THE BREAK-UP
Breaking up is easy to do; leaving isn't -- or, how to lose a guy (and a relationship) in 10 minutes
PopcornReel.com Film Review: "The Break-Up"
By Omar P.L. Moore/May 30, 2006
The War of the Windy City -- Chicago's not big enough for the both of them:
It's Vince Vaughn versus Jennifer Aniston and vice versa, in "The Break-Up".
(Photos: Melissa Moseley)
"Jokes may make you feel good, but they don't get you fed,"
says Lupus (Cole Hauser) to his brother Gary (Vince Vaughn) early on in "The
Break-Up". While viewing this film it is eminently clear that director
Peyton Reed follows precisely that line of thinking as he turns what Universal
Pictures so deceptively advertised in its trailers as a comedy into something
more serious. Viewers expecting a comedy with a laugh-line a minute based
on the scenes shown in the trailers will be sorely disappointed to find that
"The Break-Up", which also stars Jennifer Aniston, is really a drama containing
sporadically funny episodes. That this reality is the true underpinning of
the film is more a testament to not being a formula movie than to any flaw or
disappointment in the film itself.
"The Break-Up" could have all-too-easily succeeded as a
Hollywood candy-cane movie in the mold of the smash hit comedy "How to Lose a
Guy in 10 Days", but it thankfully resists this impulse by taking a chance to
play things a little less safe. As a result, "The Break-Up" is more bitter
than sweet, more wistful than happily-ever-after, and closer to real life than
to escapism. There is comedy in Mr. Reed's film to be sure, but much of it
comes from the pain and the realization that two people who in the opening
credit photos fit together like a hand in a glove, now find the glove (and the
condo that they share) much too confining.
Brooke (Ms. Aniston) has had it up to Mount Everest with Gary and
his shenanigans. He refuses to do the little things that his girlfriend
asks, such as set the dinner table or wash the dishes. Gary, a Chicago bus
tour guide for a company named "Three Brothers", is content to sprawl out on the
couch and watch his beloved Chicago Cubs play baseball on his flat-panel
widescreen television. The only table he sets is the one he arranges
billiard and pool balls on -- a table which Brooke has vigorously objected to.
Simply put, the boundaries set by Brooke, an art gallery employee, are
frequently obliterated by Gary, who comes off as an insensitive slob with a
sense of humor. There are several times in "The Break-Up" where Mr.
Vaughn's Gary resembles Jack Nicholson's Melvin in "As Good As It Gets".
Similarly, there are aspects of Mr. Reed's film that mirrors "As Good As It
Gets", with Ms. Aniston occupying the Helen Hunt role.
Half and half: Vince Vaughn as Gary and Jennifer Aniston as Brooke; Less
is less: Judy Davis as art gallery owner Marilyn Dean, in "The Break-Up".
(Photos: Melissa Moseley)
The difference here however is that Mr. Vaughn and Ms. Aniston, unlike the aforementioned stars of James L. Brooks' film, are not likely to win Oscars for their work in "The Break-Up". A flurry of barbs are lobbed back and forth between the warring couple, most of the best ones enjoyed with relish by Mr. Vaughn, whose Gary consistently has the best laugh lines. (Mr. Vaughn also co-produces here.) By contrast, Ms. Aniston plays her role as the straight woman to Mr. Vaughn's anguished and frenzied comedic lazy boy. The hard-working, house-providing Brooke is the more together and adult of the two -- and consequently the more mature partner. Perhaps Ms. Aniston plays this role too straight -- she barely cracks a smile until ten minutes from the film's end. A little charisma would not have hurt Ms. Aniston's portrayal of Brooke, but given the authentic tension between Gary and Brooke following her decision to break the bond with him, the performance damages neither Ms. Aniston nor the film. Ms. Aniston's Brooke is taking the relationship and its events very seriously, while Mr. Vaughn's Gary seems not to have a care in the world. When the condo they share is sold, the two-week countdown clock to fate begins to tick. A moderate "War of the Roses" battle ensues, though minus the nasty consequences that befell Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in Danny De Vito's film. Things between Brooke and Gary do spiral out of hand though, in several instances.
