"The Break Up" Review

Only about 1 in 3 critics liked this movie and after seeing it, I have a couple hunches on why. First off, some may have gotten used to Vince Vaughn being in uproariously funny comedies, where not much drama took place, such as: "Old School," "Dodgeball," "The Wedding Crashers," and even "Starsky & Hutch." There is less comedy in this one and more drama. Lastly, even though the movie is called "The Break Up," the previews looked to be hinting on it being an odd romantic comedy, where there'd be a happy ending. This movie was anything but a typical romantic comedy. In fact, I don't even think we can classify it as a romantic comedy in the least bit.

At the very start of the movie, we see how Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston met, at a baseball game. Through the opening credits, we see shots of the good times that Vaughn and Aniston had with one another. Right after the credits end, we jump right to when problems arise in the relationship. We stay there for a short while until Aniston says that she's through with Vaughn and the relationship. From there on out, it's a string of games being played by Aniston, in attempt to get Vaughn to realize how lucky he was, come back to her, apologize, and promise to make some changes in his life. She, like some females I know, expects Vaughn to have the ability to read her mind and know what she's hinting at without hearing her s-p-e-l-l it out for him. Because of this, like many guys, he doesn't get the hint. This all makes for an interesting and oft times funny story. From Aniston kicking Vaughn off the couples bowling team and making him remove his shirt right then and there, walking out of the alley bare-chested to Aniston's flamboyant brother beating up Vaughn, this movie, while loud and annoying at times, is quite entertaining, so long as a person walks into the movie knowing what they shouldn't expect (another "Wedding Crashers"-type film with that kind of humor).

The problem in this story is the fact that neither of the lead characters are all that likable. At first, we empathize with Aniston's character, because let's face it, Vaughn's character is an ungrateful slob. But, after the break-up, we begin to empathize less with Aniston's character, because of all the games she plays on Vaughn. By the end of the movie, we can see subtle changes in Vaughn, but it's a little too little too late for him to be well liked by the viewers. The most personable of the characters are probably Vaughn's bar buddy Jon Favreau, Aniston's female friend, her flamboyant brother, and the flamboyant male secretary at Marilyn Dean's, Aniston's workplace.

All-in-all, I'd have to say that, while satisfied with the overall entertainment value of the film, I was slightly disappointed with the likability of the two lead characters. It's definitely worth seeing, but don't expect the laugh-out-loud moments that were prevalent in Vaughn's previous comedies.

Grade (for comedy): 6.5/10
Grade (overall): 6/10