Heartbreakers

A movie that proves that what you see is not necessarily what you get, as a mother/daughter team con one well-heeled member of the opposite sex after another, in `Heartbreakers,' directed by David Mirkin and starring Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Yes, the con is on, as mom takes ‘em to the altar, daughter seduces ‘em (getting caught in the act by mom, of course), and mom settles for a divorce and some big bucks. For the women, it's like having the goose that laid the golden egg, and all is going well; the bucks are rolling in and Cupid's path is being littered in their wake with the carnage of the men they've despoiled. Then Page (Hewitt), much to the chagrin of her mother, Angela (Weaver), decides it's time to strike out on her own and take down a score for herself. But as fate, luck, chance or what-have-you would have it, at that moment the IRA steps in and not only wipes out their bank account, but hands them a bill for back taxes that far and away exceeds the amount already confiscated. At that point, what's a girl to do, but find another mark. Only this time, it has to be one rich beyond their wildest dreams. And with that, the hunt is on.

An amusing, and at times hilarious comedy, the fact that it works as well as it does can be attributed to two things, by category: Weaver and Hewitt; and Ray Liotta and Jason Lee. For what the movie lacks in originality is made up for with the performances of the aforementioned four. As far as the women, such a pair of femmes fatales you've never seen; Hewitt has it and flaunts it, but she's still overshadowed by the gorgeous Weaver. Looks aside, however, what really makes it cook is their shared if-you-see-me-comin'-better-step-aside, take-no-prisoners attitude, a Mae West meets Kate Hepburn persona that gives their con its zing. Weaver plays it to the hilts, saucy, seductive and sharp as a tack. And not to be outdone by her co-star, Hewitt stays right there with her, by giving a performance that makes you believe that this is a young woman who could actually pull this stuff off. Together, their antics on screen are reminiscent of Lemmon and Curtis in `Some Like It Hot,' or Caine and Martin in `Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.' There's a refreshing lack of pretentiousness about them that really makes them fun to watch.

As for the guys, Liotta gives a sharp performance as Dean, a guy with a hard edge and a soft spot for Angela, and Lee does a notable turn as Jack, a regular guy who finds himself in the eye of Angela and Page's storm. Lee has an especially engaging screen presence, and some of the most memorable moments of the film are in the scenes he shares with Hewitt.

Last, but far from least, Gene Hackman scores some guffaws as billionaire tobacco magnate William Tensy. He gets a bit tongue-in-cheek with his character, who with his tobacco stained teeth and smoker's cough is at the same time hilarious and repulsive. When Angela demurs his attempted kiss, you'd swear you can smell his breath and the reek of smoke from his clothes. And you have to give Hackman credit for this one, because to play this role all vanity had to be stuffed in the closet for the duration.

The supporting cast includes Anne Bancroft (Barbara), Jeffrey Jones (Mr. Appel), Nora Dunn (Miss Madress), Julio Oscar Mechoso (Leo), Carrie Fisher (Mrs. Surpin), Ricky Jay (Dawson's Auctioneer) and Elya Baskin (Vladimir). Director Mirkin must be given credit for his imaginative approach to some fairly unoriginal material, and for making up for it's lack of substance by extracting some top performances from his actors. The real strength of `Heartbreakers,' however, is the fact that it never takes itself too seriously. If you look deep enough, you may find some insight into human nature, but for the most part this is a movie that was made with nothing but fun in mind. It's entertaining, there's some laughs and some nice moments, and it's easy on the eyes. If you let it, it's a movie that will let you off the hook for awhile and show you a good time. And for my money, that's not such a bad deal. I rate this one 7/10.

Heartbreakers has always been one of my low key movie favorites. It's funny, and the acting and plot are actually pretty good. Hewitt and Weaver play mother and daughter so well and really compliment each other. The storyline is well developed and just the right amount of ridiculous. It's just a good mindlessly entertaining movie.

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.

This screwball comedy brings together some great dramatic actors in unaccustomed comedic roles. The results are mixed (but mostly good), with some terrific slapstick and some pure drivel. Maxine (Sigourney Weaver) and Paige (Jennifer Love Hewitt) are two very slick con artists who find rich patsies and marry them, only to divorce them for big settlements after enticing them into indiscretions. When they get nabbed by the IRS for not paying their taxes, they must score one more time to climb out of their financial mess. The target is chain smoking billionaire William B. Tensy (Gene Hackman) who is dying before our eyes of lung disease. The only question is whether Maxine can get him to propose before he keels over. Meanwhile, Paige is running her own scam on Jack (Jason Lee) who owns a bar resting on prime real estate worth $3 Million.

It is mostly pratfall humor, with lots of sight gags and general nuttiness, which is often uproariously funny. The whole idea that the diminutive Paige could have been spawned from the Amazonian Maxine is implied comedy at its finest, leading us to conclude that Paige's father could only have been a midget.

Gene Hackman completely steals the show as the wheezy billionaire. Hackman, who is one of our national treasures as a dramatic actor, shows magnificent range, and he turns out to be the best comedian of the bunch. Sigourney Weaver is also in rare form brandishing some bodacious outfits and undergarments. She is especially funny as Olga, trotting out impressive broken English and even doing some vocals accompanied by a Russian balalaika band. Ray Liotta gives a lighthearted and funny performance as a chop shop owner who can't get over his love for Maxine, even though he knows she scammed him. Jason Lee's understated nice guy portrayal serves as the perfect counterpart to Jennifer Love Hewitt's bratty vamp. The perennially cute Hewitt still can't seem to transition into grownup roles. No matter how sexy they make her up (and they do quite a good job with her considerable attributes), her pubescent mannerisms and delivery still make her come off as a teenage harpy. In her defense, this is what the role required, but it doesn't do much to move her out of her character rut.

Overall, there is a lot of good fun here that is often dissipated by puerile absurdity. Still, there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, mostly delivered by Weaver and Hackman, that make this a better than average comedy. I rated it 7/10. Fans who like seeing Sigourney and Jennifer in sexy outfits will not be disappointed.

Much to my surprise, this movie is actually very funny and entertaining! It's about a mother/daughter con team of Max and Page (played by Sigourney Weaver of `Aliens' and Jennifer Love Hewitt of `Can't Hardly Wait') who prey upon wealthy men with the mom as bait and the daughter as cheating material to end the marriage in a fraudulent divorce. Therefore, they get half of everything he owns, which tides them over until the next poor sucker is tracked down. And these are supposed to be the good guys (or girls)? Just like `Hannibal', you end up rooting for the main characters, regardless of their motives. While this seems to work fine for them on a rich chop shop owner named Dean (Ray Liotta of `Goodfellas') and tobacco tycoon William Tensy (Gene Hackman of `Enemy of the State'), they run into a unexpected problem when Page falls for a bar owner named Jack (Jason Lee of `Chasing Amy') and actually grows a conscience on their supposed `last con'. Meanwhile, Dean tracks the two down and uncovers their scam. Due to the hilarious performances by Liotta and Hackman, and the amazing turn for Hewitt (from the dreadful `Party of Five'), this movie stayed on track and kept the laughs rolling. While this could've fizzled in so many spots, it managed to turn itself into one of the most surprisingly enjoyable comedies in a while, possibly due to director David Mirkin's (Romy and Michele's High School Reunion') fast-paced, yet lighthearted touch.