The Break Up
Review by John Wordsworth authored on Thursday 27 July 2006 (1514)
Plot Summary: After 2 happy years, Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) and Gary (Vince Vaughn) are sharing a beautiful condo, but their relationship is on the rocks. When Brooke breaks up with Gary, the couple are both to stubborn to leave their new home. While hiding their true feelings, and engaging in psychological warfare, the couple slowly realise they might be fighting for their relationship, not against.
Review: Ironically, the first place that this film gathers criticism is with the trailer. From previous cinema trips we're struck with an image of this film as being a laugh a minute flick with a multitude of jokes based around the fact that this couple are stubborn enough to stay in the same apartment whilst hating each other. However, that's a litle more than misleading with the the films funniest moments being those we see in the trailer, leaving little more to laugh during the actual film. Yes, there are jokes, but to say this film is a comedy would be an understatement. It's more like having a degree in trajedy, with a minor in comedy.
And so, when compared to the comedy that were promised, this film is unfortunately a sore disappointment. While the film will have you laughing at points throughout, it certainly won't be reducing you to tears of laughter.
However, as a romantic trajedy, the film actually does quite well. The acting is quite solid, and most importantly for this genre of film, it's entertaining - with a good performance from both Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston. None of the film's supporting actors let the flick down and Jon Favreau tends to bring amusement whenever he hits the screen with perhaps the best supporting role of the film.
The majority of the film takes place in the apartment with a few other locations making appearances. I really like the fact that the film glosses over many of the parts that other films would have clogged up screen time with - we're not forced to watch 20 minutes of a beautiful 2 year relationship before we get into the good stuff for example. I also like the fact that the limited venues for filming and fairly cut-down cast gives the film a slight play feel to it - you become familiar with the setting which gives more focus to the characters.
In Short: The most important thing to remember when you go to watch this film, is that it's not a laugh a minute comedy - don't be fooled by the seductive trailer. If you're looking for a comedy, it's funny when it's trying, but it doesn't try all that often. If you're looking for a romantic trajedy with a fair bit of humour, then you'll probably find this film very entertaining, however, for your average viewer, I think this will simply be a mediocre title to catch on DVD during those quiet months.
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