La rupture

I was expecting a very basic romantic comedy. But this movie was missing any consistency in both.

Let's be clear, i wasn't expecting a great deal of either - but the it was difficult to really relate to either character's situation. You would hope to see the argument (breakup) from both sides, see both characters merits - and downfalls. But it ended up just feeling like a manipulative woman and a man who just didn't realise his own folly.

Even as a chick flick (and i like a good chick flick) this one falls down. If u see it on TV, maybe give it a few moments - but if you've seen the trailer, you've seen the highlights - and they were much much better when seen in the context of the trailer, sadly - not in the movie.

You all know the story. I don't think anyone would have expected it to be so loud, but the story is that one. The break up of two people who were not suppose to be together in the first place. He is that obnoxious guy offering her a hot dog. She meets him at the same time we do. I would have run as far as possible as fast as possible but apparently there was something about this slightly deranged tourist guide who likes to play video games that appealed to her. Well, so, my dear you deserve every bit you're going to get. Vince Vaughn has all the "funny' lines and she is like a farcical woman from yesteryear, dating other guys to make him jealous. I'm not kidding, that's what she does, while he goes to visit Jon Favreau - the best bits in the film - to cry his miseries to the one other character more moronic than himself. Glimpses of Judy Davis, Ann-Margret and Vincent D'Onofrio give the movie an unexpected lift but, dear me, dear me. Rush to see the films of Preston Sturges, I'm talking to the filmmakers naturally. The awful part of the whole thing is that I found myself laughing and that as far as 2006 comedies is not half bad. Isn't that just terrible?

The cast is allstar. The banter is fairly witty and entertaining. The premise is enticing for its boldness in shying away from the expected in a romcom. All of the above isn't enough to make anything great happen in The Break-Up. It seems that as a viewer, I wasn't prepared to enjoy anything other than the classic formula in this genre, and that is likely entirely my fault.

It is extremely frustrating when a studio deceives you by selling a film as something it is not. The Break-Up is NOT a laugh a minute comedy of he said/she said. It is not the playful battle of the sexes so guiltily enjoyed in Peyton Reed's previous film Down With Love. It is, however, an enjoyable (that's perhaps not the right word) take on the part of a relationship we rarely see in an otherwise romantic comedy.

Centering a film on the ugly side of dating is a risky task, which is why it is understandable that the studio would try to sell the "hilarity" of incompatibility. Yet by doing so, the film's trailer really sells short the strength that this film has as a dramatic rendering of an adult relationship gone sour.

Vaughn and Aniston give strong, believable performances as a couple in crisis. Their attraction and chemistry is right, in that you can see these two hooking up, but not exactly hitching up. Neither one deserves the other, as both display their worst faults as their relationship devolves. A strong supporting cast plays their pals caught in the crossfire, with some funny results and some ridiculous mugging at times. Reed does a fine job of hitting the right notes, though the jump between comedy and drama can be a little jarring.

The film tries to realistically deal with a couple's break-up, yet finds truth in the dialogue more often than it does in the actions of its characters. Some honest reactions spill forth from the mouths of the hurt, confused couple dealing with their emotions, but their over-the-top responses by way of making grand purchases and throwing away their hard earned lives and bodies at a whim seem less real and more made in Hollywood.

Still, in the end, without the misleading theatrical trailer and real life romance (and prior break-ups) of the two leads, the film is convincing and entertaining. Just expect a lot more screaming than laughing.

Grade: B

The Break-Up is a highly watchable drama that contains elements of cleaver comedy. Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Anniston put in solid performances in a film that feels strikingly real at times.

The Break-up does not play out as a light-hearted comedy with a predictable wrap-up in the last five minutes. The Break-Up reveals the very human side of a failed relationship and its potential reconciliation. Yes, there are some very funny scenes. However, as the misalignment of expectations quickly unfolds the movie reveals its true self.

The Break-up does a more than credible job of displaying many of the aspects of how people deal with conflict and remorse. Many of the situations play all-in-one as funny, sad and realistic.

The bottom line is that the Break-Up is solid film built with Hollywood money and stars that chooses a route its benefactors rarely allow to be taken. This fact alone makes the movie worth viewing.