Heartbreakers (2001)

What a waste of my time!!!

Dreadfully Boring

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

I was hoping this movie would be as hilarious and fulfilling as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Unfortunately, it falls flat in every way. The schemes, plot points, and romance seem contrived and/or forced. They just don't make logical sense. And I didn't find most of the humor funny, either. Also, the characters aren't that interesting or believable. I don't understand how so many people could give this movie good reviews and ratings. It's a massive letdown compared to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. So disappointed.

Heartbreakers is a romantic comedy about con artists. Just to ram the point home, magician and con movie veteran Ricky Jay appears.A mother and daughter team (Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt) make a lucrative living out of Weaver marrying rich men and then getting Hewitt to end up in a compromising position with them leading to a quick divorce settlement.After conning Ray Liotta and Hewitt thinking of branching out on her own, Weaver finds that the IRS (Anne Bancroft) have taken their saving and demanding more in back taxes.The two of them head out to Palm Beach to find a big mark for that giant payout and put their conning days behind them. They aim to reel in Gene Hackman a chronic smoker and billionaire that Weaver is desperately trying to seduce. Hewitt falls for a local bar owner but Ray Liotta swindled at the beginning of the film suddenly drops by.A film like this is framed by its subject, the confidence artist. You see Weaver and Hewitt pulling various cons as they go along, slipping on the floor to get good hotel suites, finding glass on food to get free restaurant meals. However in this movie you kind of guess there is a counter-con going on. Bancroft is not someone who randomly turns up at the beginning of the movie.As a romantic comedy it is so-so. Weaver looks good for her age and Hewitt wears sexy outfits. The film works better when Weaver tries to grasp dirty ole smoker Hackman and things do not go rather as planned.However the real show stealer is Liotta. We think he is going to be the hard nosed bad guy but puts on a relaxed comedy turn.

C'mon now, I've seen worse movies. Much of the disappointment I feel for this film is because of how good it could have been.First off, the script - it was simply over the top. Often, more subtle humor works better - the audience does not need to be hit with a sledgehammer when a tack hammer will do the job. The plot, complete with twists (some predictable, some not) was workable - and there were some truly funny moments, but they ended up being overshadowed by the overdone bits.Much of the cast did good work - Ray Liotta turned out for a surprisingly good performance, and Jennifer Love Hewett surprised me with the quality of her performance. Ms. Weaver, however, seemed at many points to be simply reading the cue cards. In light of her usually excellent work, I can only surmise that she was as appalled by the material she was being asked to work with as I was, and couldn't get into the part and retain her self-esteem.There are some great lines, and the general plot is believable, but this is NOT a 'con' flick - the con artistry that movie viewers have loved in 'The Sting' and 'Ocean's Eleven' is pretty well blown by the general ineptness of the con "artists".One remarkably onerous note may please some viewers. The mark (capably played with awful lines by Gene Hackman) is such a caricature of the offensive, rude smoker that it's likely to be offensive to anyone who knows, likes, or is a smoker themselves. The anti-smoking message was so loud that it ruined some scenes that could have been humorous otherwise.All in all, a worthwhile flick if you like the overdone comedy of 'Dumb and Dumber' better than you like, say, the obvious but not overplayed 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' or 'Bedazzled'.

This movie was not your typical romantic comedy…it's more. This movie was a delight to watch, and it kept my attention throughout the whole movie. Sigourney Weaver is amazing as con artist mother, and may I say…she was stunning too. Typically I don't say that about her…she tends to go after roles that are aggressive, and more manly…but she was funny and entertaining to watch. Jennifer Love Hewitt was your typical spoiled brat, that fell in love with the man she was trying to con out of money. Gene Hackman played an ugly old (loaded) smoker…and may I say, he played the dying old rich man well, lol. The movie was funny, exciting, and romantic. I currently own this movie and will be delighted to watch it again in the near future. I do recommend this movie.For daily movie reviews visit: kimsmoak.com now!