Review of The Break-Up (2006) by Adam F — 24 Jul 2013

"The Break-up" feels like two movies from completely different genres mashed together and it doesn't always work but the second half of the movie is very strong and more than makes up for the shortcomings. AS the title suggests, the film is about a couple that breaks up. Vince Vaughn plays Gary and Jennifer Aniston play Brooke. The two have been dating for two years and although it's been mostly happy times, a dinner with the two families sets off a chain of events that proves to be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back. Brooke, feeling (rightfully so) that her boyfriend is taking her for granted breaks up with him. Normally the situation would resolve itself easily from there on but there's a catch: the two live in a beautiful and incredibly expensive condo that neither can actually afford so unless they can amend their relationship or come to an agreement they are going to have to sell the place. Through a series of bad decisions and incidents of petty revenge the two become increasingly aggressive towards each other and break each other's hearts over and over. It will take more than a bouquet of roses and a break from each other to fix the relationship, but can either of them forgive the childish behavior they've had to put each other through?

From that synopsis, you would think that this is a drama, with the emotions being presented on the screen and the protagonists getting their feelings hurt. For the first portion of the film though, it plays like a comedy and nearly every time it doesn't work. There are some good laughs when Brooke goes on a phoney date to make her ex jealous. Seeing her failed attempts to make Gary furious are genuinely funny. In the same fashion Gary's interactions with some characters, like a 12-year-old video game player and some of Brooke's dates are really solid. But the central idea of the film doesn't really lend itself well to comedy. Break-ups are painful or at the very least awkward and unpleasant, not whimsical and gut-busting. Often the film needs to insert cartoonish, over-the-top characters to inject some comedy into the film, just for the laughs to die out completely when some of the realistic issues and problems crop up in the next scene. While you see Gary interact with his brothers at work it becomes clear that he's got some genuine issues relating to sensitivity and opening up. The guy is clearly being hurtful to the people around him so why are we supposed to cheer when he steal's Brooke's date away from her for several hours? It makes you reconsider if the previous scenes were actually funny. Other moments in the film bring nothing to the plot, like Justin Long who plays an embarrassing flamboyant secretary named Christopher. Every time he's on the screen the character feels like a late addition to a story by some higher-up that thought what would help the movie would be more zany characters and jokes.

Once you banish the comedic moments from the film, it turns into a genuinely thoughtful and emotional movie about two people that tried really hard to have a relationship but somewhere along the lines, it just didn't happen. Your heart breaks when you see either Gary or Brooke's heart get broken and the two leads do a terrific job convincing you that their feelings got hurt. You never really see the two of them in a working relationship except for a montage at the beginning but the performances make it feel like there is a significant amount of history between the two. In a way there's a lot of tension in the movie because you're constantly praying for the two of them to stop with the stupid little vendettas they've got going and just make up. Even though you know that there's very little at this point that could bring the two back together you still hope for a happy ending. It will really hit the mark when it comes to the pain that you feel when someone you genuinely loved turns against you. This is where the movie shines. You completely forget the groan-inducing characters, the lame setups and you get sucked into the story.

It's a shame that the movie is being sold as a Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Anniston comedy because the dramatic side is what the movie's got going for it. This is not a movie you want to watch with your boyfriend/girlfriend because it reminds you of the pain you've felt in your own relationships. Don't expect the ending of the movie to make you want to share stories about the theoretically funny stuff that happened when your heart got torn out of your chest and stomped on by that boy/girl years ago. Even worse, you might realize how poorly your significant other is treating you and "The Break-up" might make the two of you break-up for real. For that reason there's probably a lot of people that will pop this movie in their Dvd player and be very disappointed instead of enjoying the film for the bits that really work. To enjoy the movie you have to just throw away the cover (whoever designed it clearly had no idea what the film was about or they were told to just put anything together to sell the movie) and think not about the actors starring in the film but about the title. It's about breaking up, this isn't going to be some funny stuff, even if the director thinks so. Despite those flaws it is very much worth taking a look at The Break-Up. The beginning is frequently awful but it has moments that are sad, insightful and sometimes even funny. The performances are great and it packs a real emotional punch. The Dvd gives you the option of choosing sides at the beginning and although I'm unsure if there is a difference between the two, it's unlikely that choosing either side would significantly improve the film unless there's a whole lot of scenes cut out. (Fullscreen "His Side" Dvd, July 9, 2013).