HEARTBREAKERS — *** — Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Gene Hackman, Jason Lee, Ray Liotta, Jeffrey Jones, Nora Dunn, Anne Bancroft; rated PG-13 (profanity, vulgarity, sex, violence); Carmike 12 and Ritz 15 Theaters; Century Theatres 16; Cinemark Jordan Landing Theaters; Gateway 8 Cinemas; Loews Cineplex Broadway Centre and Midvalley Cinemas; Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons.

Batten down the hatches and bolt the door. No man is safe when Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt go on the prowl in "Heartbreakers," a high-camp, low-rent comedy about a mother-daughter seduction team.

All the world's a con with this duo — and the recipe in "Heartbreakers" is deliciously simple. Get a rich man to marry Mom, a sexy 40-something, then fleece him clean in a quickie divorce settlement when he succumbs to the enticements of Junior, a drop-dead not-yet-20-something. Leave town. Find new target. Repeat.

The add two over-the-top performances by Weaver and Gene Hackman, who plays an old tobacco heir who becomes the team's latest prey. Mix in a dash of realism — that working with your mother is always a bad idea. Top it off with fake Russian accents, goofy erotic art and outlandish costumes.

The result: A concoction by director David Mirkin that never fails to sink to the lowest common denominator — yet often hits a funny bone.

Single mother Max Conners (Weaver) is struggling with her petulant daughter Page (Love Hewitt) who wants out of the family business. That means Max's paycheck is heading south, too, so to prepare for retirement, they aim for one final score — the grotesque but fabulously wealthy William B. Tensy (Hackman).

But the road to riches has two major speed bumps: Dean Cumanno (Ray Liotta), a chop-shop king who once fell for Max's con and is determined to hunt her down, and Jack Withrowe (Jason Lee), an endearing bar owner smitten by the curvaceous but schizoid Page.

His love is the reason Page wants out — but she is so trained in the con that she doesn't trust her gut on this.

Despite their odd employment status, Max and Page bicker like any good mother and daughter, oblivious to the fact they are locked in a Freudian struggle of Olympic proportions. Who can get a man to buy her a drink first? Who can best entice a millionaire to marry her? And who knows what to do when Plan A evolves into Plan B, which degrades into Plan C and dissolves into "Let's get out of here now"?

Mom, of course. With Junior second and closing fast.

"Do you have any idea how much therapy you people need?" asks Dean when he finally realizes that the sexy secretary who did him in was his ex-wife's daughter.

Weaver is a delightful comic actress. And Hackman draws upon the camp artistry he used as Lex Luthor in "Superman" to gleefully create a belching, leering, thoroughly repulsive Tensy.

Liotta leaves the audience howling as an Italian stud shocked to be dumped, and Lee plays simply the sweetest guy anyone will ever meet. Nora Dunn and Anne Bancroft both shine in brief roles as a controlling house manager and an IRS agent, respectively.

Only Love Hewitt is wooden.

To truly enjoy this romp, you must dispense with some common misconceptions: That moms are good-hearted, that wealthy old geezers know they are targets for gold diggers and that crime does not pay.

They aren't, they don't — and it does.

"Heartbreakers" is rated PG-13 for occasional profanity, crude sexual humor and double-entendres, simulated sex and brief violence. Running time: 123 minutes.