The Heartbreak Kid (1972)

After a brief courtship, a sporting goods salesman (Charles Grodin) marries a girl (Jeannie Berlin in an Oscar nominated performance) he met in a bar. On their honeymoon, they drive from New York to Miami, Florida. But during their journey, her idiosyncrasies and habits begin to annoy him and he realizes he made a mistake. Then, at the beach, he meets a beautiful blonde shiksa (Cybill Shepherd) and falls in love. Based on the short story A CHANGE OF PLAN by Bruce Jay Friedman and adapted for the screen by Neil Simon (BAREFOOT IN THE PARK) and directed by Elaine May (ISHTAR). Almost universally praised when it was first released, the film holds up for the most part. The problems it has it had when it opened. Elaine May balances dark humor with a strong core of reality although I suspect if it had been made by a gentile writer and director, accusations of anti-Semitism and Jewish stereotypes would have occurred. Did they have to make Berlin's Lila such a repulsive imbecile? Initially, one's sympathies goes to Grodin's groom but his treatment of her is appalling. No one deserves to be treated that way. Berlin's emotional breakdown when told he's leaving her is devastating, almost too painful to watch. It's a pity she never again got a role as good as this. With Eddie Albert (also Oscar nominated), Audra Lindley, William Prince and Doris Roberts.