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Actors: Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Aniston, Jon Favreau, Joey Lauren Adams, Ann-Margret
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The Break-Up |
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Pushed to the breaking point after their latest “why can't you do this one little thing for me?" argument, art dealer Brooke calls it quits with her boyfriend, Gary, who hosts bus tours of Chicago.
What follows is a series of remedies, war tactics, overtures and underminings, suggested by the former couple's friends, confidantes and the occasional total stranger. When neither ex is willing to move out of the condo they used to share, the only solution is to continue living as hostile roommates until somebody caves. But, somewhere between protesting the pool table in the living room the filthy clothes stacked in the kitchen cupboards and the sports played at sleep-killing volume in the middle of the night, Brooke begins to realize that what she may be really fighting for isn't so much the place but the person.
Vince Vaughn starring in the film is the best friend a movie comedy could have. Last summer, he hit a peak with ‘The Wedding Crashers', playing a horn dog reformed by the right woman. ‘The Break-Up', co-starring Jennifer Aniston as the babe who splits when she can't tame him, isn't in that playful league.
Based on a story by Vaughn, who also produces, the film shows what happens when love turns into a weapon of mutual destruction. Gary (Vaughn) helps his brother (Vincent D'Onofrio) run bus tours in Chicago; he does stand-up for the passengers. Brooke (Aniston) helps her boss (Judy Davis) run an art gallery. They meet at a Cubs game, fall deeply in love, buy a condo together and live happily ever after, for two years. All this happens in the opening credits. Then come the fights. He doesn't do the dishes unless he's asked. She doesn't understand his needs.
They break up, but neither is willing to leave the growingly desirable and valuable condo, which director Peyton Reed (‘Bring it On, yea, Down With Love, nay') turns into a war zone. She dumps him, hoping he'll change. He says fine, hoping she'll change. They try to drive each other crazy and claim the home for their own. She brings men home, gets a bikini wax and walks around naked. He brings home a pool table and slob pals.
‘The Break-Up' is the movie on which Vaughn and Aniston famously met and fell in love, to the delight of tabloids everywhere. How ironic, since they mostly shoot daggers at each other. To relieve the bile, Gary and Brooke call in friends to take sides. Joey Lauren Adams plays Addie, Brooke's sounding board. Jon Favreau plays Johnny O, the buddy with the guts to stand by Gary and still tell him he's a selfish bastard. However, the worst performance in the movie comes from Judy Davis as Brooke's boss, Marilyn Dean - the art gallery's bigger than life, witchy owner.
The Break-Up is much like a real relationship as it starts off all hilarious and fun. Writers Jeremy Garelick and Jay Lavender start strong with crazy situations full of funny characters, like a tense dinner between Brooke and Gary's families or an early morning music group practice, which often give Vaughn a chance to steal the spotlight as he gets the best lines and has that special, manic personality that has you laughing so much you forget where the scene started. However, overall there are lots of little things that stand out in a big way and makes you wonder if everyone was giving 100%.
--Afia Ahmad, Resident Scholar
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After many arguments Brooke and Gary's relationship came to an end. Brooke an art dealer calls it quit with her boyfriend Gary who hosts bus tours of Chicago. The real problem is not the break up, the real problem is that none of them are willing to move out of the condo they used to share, the only solution to this problem is to continue living as hostile roommates until somebody caves.
They both try to irritate and annoy each other so that the other person give up and move out but somewhere in this situation Brooke starts to realize that what she is really fighting for isn't the place but the person Gary.
--Faiza Iqtidar, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of The Break-Up |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily
Yes
Time/era of movie:
- present (2000-2010)
Kind of comedy
- married couple fighting
How much humor v. drama
- Mostly humor, but some serious drama
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
- Female
Profession/status:
- actor
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- blonde
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
- (woman) long straight
Body type
- (man) muscular
- (woman) ample bosom & buttocks
Unclothed?
- Chest
- Slightly see-through clothes
Events of movie makes character more...
- caring
- happy
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Dumb
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
- blonde
Hair style
- (woman) long straight
Body type
- (woman) very skinny
- (woman) ample bosom & buttocks
Unclothed?
- very tight clothes
How much in movie?
- 80%
- 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
- general circumstances
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- actor
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 80%
Hair color
- blonde
Hair type
- (woman) long straight
Body type
- (woman) ample chest and buttocks
unclothed?
- partially transparent clothes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Dumb
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
United States
Yes
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- concerned
- full of laughter
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- touching of personal anatomy
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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