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The Heartbreak Kid (1972)

 The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
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TVTItem
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
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The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
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TheHeartbreakKid1972
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
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The Heartbreak Kid is a 1972 romantic comedy-drama film with a darkly satirical edge, directed by Elaine May and scripted by Neil Simon, who adapted Bruce Jay Friedman's short story "A Change of Plan".Charles Grodin plays Lenny Cantrow, a sporting goods salesman who marries a Nice Jewish Girl named Lila Kolodny (Jeannie Berlin) after a very brief courtship. While they're on their honeymoon in Miami, Lila's odd habits, neuroses, and general awkwardness become increasingly unbearable, and Lenny soon comes to realize that he doesn't actually love her or even like her very much. When he sees blonde WASP goddess Kelly Corcoran (Cybill Shepherd) on the beach, Lenny is instantly enchanted and goes all-out in pursuit of her, not letting the fact that he's married get in the way.The film was remade in 2007 by the Farrelly Brothers with Ben Stiller, Malin Åkerman and Michelle Monaghan in the main roles.
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Creator Cameo
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Creator Cameo: Neil Simon is a guest at the wedding.
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Papa Wolf
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_1dfd19f9
comment
Papa Wolf: Kelly's father (Eddie Albert) takes an instant disliking to Lenny, which eventually blossoms into seething hatred. He tries numerous times to keep him away from his daughter, even resorting to bribery at one point.
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Revealing Hug
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_1ed91e2a
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Revealing Hug: Lenny's empty stare as Lila nestles up to him after sex reveals how much he didn't enjoy it. Then her other habits start to irritate him.
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Wrong Genre Savvy
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_20a14df0
comment
Wrong Genre Savvy: The three leads are all very self-deluded: Lila thinks she's the blushing bride embarking on her Happily Ever After, Lenny sees himself as a smooth-talking plucky underdog who's gotten a second chance at happiness, and Kelly affects the persona of a cool, seductive Femme Fatale. They all play these roles to the hilt, even as it complicates matters to a huge degree.
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Spiritual Successor
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_27a42ebc
comment
Spiritual Successor: Has many common threads with Elaine May's previous film A New Leaf, which also centers around an Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist who ends up in a relationship with an awkward, klutzy woman who he finds annoying. Like The Graduate, it's a cynical comedy about a nebbishy guy's romantic misadventures directed by half of the Nichols & May comedy team. Charles Grodin in fact turned down the role of Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate. Also, both films have one of the Ropers in a supporting role (Audra Lindley played Kelly's mother, while Norman Fell was the landlord in The Graduate). Lenny Cantrow is an important comedic ancestor of George Costanza.
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Captain Oblivious
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Captain Oblivious: Lila
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Hurricane of Excuses
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_31546b19
comment
Hurricane of Excuses: How Lenny explains to Lila why he's gone so long. She's trusting enough to believe him.
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Fourth-Date Marriage
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_35e077
comment
Fourth-Date Marriage: It seems Lenny married Lila just to have sex with her. He regrets it immediately.
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Actor Allusion
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_392372f9
comment
Actor Allusion: Filmgoers who had Cybill Shepherd's acting debut as the pretty-but-manipulative Jacy in The Last Picture Show fresh in their minds in 1972 would've been amused to see that Kelly is a more intelligent (and comical) variation of that character type.
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Recurring Riff
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Recurring Riff: Various versions of "Close To You", which get more and more ironic as the film goes along.
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Bittersweet Ending
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_40cc0c7e
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Bittersweet Ending: Lenny marries a beautiful, wealthy young woman but basically ruins his life in the process.
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Tranquil Fury
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_443b78cd
comment
Tranquil Fury: Kelly's dad is a Stoic Midwesterner who gets stretched to his Rage-Breaking Point by Lenny. Eddie Albert's masterful slow burn in his scenes with Charles Grodin is a highlight of the film.
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Stalking Is Love
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_4b8932a4
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Stalking Is Love: Kelly ends up marrying Lenny after his stalking campaign, though whether she really loves him is open to question.
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The Mountains of Illinois
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_5d397b9c
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The Mountains of Illinois: When Lenny shows up in Minneapolis to woo Kelly, she invites him to her family's summer house "in the mountains." The only real mountains in Minnesota are near the Canadian border, a several-hour drive away.
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Single-Target Sexuality
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_5f49ac76
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Single-Target Sexuality: Lenny's obsession with Kelly ends up in this territory, to the point that he turns down a bribe from Kelly's dad to leave her alone.