"The Break-Up" is surprisingly unsentimental -- a rarity for a film with this subject matter with actors that have comedic backgrounds (Ms. Aniston in television's "Friends"; Mr. Vaughn in a various assortment of big-screen hit comedies.) Composer Jon Brion, who has scored the music for movies including the melancholic but brilliant "Magnolia", keeps his music out of the film until virtually its last fifteen minutes. Most of the music in Mr. Reed's film is source music -- and a source of irritation or annoyance to the two characters at key moments in the film. "The Break-Up" has funny episodes, but a great many of them take place during the film's first hour. Additionally, there are numerous silences -- where music of any kind is absent for about 30 minutes -- making the film feel like a genuine thriller or drama. That however, seems to be Peyton Reed's point: love is a battlefield of drama, with real emotions and pain, with humor in difficult situations coming as both a relief and a release, rather than any comedy predominating the film's serious moments and being punctuated by music to signal or cue the audience to emote.
What is effective about the casting of Vince Vaughn is the
malevolence and malice that his facial expressions can divulge. When he
shouts at Ms. Aniston, we flash back to the dormant evil that arises in his
performance as Norman Bates in Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot color version remake
of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". And there are looks that Ms. Aniston
flashes Mr. Vaughn that could kill. If there is any truth to the media
rumors that Mr. Vaughn and Ms. Aniston are an item off-screen, after seeing this
film and the tension between them one can hardly blame them for being together.
Ms. Aniston's past marriage to a high-profile star notwithstanding, she has
managed to carve out a nice film career which will only blossom as she continues
to take more chances, such as in films like "The Good Girl", "Derailed" and most
recently "Friends With Money". She isn't bad here at all, and doesn't have
to be better than good to play off Mr. Vaughn's rapid-fire comedy.
Woman to woman: Joey Lauren
Adams and Jennifer Aniston in Peyton Reed's "The Break-Up"; Vincent D'Onofrio as
Dennis Grabowski in Mr. Reed's film. (Photos: Melissa Moseley)
Unfortunately the weakest aspect of "The Break-Up" with some of the supporting
cast. Jason Bateman is unrecognizable here as the couple's realtor and he
seems out of place with his bespectacled demeanor. Jon Favreau, Mr.
Vaughn's real-life good buddy, is hilarious much of the time, but too one-note
to sustain any major interest, at least until he imparts to his on-screen friend
Gary some pivotal advice. The film's women could have been on screen more
often: Judy Davis undeservedly gets short shrift here as a voracious and
imposing art gallery owner named Marilyn Dean, while Joey Lauren Adams of
"Chasing Amy" fame is underutilized. Both characters could have been made
more interesting and their presence on screen could have been a better asset to
the film. On the other hand, Vincent D'Onofrio continues to make the
characters he inhabits a sheer delight. It is difficult to watch him here
as Gary's older brother Dennis without thinking about his work in television's
"Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" or his performance in Stanley Kubrick's
classic Vietnam war film "Full Metal Jacket." The diverse array of Mr.
D'Onofrio's acting skill amazes -- it is surprising that he is not more sought
after by casting directors -- unless the selectivity of his roles are by choice.
There are some amusing supporting roles but it is best for audiences to just sit
back and witness them without being significantly apprised of them. Some
of these funny moments arrive out of nowhere, especially during a family dinner.
In short, the supporting characters generally provide more of the laughs than
the two main participants, but given the film's title, how surprising can that
really be?
For sure, Mr. Reed does his best to defy an audience's expectations, but the reality is that Ms. Aniston's Brooke, as well as more than a few women, face the specter of carrying the weight of a failing or failed relationship as a heavy burden. Many of them will certify that they do the lion's share of the work in a relationship and will recognize themselves in Brooke's position (as will some men) while watching "The Break-Up" unfold. There is agony and strife whenever one party to a relationship feels that they are not being respected or appreciated for what they bring to the table -- whether it be a pool table or otherwise. Recognizing this, Ms. Aniston carries a quiet anger that burns within Brooke, an anger which is finally let loose during one of the more painfully real moments during "The Break-Up".
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