Eddie (Ben Stiller) is a 40-year-old singleton whose father (Jerry Stiller) and best friend (Corddry) urge him to get out there and find someone. Then he meets the sparky and gorgeous Lila (Akerman), who seems too good to be true. They marry in a few months, and on their honeymoon in Mexico he quickly discovers her annoying personality traits, plus surprising details from her past and present. And he begins to believe that another woman at the resort, the sexy Miranda (Monaghan), might really be the one.

There's a steep curve to this film's structure, opening with a gently humorous, relatively grounded set-up that draws comedy from the characters. Then things get much more colourful, with slapstick and madcap situations aiming for wacky hilarity. But while trying to recreate the genius of There's Something About Mary (with Akerman as a Cameron Diaz clone), the Farrellys lose track of the characters. These people become mere comedy puppets, doing silly things that are actually despicable.

Stiller is lively and stays relatively engaging even when Eddie becomes a real jerk. Although the way he falls instantly for Miranda, thinking this love is somehow truer than what he felt for Lila, is extremely simplistic. As is the way the filmmakers get Akerman to gamely turn Lila from a sweet, chirpy ingénue into a shrewish, psychotic freak, by way of a hideous sunburn and a sudden lack of fashion sense. Even so, she's actually more likeable than Eddie, because Akerman gives her real pathos. Meanwhile, Monaghan has little to do but be delightful, while Stiller senior and Corddry provide smirking devil-on-the-shoulder advice.

This one-dimensional approach doesn't completely ruin the film; it has a certain empty-headed charm, plus sunny Mexican locations and a song score that travels from Bowie to Blondie to Barry Manilow. But the final act is badly dragged out. And by filling the script with borderline homophobic humour rather than comedy that actually springs from the situations, the Farrellys kind of miss the point.

themes, language, sexuality

21.Sep.07