Breaking Upwards

I agree with the criticisms here, but find them easy to ignore. OK, it doesn't look like a Hollywood production, and the actors are not the best you could imagine. So what? I thought it was quite an accomplishment, given that the two stars are also involved in the screenplay, direction, and production. Yes, the characters don't really know what they want, but isn't that the point? The movie is a picture of a couple on the verge of permanence, and neither of them is quite ready to say yes or to say no. It's a very painful situation, but each of them feels the pain in different ways and at different times. After four years they know each other extremely well, but at the same time they can't quite get it together enough to really communicate. Yes, some of the things that they do are irrational, but people in this situation don't always think straight. Yes, there are lots of movies about breakups, but this one seemed original and very moving to me.

My wife and I see a lot of independent movies and in our opinion, this is one of the worst of the year. We ended up walking out about two-thirds of the way through. In Breaking Upwards Daryl and Zoe are a twenty-something New York couple who have been together for four years. One day she decides that even though she still loves Daryl, all the excitement has gone out their relationship (sex is so boring). Though a little puzzled by Zoe's coolness, Daryl agrees to explore different options.

Our main problem was that we didn't like Zoe. She is one of those girls who are pretty poison. She's attractive enough to bewitch the guys but too neurotic, self-centered, and lacking in self-esteem to sustain a long-term relationship. Daryl is a nice enough guy and he could do better. We were rooting for him to break up with Zoe and find a more normal girl.

Zoe Lister Jones is not going to win any acting awards for this movie. And the script only makes things worse. Much of it is boring improvisation (or so it seems). Some scenes, particularly the karaoke scene, are painful to watch. Another frustration is the "idiot plot": Daryl and Zoe do so many things to sabotage their romance. Any idiot in the audience would know better. Their main plan is to take certain days of the week off from the relationship. Their parents ask, "What does that mean? We don't understand." Neither do we.

Ah, kids.

My primary reaction watching "Breaking Upwards" was that I'm....old. OK, so I'm only 35, but this movie made 23 feel like a looong time ago. It follows the travails of two younguns struggling with a waning relationship while at the same time scared to cut loose altogether. They instead try to go at relationship resuscitation in an ordered, spreadsheet fashion, scheduling days apart and establishing ground rules. By the time the film is over, you just want to say "break up already, it's not that bad....trust me, you'll find someone else."

I have a toddler and my wife is pregnant with our second child. I will have 23 year old kids someday, and I know from experience that things only seem to not be a big deal once you're old enough to look back at them -- everything seems important while you're in the middle of it. Therefore, out of respect to the filmmakers, and my own children, I don't want to dismiss the emotions in this movie as being unimportant just because it's kids feeling them. But my wife and I spent more time being amused by the two lovers in this movie than feeling empathy for them.

A handful of fairly well-known stage actors appear in supporting roles, like Pablo Schreiber (brother of Liev), Peter Friedman, Andrea Martin and Julie White, who plays one of the most awful, overbearing Jewish mothers ever committed to film.

This movie is likable but immature.

Grade: B

This movie was sad. They had grown so comfortable, and they loved each other... but they fell out of love? The movie Celeste and Jesse Forever copied this movie.

Unattractive leads, a boring story and characters who all sound like they're rejects from a bad Woody Allen script combine to make this film unwatchable. The filmmakers display an incredible lack of talent from their slight plot to their casting failures to their inability to even make the film look good. In this era of cheap digital production there is no excuse for a film looking as bad as this. Who did their lighting? Obviously their egos got in the way of getting better actors for the leads, but did no one point out the meandering story or see in the dailies how bad the film was shot? Maybe friends aren't just those who'll give you money to make a film. Maybe real friends are those who tell you you're on the wrong path.