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Click above to purchase "HeartBreakers: Special
Edition" at amazon.com
HeartBreakers
Special Edition
review by Zach B.
Rated PG-13
Studio: MGM
Running Time: 123 minutes
Starring Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ray
Liotta, Jason Lee, Jeffery Jones and Gene Hackman
Written by Robert Dunn and Paul Guay & Stephen
Mazur
Directed by David Mirkin
Retail Price: $26.98
Features: Audio Commentary with Director David Mirkin,
Audio Commentary with Director David Mirkin, Sigourney
Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt, The Making Of
HeartBreakers, Laffs & Gaffes, Deleted Scenes with
Optional Audio Commentary with David Mirkin, Theatrical
Trailer, "The Princess Bride" DVD Trailer
Specs: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround,
Spanish 5.1 Surround, English Subtitles, French Subtitles,
Spanish Subtitles, English Closed Captions, Scene Selections
(26 Scenes)
Ah, ye olde scam artist comedy! There hasn't been one of
these for awhile. Sure there's been cons and grifters in
films, but it really has been a bit since there was a movie
really focused on cons and the chemistry between the stars.
The premise of "HeartBreakers" find Max and Page Connors
(played by actresses Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love
Hewitt), a mother and daughter con team who ring in the cash
of what seems to be a tired and true strategy: The two
disguise themselves, Max marries a man, Page gets them to
cheat, Max catches the two and they get a nice divorce
settlement. However, things start to become a bit screwball
when Max goes after a wealthy tobacco giant while Page
actually begins to fall in love with a bar owner named Jack
(Jason Lee). Will the con succeed, or will the two learn
something from all of this?
So that's the premise of "Heartbreakers," spring 2001's
modest comedy. I'll first get the bad out of the way: this
movie does not live up to its premise. I really expected
more out of it, as I feel there could have been a lot better
lines and a lot more zanier and thoughtful situations. Yes
there is wackiness and yes there are some funny moments, but
nothing really laugh out loud funny. There are one-liners
and visual jokes, but considering what this movie has in
production values and the cast, I was just expecting some
more witty writing and something a lot more inspired. A lot
of it just seems standard. Basically, this movie runs too
long in length and had a lot more potential than what it
gives. Despite how long it has been in development, if they
really added in some more banter, more tension and in all, a
lot more laughs. A lot of stuff here just doesn't seem so
fresh or new.
Now that the bad is out of the way, we can focus on the
good. While this movie would be average, it does stand out
and works a lot better than the material provided due to the
great cast. Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt make a
great sexy, scheming con team and pull off great impressions
and really have great chemistry. They were perfectly cast
and have strong, light performances. Ray Liotta breathes
great life into his supporting performance and has great
comic timing and power. Jason Lee and Gene Hackman also
shine, like usual, in their smaller roles as well.
David Mirkin, a vet of "The Simpsons," takes this comedy
and makes it what it is. He has a pretty solid directing
approach, but considering his previous work before him I
expected a much funnier movie. Still, the two hours do go by
rather quickly and the editing and the pacing is good. The
script also brings some unexpected twists and turns, which I
really did enjoy. So if you like comedies and good comedic
acting, "HeartBreakers" is worthing looking into.
The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen,
and this is rather of a disappointing transfer since this is
one recent film. We are treated to a good deal of blemishes,
pieces of dirt, scratches and other little annoyances in the
first chapter, and while those comes back here and there,
from then on after things clean up... but they still are
noticeable when they come back. The film also doesn't look
so sharp in a good amount of places as at times the image
sorta seems to be a bit "faded out." Detail is okay, while
hues, color saturation and flesh tones are a little bit
above average. Add in grain and you have yourself a far from
perfect, less than pristine transfer. It's really quite a
shame, considering how recent this movie is. Shimmering and
noise is also on the transfer too, plus some halo around the
characters. MGM really needed to put some more effort in
here, but it's not disastrous by any means.
"HeartBeakers" features 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks in
English, French and Spanish. This mix is surprisingly
decent. Danny Elfman's rich and quirky themee that is played
throughout the movie is well mixed, while the score from
John Debney, when used, also sounds particuarly well. .1 LFE
is very good on this track, while surrounds come in all
forms. A dead body, cars... there's good fidelity and active
stuff in here. So, it's not demo but on par for a comedy
film. English subtitles, Spanish subtitles and French
subtitles, plus English closed captions are included.
This special edition has some pretty good features, and
it seems everything comes in twos with it... like the two
con artists in he movie. Two trailers, two documentaries,
two commentaries and twenty-two deleted scenes... okay, the
box says 22 but there are really nineteen. Still, this is a
pretty nifty special edition.
The Audio Commentary with Director David Mirkin is
one of two. He goes solo here, and delivers a pretty stellar
session here. Even though he describes action on screen a
portion of the time, Mirkin is relaxed as he talks about
what he wanted, what he was going for and some pretty
interesting and fairly entertaining stories from the set. He
talks about locations, how he got the movie and the like
too. Worth a listen if you liked the movie.
The second, and much more fun Audio Commentary is
with Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt and David
Mirkin. This is quite a treat, as the three have sat
down together and offer a lot of fun right off the bat.
Mirkin asks them questions, and the two stars respond as
well as ask him questions too. A lot of Weaver's comments
are hilarious and deadpan, while Hewitt offers some fun
stuff too. Mirkin is a bit more serious, but does have some
fun here too. A lot of laughs in the track and you'll laugh
too. This track is not technical by any means, but again,
it's fun and you will gain some info out of the movie. One
of the more lighter and far more entertaining tracks I've
listened to lately that is really worth your time.
The Making Of Heartbreakers is your usually
promotional featurette that is presented in full frame.
Interviews with producers John Davis and Irving Ong, David
Mirkin, Sigourney Weaver, Ray Liotta, Gene Hackman and
Jennifer Love Hewitt. This featurette, with it's corny
narrator, film clips (in letterbox widescreen), behind the
scenes footage and usual interviews is pretty run of the
mill. Still, you can learn some facts as this movie went
through some pretty big name stars, not to mention it was
originally about a father and son team.
The second "documentary," entitled Laffs &
Gaffes is more of the same. Film clips and interviews
are featured (with the likes of Lee, Hewitt and Mirkin),
where it focuses on the "serious actors" doing fun stuff.
Basically, this eleven-minute featurette has some bloopers
and chronicles little things about funny things. Pretty
fluffy, but you can laugh here and there.
There are ninteen Deleted Scenes, each with
Optional Audio Commentary from David Mirkin. They are
in two channel sound and non-anamorphic widescreen, but the
quality is pretty good. They feature edge enhancment. In any
case, some scenes are extensions and others were cut. You
can see why, as this movie is long enough as it is. Still,
Mirkin offers his two cents on the cuts, as some scenes he
didn't want to lose. Some of these scenes build, others
don't. Nice to watch though as they last abou twenty-two
minutes in total (there's another two connection!).
Finally, we have a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen
Theatrical Trailer and a full frame The Princess
Bride DVD Trailer (might as well cross promote).
"Heartbreakers" is a pretty decent comedy, which works
better than one may expect due to its great cast. While the
transfer is disappointing and the sound mix is good, the
extras will delight fans of the movie. Worth a rental, but
worth it if you want it in your collection.
 (3/5 - NOT included in
final score)
(3/5)
 (3.5/5)
(3/5)
(3/5,
NOT an average)
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