Movie Title: The Break-Up.
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Aniston, Jon Favreau, Jason Batemen, Vincent D'Onofrio, John Michael Higgins.
Time & Date of Showing: 2:45 pm showing on Saturday, June 2nd.
Attended With: My one and only Andrea (our first official "date movie" of the summer).
Movie Synopsis in One Sentence: Refusing to surrender their mutually-acquired condo after breaking up, Brooke and Gary engage in a series of increasingly severe 'Guy vs. Girl' antics.
The Good: It's amazing how Vince Vaughn is able to make comedy seem so natural and effortless (especially for someone who is actually quite reserved in interviews); he successfully delivers plenty of his patented 'crazy guy ramblings' we've come to love and expect. In terms of the supporting cast, everyone insists on talking about John Michael Higgins comical role as the potential gay brother to Jennifer Aniston's character, however I think two other actors stand out as highpoints in the movie: Jason Bateman, as a mutual friend and real estate agent of the couple (provides some of the most subtly hilarious moments of the movie), and Vincent D'Onofrio as the anxiety-ridden brother of Vince Vaughn (I never thought Vincent D'Onofrio would be great at comedy).
The Bad: Unfortunately, the rest of the movie. Ok, that's a little too harsh...it's just, beyond Vince Vaughn's usually comedy antics, the movie has no structure, no story. Basically, it looks like some cameras just followed around Vince Vaughn's character while he delivered comical banter to his girlfriend and their friends. Also, while many people say "the dialogue felt real, like real conversations", I'd rather claim that the "real" sense that came from the dialogue actually hurt the movie. For instance, a scene where the two have a heated argument about not listening closely to one another isn't funny to me...it's my life (on any given day, I miss around 40% of what my girlfriend says do to a very poor attention span...she still loves me, though)...so instead of it being "Ha! That's funny because I can relate to that"!, it comes off feeling more like "Yes. That is indeed how an argument looks." Also, what the hell was the purpose of anything relating to Jennifer Aniston's job, strange boss, and the weird receptionist? To waste time, me thinks.
The Break-Up vs. Mr. & Mrs. Smith: For me, it's no contest. I was pleasantly surprised by the fresh, interesting style of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which also doubled as a pretty good action movie. It's Mr. & Mrs. Smith all the way.
Ending Rating: You may have read about the buzz regarding the "unique" ending of The Break- Up. Does the ending defy the traditional romantic comedy formula...yes. Is that a good thing...in this case, nope. It actually leaves you feeling incredibly unsatisfied. [If you want to see genre-defying endings, check out Dawn of the Dead (which rocks the foundation of the typical "overcoming the zombies thanks to the military" model) and Road to Perdition (which puts a wonderful dramatic damper on what could have been a "happily ever after" ending).]
The Verdict: A shallow, broken story that provides little more than an erratically funny Vince Vaughn...which may make it worth seeing (for a reduced matinee price or a future Netflix rental).
If You Liked______, You May Like These Movies: Wedding Crashers, Along Came Polly, Meet the Parents/Meet the Fockers.
FINAL GRADE: C
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