Breaking Upwards

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.

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

New York couple Zoe (Zoe Lister-Jones) and Daryl (Daryl Wein) are starting to drift apart. They decide to be proactive and plan for their breakup. They plan for days off for their relationship. His parents Joanie (Julie White) and Alan (Peter Friedman) don't understand. Helaine (Andrea Martin) is her weird mom. Zoe sees another actor from her work as they struggle to navigate their new relationship path.

I'm a big fan of Zoe Lister-Jones. She's funny and has great vulnerability. This is a reverse romance. It's not quite as fun. There are funny bits. There are moments of good chemistry but it's hard to stay with them. It's a nice attempt but it doesn't quite work.

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.

I loved this film. I'm not a big "indie" buff but I found myself pleasantly surprised.

The story line was touching. At times you wanted to hate Zoe, making the movie all the more enjoyable. Characters with flaws, even flaws that annoy the hell out of the audience, are needed sometimes. I felt like these were real people, largely due to the script and the acting. (both of which were great.) This was a story of love: confused, strange love. But I highly enjoyed it regardless.

Daryl Wein has an immense amount of talent and knows how to beautifully tell a story.