Top notch cast can't mend `Heartbreakers'
By JUDE SEYMOUR
Scene Movie Critic
The male stereotype that propagates in books, movies and Ani DiFranco music is that a man is not monogamous, thinks only of himself and should therefore be punished by empowering women.
"Heartbreakers" plays as a con movie where the targets are men who think only with what is in their pants. So the women seduce, deny, destroy and then empty their victim's bank accounts.
The plot centers on Max (Sigourney Weaver), who as a teen was impregnated and then left by a heartless man. In order to exact revenge, Max decided to raise her daughter, Page (Jennifer Love Hewitt), to believe in the ideal that all men are destined to break hearts, so it is imperative for women to take the initiative. Their motive becomes the annihilation of the male heart and the subsequent draining of their bank accounts.
The movie's pivotal flaw, though, is that it does not really want to be heartless at all. Instead, it wants to display Page's evolution as she forms her own perspective on life. Perhaps not all men are looking to break women's hearts, and genuine love may exist. "Heartbreakers" addresses this dramatic problem with a comedic approach.
Unfortunately, that approach does not fit well with the supposed heartless intent. In addition, several scenes oddly repeat themselves and dull the laughs.
The two hours spent watching "Heartbreakers" feels about twenty minutes too long. The great comedic bits, especially those involving Ray Liotta and Jason Lee, become the sacrificial lamb to the movie's other vapid moments.
Max's character becomes especially troubling. After executing her con womanscheme 13 times, Max seems unable to come to grips with the true nature of men even after Page finds true love; the movie never explains how Max could continue to con knowing that her prior assumptions are false.
It would have been a different and more interesting movie to view the effects on Max's psyche after Page's attainment of true companionship. If every subsequent victime is a chance at true love, how can Max continue her heartless crusade against men?
"Heartbreakers" portrays its male characters as one-dimensional and underdeveloped, which leads to numerous questions about their actions. Jack's (Lee) motives for forgiving Page, for example, are never explored (which complements his unexplained reasoning for loving her in the first place).
Ultimately, the women's conquest of these stereotypical males does not leave the audience impressed; rather, the viewer is bored by the defeat of a male cliché few believe in the first place.
--one and a half shamrocks (out of five)
All Scene Stories for Thursday, March 29, 2001
