The Break-Up

Gary (Vince Vaughn) and Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) first meet in The Break-Up, which will jump straight from this point to their first argument and eventual split. However neither of them wants to leave their trendy Chicago apartment, and so they enter into an uneasy room-mate arrangement, while seeking advice and assistance from an impressive cast of supporting actors.

CHRIS: I'll readily admit that I wasn't too keen to see this film, the latest effort from the director of such classics as Down With Love and Bring It On and very much a vehicle for the questionable talents of Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston. True to my expectations, it started off with one of the worst 'first meeting' scenes to have graced the screen, before completely wrongfooting the audience by skipping the actual relationship between Gary and Brooke - covering it all over the opening credits with goofy snapshots - and arrives straight at the dinner party which marks the break-up of the title. Perhaps it was a fault of the marketing, but this is certainly no RomCom: the first argument we hear between the two is both painful and also recognisable. Imagine my surprise when I actually started to laugh, and even enjoy the film...

The plot really is rather conventional: the two characters split up (she wants him to realise how much effort she goes to etc.), but realise that they're actually still in love, taking progressively worse advice from their friends until they reach the point of no return. Oh, and they're still living in the same apartment, he in the living room, she in the bedroom. Which all leads to some very funny (and perhaps obvious gags) about her trying to impress and make him jealous with a succession of attractive dorks and he returning the favour by playing strip poker with prostitutes in the dining room. There are some genuinely funny moments in this film, most of them provided by a very high-quality supporting cast, including Vicent D'Onofrio, Judy Davis and Jason Bateman (TV's Arrested Development). Jennifer Aniston, while not being an actress I admire, is one who it is very difficult to dislike, and Vince Vaughn has always been funny and interesting in his previous films, so The Break-Up actually does have a bit going for it.

Unfortunately though, the quality declines as the film goes on, and this leaves you asking more and more questions about the plot. For a start, the entire relationship is unconvincing, as the two seem so ill-matched, and their apartment is ludicrously expensive-looking given their jobs. Maybe it's my age, or my sex, but I also didn't think people would ever actually behave like this. This is hammered home in a scene near the end of the film where Gary rejects the olive-branch Brooke offers. Which brings you to the major flaw in the film: the men are horrible. Jason Bateman's real estate agent is a schmuck, Jon Favreau's best friend a complete idiot, John Michael Higgin's sexually questionable brother inexplicable, and Brooke's succession of toy boys seem like horrible parodies. Even the Vince Vaughn character is really just not very nice, and in a film that relies heavily on its leads for spark and emotion, this really is a major sticking point. Vincent D'Onofrio and Judy Davis are excellent in their characters, but they don't get enough screen time to overcome the shortcomings of the script. All of which is very odd in a film directed, conceived, produced and written by men! Perhaps that's what they're like, but it makes for an unconvincing film. Its cynicism impressed me at times, and parts of the film come off with genuine flair, but in the end there is little here except a fleetingly amusing collection of stereotypes that hinder some great performances.

CHRIS: