Posted: 02/21/2001

Heartbreakers

(2001)

by Jay Henry

It is so fun to see good actors act well.

When you see Heartbreakers, you will be watching a wonderful ensemble cast bring you the story of a mother/daughter con team who play men for their money.

Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt play Max and Page. Max (Weaver) marries the man, and Page gets him to fool around with her just in time for Max to walk in. Weaver is the sophisticated woman of her husband’s collective dreams and Hewitt is the irresistible vixen they can’t keep their hands off. The key to the scam is that Weaver never actually sleeps with her fiancés but is able to tease them to the point of utter frustration so that when Hewitt makes herself available, they have no other choice but to give in to their urges. OK, so you kind of have to go with the fact that none of the men they have conned listen to Tom Leykis and are willing to go more than 3 dates without getting any. And you have to buy into the fact that men are complete slaves to their dumbstick (see Ling on Ally McBeal).

Heartbreakers is a fun little romp. A bit long in places, but I think I saw an unfinished version and more editing may take place. Besides the two strong female characters, there are some very good male performances, as well.

Gene Hackman plays William B. Tensey, a tobacco billionaire who is to be the Max and Page’s last score. He has a smoker’s cough that will make you check your clothing for cigarette smell when you leave the theater as much as 1998’s 200 Cigarettes.

Ray Liotta, last seen “losing his mind” in Hannibal seems to recovered enough to play Dean Cumanno, a Seattle “businessman” who chops up cars for a living. Though his occupation takes him onto the wrong side of the law, he does seem to have a good clear picture of the difference between right and wrong. He has a couple of the best lines in the movie, but I won’t pimp them here.

And finally, Jason Lee (Almost Famous, Chasing Amy, and every other Kevin Smith movie) is excellent as Jack, the man who makes Hewitt finally fall in love. Lee seems to get better and better roles and rises up each time to make his part shine.

This movie will appeal to many demographic groups. Those who would see Gene Hackman or Sigourney Weaver just because they are never disappointed, will very much enjoy this movie. For the 13-35 year old males who get a look at the trailer (or I’m sure the movie poster), Hewitt will be a draw. For my brethren let me say this about Hewitt: WOW. Every outfit they pour her into is more captivating than the previous.

The non-acting parts of this movie are worth a mention. The setting in South Florida is beautiful and the soundtrack is particularly interesting, using everything from the Beatles to James Taylor to rock and rap. Though I hate to tell to much of the story of a movie, there is one scene that is particularly wonderful. Kevin Nealon (Saturday Night Live) is sitting at a bar when Max and Page are trying to decide who their next mark will be. Rather than draw straws or cut cards, they decide that whichever one of them can make Nealon buy them a drink first gets to make the decision.

When comparing this movie to other of its genre, it does pretty well. Heartbreakers is not in the same class as The Sting or Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, but it will hold your attention, make you laugh and most importantly, entertain you, which is why we go to the movies in the first place.

Jay Henry is a full-time Red Sox fan, which is why he has so much free time to go to the movies.

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