Though it sports plenty of Jennifer Love Hewitt's assets, "Heartbreakers" is ultimately the one in need of a Wonderbra. David Mirkin's sophomore directorial effort offers some laughs and enjoyment, but at the cost of believability and consistency - the latter being a crucial facet of a comedy.
Somewhat similar to 1998's con movie "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," "Heartbreakers" introduces two con artists, Max (Sigourney Weaver) and her daughter, Page (Jennifer Love Hewitt), both of who will do anything to avoid paying a penny. The two swindle money out of unsuspecting men using the following procedure: Max marries the man, and Page seduces him into adultery. Then Max "accidentally" walks in to witness the infidelity, taking off with a divorce settlement. Of course, the first victim, Dean (Ray Liotta), has no idea the two are mother and daughter and that he has been the victim of a scam.
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Despite the team's success, Page feels she is of age to be on her own and run cons by herself, much to the disappointment of her mother. However, a run-in with an IRS agent at the bank forces the two to pull off one last heist to pay their debts to the government. Thus, they head to Palm Springs, where they scope out potential suckers before deciding on William (Gene Hackman), an old tobacco tycoon. Page also meets Jack (Jason Lee), a local bar owner who tries to romance her, not knowing that he is a perfect target for fraud since his bar is worth three million. Page must cope with her emotions in deciding whether or not to deceive Jack while also helping her mother hit the jackpot with William.
Like Mirkin's first film, "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion," "Heartbreakers" exhibits several cute aspects and has a few good jokes, but nowhere near enough to be consistently entertaining. The script by Robert Dunn, Paul Gray and Stephen Mazur contains several good one-liners, but it usually takes more than that to keep an entire scene funny (unless of course Woody Allen is involved). Only a few scenes are downright hilarious, such as one in which Max and Page hold a contest between themselves to see who can score a drink first off a poor sap at a bar.
The main problem "Heartbreakers" faces is the far-fetched romance between Jack and Page. Ordinarily, one might assume any girl who looks like Hewitt could sweep a guy off his feet. On the other hand, Page is so exceedingly high-maintenance and wicked that it is a marvel Jack still pursues her without any hint of infuriation. Only when Page leaves him inexplicably and repeatedly does Jack get even remotely annoyed. Sadly, as Jack, Lee does not get much breathing room to exhibit his real talent, as he has in several of Kevin Smith's films (e.g. "Chasing Amy" and "Dogma").
In the same vein as Lee, Hackman also gets limited by the script and has little more to offer than incessant coughing and tar-stained teeth. Hackman does, however, excel with the film's limitations by portraying one of the most grotesque and unromantic lovers captured on film in a while. Weaver also gives a fairly good performance, in which she is allowed to play everything from a caring mother to a Russian temptress; she also deserves respect for being able to make such a devious person likeable.
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Adding to an already lengthy movie is an additional unnecessary act during which Dean reenters the picture to reacquire Max's affection. Unfortunately, it seems the filmmakers could not think of an appropriate place to end the movie, and so it goes on monotonously. Dean also does a fair amount of preaching during this final act, which is unnecessary because common sense alone should counter-argue Max's wrongdoings later on in the movie.
Despite these big flaws in the script, there are some high points, such as the actual con art itself. Merely to discover how the pair will go about their next scheme is amusing. For example, Max breaks a piece of glass in a restaurant and sprinkles the shards over her food to humiliate the manager into giving her a free meal.
"Heartbreakers" could have been a much better movie had the writers condensed the plot and concentrated on a few points rather than stretching itself too thin. Also, since the humor is concentrated in the first half of the film, the inconsistency of the jokes would have been far less of a concern. Despite the script, the actors and Danny Elfman's theme music save it from disaster. Good movies are like women's skirts - they should be long enough to cover the subject but short enough to be interesting. Regrettably, "Heartbreakers" only meets the second condition in a literal sense.
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