Review of The Break-Up (2006) by Markb. — 19 Jun 2006

To slightly amend the immortal words of Neil Sedaka, breaking up may be hard to do, but watching people break up isn't much of a picnic either...especially when both parties involved are as smug, self-centered and unlikable as they are in this mystifying box office hit, whose success can only be attributed to the by-now speedily waning goodwill generated by leads Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston.

Superficially reminiscent of 1989's War of the Roses, and to a lesser degree the 1967 Debbie Reynolds-Dick Van Dyke pic Divorce, American Style, but without either film's satiric precision, focus or gutsiness, The Break Up deals with a seriously mismatched yuppie couple playing psychological games with one another because one or both them have to vacate their Ponderosa-sized loft.

Despite the time limit imposed on them by their Realtor, one of the film's failings is its absolute lack of ticking-clock suspense or comic tension, which is just as well because had these two stayed together much longer, it almost surely would've resulted in a job for the homicide division.

The "Telly Savalas" bit and the a capella song sequence featured in the movie's trailers come off as less egregious than they otherwise would be because the whole movie is a haphazardly stacked series of rambling, pointless sequences arranged with a surprising lack of clarity by director Peyton Reed.

..and given how many nifty, original touches he brought to the cheerleader comedy Bring It On and the stylish, underrated Doris Day/ Rock Hudson parody Down With Love, the disappointment is truly painful.

(His one good invention, if it was his idea, in The Break Up is the use of various splices of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" as background musical stings.) And with the exceptions of Judy Davis and Jon Favreau, who at least has a pertinent third-act speech that cuts to the heart of Vaughn's character, I can't think of another recent movie that so thoroughly squanders such an interesting cast; I mean, how can the same movie come up with the brilliant notion of casting Ann-Margret as Aniston's mom and then give her virtually nothing to say or do? As far as the much-paparazzi'd leads are concerned, Vaughn's bloated, overgrown infant frat boy persona worked well for him in Wedding Crashers and Swingers but very little else, and it certainly doesn't here.

(His best role and performance ever appeared in 1998's uncharacteristic, uncompromising and heartbreaking drug-smuggling drama Return to Paradise, but since that one didn't even crack the box-office Top 10, I doubt that we'll ever be seeing Vaughn challenge himself by doing the likes of it again.

) And even though Aniston's character is right about 97% of the time (and yes, that includes the matter of the twelve lemons, too) she's so snooty and humorless that she all but negates the strength of her arguments.

(She and that prig in the plaid shorts that she's seen with in the film's opening few minutes are true soulmates!) Aniston is a tremendously likable actress and most people's favorite Friend; I think just about all of America is rooting for her personal happiness and personal success, but this is by far her most mechanical and by-the-numbers performance yet.

..only in the lemon scene and her tear-stained moment of truth near the end does Aniston really catch fire. Perhaps instead of trying so hard to grasp the big brass ring with questionable projects like this and Rumor Has It, Aniston needs to keep doing more of the offbeat, independent material--like The Good Girl and the current Friends With Money--that really allows her to explore unusual avenues of her considerable talent and charm.

THEN, after solidly establishing her indie cred, she can slowly build her commercial base.