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Self-Inflicted Hell
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_6040801a
comment
Self-Inflicted Hell: Lenny, thanks to being The Determinator manages to finally marry Kelly. But he faces a dim future with her. Her family still hates him, and she seems likely to continue her Really Gets Around ways. Plus there's no indication that he's ready to resolve his own Commitment Issues either.
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 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_653c5c73
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Cannot Spit It Out
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_653c5c73
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Lenny's breakup with Lila is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, particularly because Lenny Cannot Spit It Out and Lila keeps Comically Missing the Point.
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In Case You Forgot Who Wrote It
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In Case You Forgot Who Wrote It: As listed in the opening credits, "Neil Simon's The Heartbreak Kid, an Elaine May film." Simon usually got this possessive billing during his screenwriting heyday. Interestingly, this is one of the very few films that Simon either didn't adapt from one of his own plays or write directly for the screen (it's based on a short story by Bruce Jay Friedman).
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"The Reason You Suck" Speech
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_7d89315b
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"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Lenny gets more than one from Mr. Corcoran. It doesn't stop him.
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Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist
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Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: With barely a shred of remorse, Lenny dumps his nebbish (yet loving) wife less than a week into their marriage.
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Abhorrent Admirer
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_88cee6e2
comment
Abhorrent Admirer: Lila for Lenny—although there really isn't anything wrong with her. The main reason she's abhorrent is that Lenny figures out too late that he doesn't love her.
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Minor Flaw, Major Breakup
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_8aa92e8d
comment
Minor Flaw, Major Breakup: Lila is a veritable symphony of minor flaws.
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Stalker with a Crush
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_8b68d9a7
comment
Stalker with a Crush: Lenny at times, like when he travels hundreds of miles to find Kelly on her college campus. In the end he gets her to marry him out of sheer persistence.
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Betty and Veronica
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Betty and Veronica: Lila and Kelly.
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 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_a2940ed5
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"Begone" Bribe
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_a2940ed5
comment
"Begone" Bribe: In the film's climax, Mr. Corcoran literally offers to write Lenny a check in any amount he'd like to leave Kelly alone. Lenny turns the offer down.
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 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_a5b12e14
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Commitment Issues
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_a5b12e14
comment
Commitment Issues: Lenny's real problem is that he likes chasing after women but doesn't particularly like catching them. His rather indifferent demeanor at the reception for his wedding to Kelly hints that he won't be any happier in this relationship than he was in his last one.
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Soundtrack Dissonance
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comment
Soundtrack Dissonance: "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" played at both weddings. Also, Art Metrano singing his infamous "da-da-DA-DA" song in the background during Lenny's awkward first meeting with Kelly's parents at the dinner theater.
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 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_b9955dad
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Wanting Is Better Than Having
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Wanting Is Better Than Having: Lenny loses interest in Lila as soon as he's married her, then obsessively pursues Kelly, and loses interest in her as soon as he has her.
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The Trope Kid
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The Trope Kid: The Heartbreak Kid
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Cringe Comedy
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_c5ef2d50
comment
Cringe Comedy: Lenny's breakup with Lila is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, particularly because Lenny Cannot Spit It Out and Lila keeps Comically Missing the Point. Lenny's confession to Kelly's parents about his marital status is fraught with comedy and dramatic tension. He spends the entirety of the conversation practically filibustering as he goes through his audacious plans to divorce his wife and marry their daughter. Meanwhile, Kelly's father can be seen tightening up and seething as his mild distrust of Lenny quickly turns into boiling rage and Kelly's mother just stares with a shocked expression, her mouth agape.
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Shiksa Goddess
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_dd2444d3
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Shiksa Goddess: Jewish Lenny falls hard for blonde, blue-eyed Kelly ... while on his honeymoon.
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Manchild
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972) / int_e150c4c7
comment
Woman Child: Lila has a notable lack of maturity. She pouts when she doesn't get what she wants, lacks table manners, and talks about having to "go pee-pee".
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Embarrassingly Painful Sunburn
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Embarrassingly Painful Sunburn: What happens to Lila after spending an entire day on the beach, sans sunblock.
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Disposable Fiancé
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Disposable Fiancé: In Lenny's case, Disposable Bride. Not really fiancés, but Kelly's college boyfriends end up in this category.
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The Heartbreak Kid (1972)

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