June 5, 2006

Movie Review: The Break-Up

What a curious film. In the weeks leading up to release I kept reading mentions of how bad it was and how it was being trashed by the critics. However, I never once read one of those supposed bad reviews, granted I hadn't really sought any of them out. I saw the commercials and just hoped that it would live up to the impression I got from the trailers. The pairing of Vaughn and Aniston looks to be a good one, and combine that with a high concept that is not often found within the generally straight and narrow confines of the romantic comedy.

I went to the theater, got my ticket and entered the auditorium, looking for an available seat among the sold out crowd. I found a decent one, way down front and center in the third row. I settled down with my soda and popcorn and hoped that I hadn't made a mistake by coming to see this.

The movie opens with a very funny pre-title sequence with the Roger Ebert coined meet cute. Vince Vauhgn's Gary is taking in a Cubs/White Sox game at Wrigley Field with his buddy, Johnnny O (Jon Favreau), when he spots Jennifer Aniston's Brooke, in the same row as he is. He proceeds to do his very best to get her to go on a date with him and leave the guy she's with behind. We never see the result of his pick-up attempts, but it can be assumed to have worked as we go to the title sequence which plays over photographs of them and their friends as happy as can be. As the film proper starts, I am briefly reminded of Closer, which used some big time jumps to take us between the beginnings and endings of relationships, as we jump ahead in time. Gary and Brooke are living together, and the relationship has some strain on it, and it is nearing the breaking point.

I liked what they set out to do in this movie, of course the end result seems to be some sort of compromise between an original vision and a need for box office success. It is nice to see something a little different in this genre. We get to skip all of that happy courting period where all is wine and roses and misunderstanding. All of that stuff is left behind and we get to jump ahead in time, the relationship has aged, our featured couple is living together, there are clearly some problems. The audience is witness to the implosion of Gary and Brooke and the subsequent mess that develops.

The first half of the film deals with the breakup itself and the desire of both parties to remain in their condo. Problems escalate as they make the mistake of listening to their respective friends. Friends are always biased and will do anything for their pals, unfortunately, what they suggest rarely goes as expected.

It is interesting to watch as the two escalate their efforts, when it is fairly clear that it is not what they truly want. Brooke keeps trying to get back at Gary in a variety of ways, but only as a way to get him to recognize her and appreciate her more. Gary, being a guy, acts out as a reactionary measure, indirectly wishing they were still together. That is where the magic and the folly of the film lies.

The misinterpreted communication, the trouble their friends and family instigate is hilarious. It shows just how important those lines of communication are in the survival and growth of a relationship. As for the folly, this is another example of a film where a simply conversation between the two would solve all of the problems, but it would also render the rest of the movie pointless. Obviously, we cannot let that happen, so we must have a story that is manipulative enough that we are distracted from that point, and this one almost made it. They made it over an hour before attempting to do so, and when they did, it was too little too late as the movie really began to drag on towards its conclusion.

That dragging second half is highlighted by possibly the best dramatic sequence of the movie, a misinterpreted concert invitation which really strikes hime the feelings on both sides. It is a very good scene centered in the poorest portion of the film. The story struggles to move from the comedy of the condo battle to the drama of the feelings that are bubbling just below the conflicted surface. The switch was to jarring for me to really buy into, as the comedy was seriously scaled back, to the detriment of the whole.

Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston have very good onscreen chemistry, now whether or not that had anything to do with the budding relationship offscreen, I do not know. It is likely that their romance allowed them to work better together. Whatever the case may be, they did work very well together. There is one thing, however, that did become abundantly clear, Vaughn owned this movie. As well as they were together, he literally owned the screen, except for that one moment where Aniston was showing off her canvas.

The supporting cast was also good. On Vaughn's side was his best pal, played by Jon Favreau, who was a wonderful comedic foil to Vaughn for his more dramatic moments. Not to be left out are his brothers, womanizer Lupus played by Cole Hauser, and the very business minded Dennis played by Vincent D'Onofrio. On her side is Joey Lauren Adams as Maddie, and Christopher, the gay receptionist, played by Justin Long. Not to be left out are Jason Bateman, Judy Davis, Anne-Margaret, Ivan Sergei, and Peter Billingsley. All in all, it is a pretty good cast.

It was directed by Peyton Reed. He performs a juggling act getting all these characters onscreen, and keeping the story squarely focused on the drama of Brooke and Gary. He has once again delivered a romantic comedy that is different than the typical, even if it isn't quite as successful as Down with Love.

Bottomline. I really liked the effort here. I am not the biggest fan of the rom-com, but this one stands out in its attempt to do something a little different. The formula seems to be king of the genre, choking the life out of many other entries, but this is what you get when you buck the trend. Again, it is not completely successful, but it is a valiant attempt to do something new.

Recommended.
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8 comments:

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DENNIS07 said...
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Anonymous said...

It's a great movie about relationship break up and love at all! I love it!

Omar Cruz said...
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Stivel Velasquez said...
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