Review of The Break-Up (2006) by Forrest P — 21 Apr 2010

I'm sick of these kinds of movies I really am. I'm sick of them. Every year, we get a slew of movies exactly like this one. A romantic comedy with a gimick. The gimick can be anything. They met online. They're different races. Their families don't get along. This time, they're breaking up but neither wants out of the apartment they share. Why is this entertainment? It's like watching divorce court or Judge Judy. By the way, in real life, this whole manner would have been taken to a judge who can make a clear cut decision on the matter.

Jennifer Anniston and Vince Vaughn I have always admired as actors, but they have little onscreen chemistry here. Which one could argue is fine because the characters are breaking up, but no scene with the two of them together really rises to much at the end of the day.

The dialogue is cheesy, the set up is only so-so, but nothing about it is memorable. Maybe it's because there have already been so many variants on this kind of movie before that by the time I get to this one, nothing's new. Nothing's genuine. Nothing grasps my attention. Nothing stands out.

It's not like it's impossible to write good romantic comedies. It just needs to start with a talented screenwriter. We don't get that here.

The Break-Up is also depressingly short on laughs, which is awful considering the talent that's on the screen. I know both of these actors have what it takes to play decent roles. Why aren't they given any?

Generic, slightly cliched, overly used, nothing special, nothing new, and lazily put together, The Break-Up is a forgettable waste of time.

2/10.