Susan Granger’s review of “HEARTBREAKERS” (M.G.M. release)
Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt play a clever mother/daughter con team in this lust and larceny caper. Weaver targets wealthy guys to marry but manages to keep them sexually frustrated so it’s easy for Hewitt to seduce them. When Weaver “catches” her hapless husband committing adultery, it’s off to the divorce court for a payoff. Their scheme works until an IRS agent (Anne Bancroft) claims their settlement against the dubious owner of a New Jersey chop-shop (Ray Liotta) and demands more dough, causing the duo to flee to troll the wealthy fishing ground of Palm Beach until they find a new target: a repulsive tobacco billionaire with a terrible cough (Gene Hackman). But Hewitt hankers for some freedom and genuinely falls for a local bartender (Jason Lee). Director David Mirkin keeps the pace fast and the comedy twists coming. Sigourney Weaver is adept at comedy, camping it up as a slinky Russian ŽmigrŽ and a sultry tease, while Hewitt – who actually like Weaver’s daughter – drops the ‘cutes’ for cleavage. Problem is: the subversive, predictable script by Robert Dunn, Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur glorifies these greedy, unpleasant grifters and is hardly heartwarming. In addition, the dialogue relentlessly refers to the con. (“There are no weekends in conning…” ‘I dropped the con”….”I’m a pro and I’ll prove it.”) C’mon, we got it the first time! On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Heartbreakers” is a hapless 5. I tend to agree with Ray Liotta’s query, “Do you have any idea how much therapy you people need?” and his conclusion, “This is just too sick.” But if you enjoy the concept of con capers, why not rent cinema classics like “The Lady Eve” or “Paper Moon”?
