“The Break-Up” (Universal Pictures)
All’s Well That Ends Well, And The Reverse Is True Too
Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn co star in “The Break-Up.” The actors are at their best but the movie has one of the worst endings ever. For three fourths of the movie it is a laugh-fest but towards the end the drama begins and it doesn’t fit with the flow of the film. Audiences leaving the theaters will be shaking their heads and wondering what went wrong.
The movie starts with Gary (Vaughn) and Brooke (Aniston) meeting cute at a baseball game in Chicago. Although he is annoying and odd acting she becomes fond of him and they move in together. Flash forward a year or so and they are seen planning a dinner for their families. She is doing all the work and he is doing all the loafing.
After the dinner is over they go through a fight about what is important to each of them and decide to split. The problem is they co-own their condo and neither of them wants to give it up. This means they end up living in the same place but leading separate lives.
All of this is spelled out in funny segments that get the point across but are still light-hearted and enjoyable. You also get an introduction to Gary’s brothers (Cole Hauser and Vincent D’Onofrio) and Brooke’s best friend, Maddie (Joey Lauren Adams). They add to the enrichment of the story along with Brooke’s cousin Richard (John Michael Higgins) and Gary’s real estate agent/friend Riggleman (Jason Bateman).
One other cast point. Peter Billingsley (“Ralphie” in the holiday classic “A Christmas Story”) plays Maddie’s husband. It is nice to see him grown up and back on the screen. He is also one of the Producers of the film.
Everything about the movie is fun and enjoyable except those last few scenes. They just change the whole complexion of the film. Also the best and funniest scenes in the movie were shown in the trailers for the film. Why they continue to do this is beyond me.
Aniston looks fantastic in the movie and her likability factor has never been higher. She is a little “Rachel Green-ish” but not completely. Vaughn is a super actor and makes Gary’s dislikable traits so believable that you do actually dislike the character intensely.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and nudity.
The movie has been advertised to be a lightweight comedy but it ends up being more “War of the Roses” than “Wedding Crashers.” There is fun to be had, but at a cost. You get the silliness of the first scenes that are torpedoed by the agony of the last few. And when the smoke has cleared the impression that lingers is of a movie that just wasn’t the fun it was supposed to be.
Aniston and Vaughn play the roles they were handed and do it with talent and gusto, but “The Break-Up” is a movie that breaks down in the end.
I scored “The Break-Up” an irreparable 5 out of 10.
