Film Review

The Break-Up is billed as a romantic comedy, but it is not. In fact, it?s not funny at all.

It is about the break-up of a relationship between two unlikely partners played by Aniston and Vaughn. Vince Vaughn is funny, if you like his shtick (see--Swingers, Be Cool, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Wedding Crashers), and he is riding a wave of popularity right now (see aforementioned list), Aniston is not.

This is an interesting film in that it is not a traditional tale of romance gone wrong and redeemed, but about the demise of a relationship that probably shouldn?t have worked in the first place. There are some funny lines, delivered with panache and tired abandon by Vaughn but mostly it is painful to see people arguing and manipulating each other to try and get what they want out of a relationship.

There is the added factor that Aniston and Vaughn are willing/unwilling players in the Brangelina celebrity juggernaut. Aniston, dumped supposedly by husband Brad Pitt for Angelina Jolie falls into the arms of Vaughn (playing the same kind of role in this movie as he does in the Jolie/Pitt ?Smith? vehicle), it?s fodder for the gossip machine in our celebrity-obsessed culture and I don?t think it can be ignored when considering the surprise success of this film.

Personally I was bored. I?m sure Aniston is a lovely person but she comes across very mechanical in every single thing she is in?even her public appearances on chat shows etc. Vaughn is funny, he has great timing and delivers his lines well even when they are clunkers.

The best moments in the Break-Up are not the comedy moments, but the brutally honest ones, unfortunately there were not enough to make this a satisfying experience.