'Kid' is a return to raunchiness

THE HEARTBREAK KID — * 1/2 — Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman, Michelle Monaghan; rated R (vulgarity, profanity, sex, nudity, drugs, violence, slurs)

The complaint from many audiences and critics about the Farrelly brothers is that they've gotten soft since their raunchy, R-rated 1998 hit "There's Something About Mary," making the PG-13 comedies "Stuck on You" (2003) and "Fever Pitch" (2005), which were soft and cuddly by Farrelly standards.

But their latest film, "The Heartbreak Kid," not only reunites them with "Mary" star Ben Stiller, it also restores — and arguably ups — the raunchiness.

So much so, in fact, that it becomes exceedingly uncomfortable and grotesque.

Stiller stars as the title character, Eddie Cantrow, a San Francisco sporting goods store owner. The fortysomething Eddie has been unhappily single for years, but it appears his romantic luck has changed when he meets the sweetly kooky Lila (Malin Akerman). The two hit it off and are quickly married.

However, Eddie reconsiders that hasty decision when the two supposed lovebirds honeymoon in Mexico. Lila reveals a few troubling incidents in her past, as well as an unpleasant side of her personality.

While Lila is resting and recovering from a horrific sunburn, Eddie meets Miranda (Michelle Monaghan), a fellow vacationer he believes may be his true soulmate.

The Farrellys obviously had an ulterior motive in casting Akerman, who not only bears a striking resemblance to Stiller's "Mary" co-star, Cameron Diaz, but also sounds and acts a lot like her. And it's clear they are trying to make her character the villain of the piece.

But instead, Monaghan demonstrates some charm and it's Stiller's despicable Eddie who earns most of our ire.

The supporting cast earns most of the film's guilty laughs, especially Rob Corddry. But comedian Carlos Mencia is a real irritant.

"The Heartbreak Kid" is rated R for vulgar sexual and bodily function humor, strong sexual language (profanity and crude slang terms), simulated sex and other sexual contact, female and partial male nudity, drug content (cocaine references and marijuana use), comic violence (pratfalls, beatings and violent sex), and slurs based on sexual preference. Running time: 114 minutes.

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