"Heartburn" succeeds much better as an autobiography than as a comedy. Real life isn't terribly funny (unfortunately), so the level of hilarity we expect from a true story isn't very high. That is especially true when the subject matter is the break-up of a marriage. Because it was written by Nora Ephron ("Sleepless in Seattle") and directed by Mike Nichols ("The Graduate"), I assumed this was a comedy, but it isn't. There are some funny moments, but the funniest one - an homage to Soupy Sales, so to speak - comes nearly at the end of the movie.
The acting is top-notch, as one would expect from the only man ever to win three Oscars for Best Actor (Nicholson), and the only actress to be nominated for an Oscar sixteen times (Streep).
"Heartburn" is the quintessential "chick flick", so heterosexual men can expect to be bored. But anyone interested in the marriage and divorce of screenwriter Nora Ephron and Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein, might want to take a look at it.
The acting is top-notch, as one would expect from the only man ever to win three Oscars for Best Actor (Nicholson), and the only actress to be nominated for an Oscar sixteen times (Streep).
"Heartburn" is the quintessential "chick flick", so heterosexual men can expect to be bored. But anyone interested in the marriage and divorce of screenwriter Nora Ephron and Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein, might want to take a look at it.