The Break-Up Review

There are people, and I don't want to take any names here (because frankly speaking I don't know any), who will tell you that the only good thing to come out of this romantic-comedy was Jenny and Vince's real-life romance.

These people cannot be more wrong.

They are wrong because this is not a romantic-comedy. It is a drama garnished with a sporadic sprinkling of humor, meant to please the palate of those amongst us who have become too used to seeing Vince Vaughn belt out one comedy after another (Dodgeball, Wedding Crashers).

Think about it. The movie is after all titled The Break-Up. It is not going to be a love-conquers-all sappy Matthew-McConaughey-starring run of the mill rom-com.

No. What this movie is trying to do, is offer a perspective (not a very fresh one) of what happens when relationships go bad.

Gary Grobowski (Vince Vaughn) is a Chicago city-tour bus host. Brooke Meyers (Jennifer Aniston) works in a famous Chicago art gallery.

He is obsessed with baseball, she with cleaning the dishes.

She would like him to purchase 12 lemons to make a centre-piece for the dining table. He would like her to move the dining table into the living room to make space for a pool table.

She thinks he is insensitive and doesn't appreciate her. He thinks Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the "16th Chapel".

They have both invested their savings in a condo. They both like the condo. They don't want to leave the condo. But they can't stand each other.

Enter the friends and family members from the sanctum sanctorum of Hollywood's Friend-in-need-is-a-friend-indeed Haven. Bring out the checklist:

One Brother For Ms Meyers: Member of a cappella band called the Tone Rangers, sings Owner Of A Lonely Heart by Yes, Ready To Break Out Of The Closet

One Boss For Ms Meyers: Dominatrix owner of the aforementioned art gallery

Two Brothers For Mr Grobowski: One a Class-A pervert, the other desirous of controlling Chicago's land, water and air tourism

One Realtor For Both Ms Meyers And Mr Grobowski: Psychiatrist in training who cannot forego his commission in spite of years of friendship because it isn't company policy

...

And it takes the entire motley crew of supporting cast members to barely keep this script afloat. The script-writers wanted to do something different. They wanted to interpose the brutal reality of a failed relationship with a bit of situational humor. They ended up portraying estranged lovers as bickering squabbling infants.

There is a niggling feeling that they could have broken away from conventional plot devices (a woman making her ex jealous by inviting handsome young men home) and been a touch less conservative in their approach.

That's not to say that the movie completely fails to move the viewer. Where the script nose-dives, the actors launch off. Both Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn revel in their performances. Vaughn's verbal dexterity has always set him apart, and here again his fast-paced dialogues are a treat.

There are some who will still say that the only good thing to come out of this drama-comedy (how does dramedy sound? no!) was Jen and Vince's real-life romance.

They may be right.

For now a word of caution: this would make for an excellent first-date or last-date movie. For couples in between - be afraid, be very afraid. This might make you think.