“What if I meet my soulmate while in a relationship with someone else?” It’s a worry we’ve all had, but The Heartbreak Kid’s protagonist Lenny takes it a step further. He acts upon his desires and pursues a woman he met while on a honeymoon trip with his wife. Suddenly, the lines are blurred. Is he being romantic or irrational? Positive or delusional? If he’s such a prick, why is his character so compelling? Why is he so easy to root for? The Heartbreak Kid has been labeled a romantic comedy, and it is, but it’s also a character study about the so-called Nice Guy, the leading men who feel entitled to good things because they don’t (overtly, at least) treat their partner like a hunk of meat. It’s also a lesson in how we tend to use people and confuse things like aspiration and fear of loneliness for love. Plenty of things happen all at once in The Heartbreak Kid, making it a bit more layered than your typical romcom.

That ending perfectly encapsulates how much of a tragicomedy this film is. It’s very similar in tone and impact to The Graduate ending, which might not be a coincidence considering both directors—Elaine May and Mike Nichols—were close friends and former creative partners. In fact, put on The Graduate first if you’re in a mood. In some ways, it feels like a prequel to this film. It’ll make for an interesting (depressing, but interesting) double feature.