Director Watch Podcast Ep. 93 – ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ (Elaine May, 1972) with Special Guest Jake Tropila
Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 93 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys are joined by film critic Jake Tropila to discuss the next film in their Elaine May series, The Heartbreak Kid (1972).
It didn’t take long for Elaine May to make her second feature, as she released The Heartbreak Kid just a year after A New Leaf was released. But much like her longtime friend and collaborator Mike Nichols, May elevated just about every aspect of her skills from behind the camera to make one of the greatest comedies of all time; a film that follows a newly married salesman who falls in love on his honeymoon with another woman, and will do whatever it takes to fix the “mistake” he has made. Written by great Neil Simon, May’s sophomore feature is a great mirror to Nichol’s The Graduate, and represents the same determination but ultimate sadness found within the decisions of the heart found within the younger generation of the 1970s. Ryan, Jay, and Jake break down their feelings on this masterpiece, how they were able to few this film given its copyright issues, the hilarious dialogue, the performance from Charles Grodin, the film’s ending, the 2007 remake feature Ben Stiller, who would Hollywood cast as Lenny if The Heartbreak Kid was made today, and the importance of pecan pie.
You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.
This podcast runs 2h2m. The guys will be back next week to continue their series on the films of Elaine May with a review of her film, 1976’s Mikey and Nicky. You can rent it via YouTube in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.
Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).
- AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 282 – Oscars Retrospective of the 88th Academy Awards - April 7, 2025
- Director Watch Podcast Ep. 93 – ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ (Elaine May, 1972) with Special Guest Jake Tropila - April 3, 2025
- AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 281 – Reviewing ‘Death of a Unicorn’ and Looking at the Best Comedies of the Decade So Far - March 31, 2025
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