As part of my research for my book, I read abut the history of the romantic comedy in The Hollywood Romantic Comedy, by Leger Grindon. In the late 1960s/early 1970s, the height of the Sexual Revolution, quite a few movies were critical of the traditional notion of “coupled and happy” a the film’s end. Two such films were cited: The Graduate and The Heartbreak Kid.
In the latter, Charles Grodin plays Lenny, a young man recently married to Lila, played by Jeanne Bearlin. Her constant refrains of “that’s one more than you just learned about me” and his seemingly sudden irritation at her shrill sining voice led me to believe they didn’t know each other very long before saying “I do.” “It seemed like the decent thing to do,” Lenny muses late in the film. Familial or cultural pressure, perhaps? They’re both Jewish, and like most religions, Judaism does push that way of life.
While watching Lenny, I was reminded of times I got into escalator-sytle relationships and realized they weren’t worth all the hype – at least not for me. Of course, Lenny goes to extreme lengths. The minute he sees Kelly, played by Cybill Shepherd, materialize from the sea, he’s in love. Or lust. When Lila gets a bad sunburn and is confined to their hotel room, Lenny spins all kinds of lies about what happened while he was out: a car accident, a court case. Meanwhile, he’s making nice with Kelly, while her rich, protective father makes not-so-nice with him (Eddie Albert from Green Acres earned that Oscar nomination; he communicates multitudes with his face).
At the denouement, Lenny divorces Lila and marries Kelly, but by the end of the reception, he’s been relegated to the talking to the children, much like Bella talks about in her commentary on the holiday seating. Roger Ebert noted that Lenny’s a guy who values “desire” over real connection. Reader, how many married folks (dudes, in particular) got married for that reason and are now stuck? I saw the 2007 Farrelly Brothers remake starring Ben Stiller before I viewed the original; his character falls for a third woman after marrying the object of his lust. I suspect Lenny will go down the same road (as did the Farrellys).