through those scenes. He disappears for a while, and when he comes back, it felt like he was much more in control of his character. I initially hated him in the film, but by the end, I was impressed with what he was able to do. I actually felt positive about him overall. Gene Hackman, on the other hand, made me cringe a bit. Hackman is such a terrific actor, and his inclusion in a cast immediately makes the movie better. I just have no idea why he agreed to do such a stupid part in a stupid movie. He spends most of the film coughing and looking absolutely revolting. His performance was average. Jason Lee felt like an odd casting choice, but he did a fantastic job. I really enjoyed him in the film, and despite the script and the occasional bad acting around him, Lee just nails his role. He was quite good. It was also fun to see Sarah Silverman and Zach Galifianakis in small, insignificant roles. I loved seeing Anne Bancroft here, but I wish she had more to do.

Heartbreakers actually feels like it could have been a good movie. There's not enough films showing strong females in the lead roles (it's just too bad that here, they are criminals). Plus, heist movies can be pretty funny and entertaining. While this movie has its moments, overall, the whole story feels a bit too lackluster. I will say that there are a few twists I did not see coming, which I certainly appreciated. However, this movie is way, way too long at 123 minutes. The middle of the film drags and it takes forever for the story to get where it's going. There is some payoff towards the end, but the script really needed to be tightened up. I certainly lost some enthusiasm and interest during the middle of the movie.

While this film is certainly disappointing, I did not hate it. It's a fairly harmless movie that does create a few funny moments from time to time. However, with a cast this impressive, it should have been significantly better. Heartbreakers is a thoroughly average movie in nearly every sense. It could have been worse, but expectations certainly were not meant. This is not a movie I cared for very much.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6



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