Max and Page Conners were a successful mother/daughter con team. Max would get men to marry her and then Page would move in and get them in compromising positions just in time for Max to catch them, usually the day after the weddings. Max would file for divorce and get a settlement before moving on to the next target. After getting a settlement from Dean, Max was ready to pick a new city and target. Page wanted them to split what money they had so she could go out on her own. Page agreed to one more job when the IRS seized their money for back taxes.

Page insisted that they go to Palm Beach and she wanted to go after a doctor that was still living with his mom. Max vetoed that idea and instead picked William Tensy, a wealthy tobacco tycoon that wasn’t in the best health. Page decided that she was going to go after the doctor herself anyway, which didn’t work out like she planned. She met Jack, a bartender who was drawn to her even though she was rather rude to him. Dean still had feelings for Max and wanted a second chance. He managed to find out that she was in Palm Beach and turned up at a bad time, complicating things for Page and Max.

Page and Max weren’t looking for love on any sort of lasting relationship. Instead, they were using their attractiveness to manipulate men and then take them for as much money as they possibly could. That did make Heartbreakers a bit different from most romantic comedies since most of the time at least one character is interested in finding a relationship or at the very least, open to the idea of one. Max had started on her career conning men years before after a failed relationship. She believed that all men were the same and she’d raised Page to think the same way. Neither woman was really sure how to react when a man truly loved them. The romance aspects of the movie weren’t overly sappy like can happen in romantic comedies. The romance did play an important part in the plot, so people that don’t like romantic comedies should probably pick a different movie to watch. Some of the things that were done for humor were a little silly. That didn’t bother me, though other people could feel differently. Physical humor was used frequently, usually with Page falling or doing something else clumsy.

Heartbreakers didn’t really have any love scenes, though there were a lot of sexual over tones throughout the movie. I believe those things, along with the fact that Page’s clothes barely covered her breasts, were the main reasons that the movie was rated PG-13. Max did wear a few somewhat revealing outfits and she didn’t have a problem doing sexually suggestive things to manipulate men. Just about everything that Page wore was very low cut, and her bras were usually visible. She looked like she was going to pop out of her tops in most of her scenes. Page did several sexual things throughout the movie, usually connected to whatever con she and her mother were pulling at the time. A life size, anatomically correct statue of a naked man played a major part in several scenes which could bother some viewers. People that are offended by sexual humor should pick something else to watch. Children really shouldn’t watch the movie because of all the sexual over tones.

Max and Page loved each other even though they didn’t have the most stable relationship. They frequently disagreed and even ended up saying or doing things that were hurtful to the other. Max wanted to protect her daughter and she went to some extreme measures to do that. Max had a bad relationship in the past - I think it was with Page’s father - and that really influenced the rest of her life. Page felt that her mother was too controlling and she was anxious to go out on her own. Page was impulsive and frequently did things without fully thinking them through. Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt were very good in their parts. They were believable as a mother and daughter that didn’t always get along. This was really the first thing that I liked Hewitt in. I had thought she was irritating in the few other things I had seen her in before. Weaver played another sexy woman in the comedy Galaxy Quest. I think she showed off a bit more cleavage in that movie.

Dean was having trouble getting over Max, which caused him to track her down in Palm Beach. He was a bit obsessed with getting her back. He was really upset when he figured out what Max was up to. He wasn’t the most honest man himself since he ran a chop shop for stolen cars, so it was a bit ironic that he was judging Max and Page. Ray Liotta was wonderful in the part. It was kind of strange to see him in a comedy instead of playing some kind of violent or even psychotic character. Dean did have a few of his own psycho and violent moments.

William Tensy was a sick old billionaire that was a chain smoker. He always had a cigarette, and would light up a new one even before he was finished with the previous one at times. He frequently blew smoke into people’s faces and did other repulsive things. He was not a pleasant man to be around. Gene Hackman was great in the part and he added several funny moments to the movie with the way he portrayed Tensy. Nora Dunn had a small part as Miss Madress, Tensy’s housekeeper.

Jack was a bartender that met Page by chance one evening. He was a really nice guy that fell for Page even though she was incredibly rude when the first met and continued to act a bit nuts as their relationship developed. Jason Lee was very good in the part. Anne Bancroft turned up in a few short scenes.

Main Cast

Nora Dunn - Miss Madress
Gene Hackman - William Tensy
Jennifer Love Hewitt - Page
Jason Lee - Jack
Ray Liotta - Dean
Sigourney Weaver - Max

David Mirkin - Director

DVD Information

I originally saw Heartbreakers in the theater and I later bought the DVD. My copy only has the widescreen version and I’m not sure if there is a full screen version available. There are some extras on the DVD. There were two commentaries, one with only the director and the second with the director as well as Hewitt and Weaver. I did listen to that once and it was entertaining. They talked about many things, some connected to the making of certain scenes, and other things that really weren’t connected to the movie at all. There were 19 deleted scenes, some of which were just alternate versions of scenes that were in the movie. Some of the deleted scenes were very funny. There was an optional director’s commentary for the deleted scenes. There were two documentaries, The Making of Heartbreakers and Laffs & Gaffes. Both of them were entertaining.

Heartbreakers was a very funny, entertaining movie that I really enjoyed. It is a somewhat different romantic comedy that is worth watching. Fans of the cast should give the movie a chance.


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD