Elaine May’s 1972 film The Heartbreak Kid fits the theme of “Anxious Love, Anxious Laughter” perfectly. The entire film feels awkward and uncomfortable, leaving the audience and characters laughing uncomfortably to match this feeling as they make their way through the movie. One of the best examples of this theme takes place early on in the movie, when the two main characters, newly-mets and newlyweds Lila and Lenny finally get to know each other on the drive down to their honeymoon. A car is an ideal place to further relationships between characters, as the characters are physically trapped and forced to face their feelings. Consequently, a car is also a great place to test the viability of a relationship. If two characters can survive a multi-hour car ride together, then maybe they can survive a multi-decade marriage. The Heartbreak Kid’s car scene is a perfect example of this scenario. As the newlywed's road trip from New York City to Miami Beach, Lenny discovers that he can’t stand his new wife, a peril of their short pre-marriage relationship. Lenny becomes both physically and mentally trapped. He is stuck in the car with a woman he now dislikes but is worried about ending the marriage so soon after it began. Another reason that cars are ideal places to explore relationships in film is because of the physical closeness of the characters. A car is a small space, so the characters are forced to be near each other. In The Heartbreak Kid, Lila is constantly in Lenny’s personal space. She sings in his ear, leans on him, and at one point even fully lays down in his lap while Lenny is driving (The Heartbreak Kid 7:00-08, 7:34-48, 7:49-8:01).  

The camera helps balance out the closeness of the scene. When the characters in The Heartbreak Kidare physically close, the camera is slightly farther back, giving the audience room to breathe. Camera angles are another reason that car scenes are an ideal place to explore relationships. Medium shots, medium close-ups, and close-up shots are often used to convey close relationships, and to show emotion on the subject's faces. These angles are perfect for the relationship tension car scenes can provide. The physical interactions between characters and the distance of the camera work together to add emotion and tension to the scenes. The camera in The Heartbreak Kid keeps to medium shots to compensate for Lila and Lenny’s physical closeness. Lila is constantly in physical contact with Lenny. Because the characters themselves are initiating the closeness, the camera compensates by mostly shooting medium shots and over the shoulder medium shots. The audience is supposed to feel more comfortable with the lack of distance between Lenny and Lila because they are married and (supposedly) know each other well. However, the physical contact is one-sided. Lila is initiating all of the contact, and Lenny doesn’t reciprocate. Many of the shots in this scene take place with the camera outside the car looking in. Lenny’s face is obscured by the reflections on the window, indicating that he is slowly becoming disillusioned with Lila. This car scene is uncomfortable in different ways, namely through Lila’s physical actions. namely through Lila’s physical actions. This short scene is a perfect example of how The Heartbreak Kid deals with anxiety, love, and laughter, because the whole scene makes the viewer want to cringe—but maybe laugh, too.

Works Cited

The Heartbreak Kid. Directed by Elaine May, performances by Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd, and Jeannie Berlin, 20th Century Fox, 1972. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vusvJaxKZFo