74
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIt's a comedy, but there's more in it than that; it's a movie about the ways we pursue, possess, and consume each other as sad commodities.
- 88LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenLarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenThe Heartbreak Kid is a war of the sexes comedy that leaves no side unscathed, thanks largely to the combined sensibilities of screenwriter Neil Simon and director Elaine May.
- 80The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsNot especially gag-driven, May's deadpan style clears the way for some remarkable performances by Jeannie Berlin, Eddie Albert, and especially Grodin, who has to remain likable even while doing stupid, mean things.
- 80The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyThe Heartbreak Kid occasionally goes for laughs without shame (which is what has always bothered me about Simon's brand of New York comedy), but behind the laughs there is, for a change, a real understanding of character — which is something that I suspect, can be attribued to Miss May.
- 70The New YorkerRichard BrodyThe New YorkerRichard BrodyMay directs with bristling restraint: the camera runs at length, keeping the characters trapped in the excruciating moment, and, with the central trio of typecast actors tightly held on this side of parody, the humor oscillates between sour comedy and droll tragedy.
- 70The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline Kael[May] has a knack for defusing the pain without killing the joke.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceMay's second feature is a funny and sometimes side-splitting film whose whole never approaches the success of its best moments in which the two levels of romantic fantasy and satire are reconciled. [28 Dec 1972, p.53]
- 60Time OutTime OutWittily directed by May, and neatly scripted by Neil Simon (from Bruce Jay Friedman's story A Change of Plan), though somewhere the film loses its thread and forgets how to draw things decently to a close.
- Although engagingly played, the film cannot find a voice or climax.