So, I actually went to see the movie. I'll agree with Jack who said the movie was very much slanted to its intended audience - poor ol' Rachel Green did nothing but give and give and give.

However, unlike all the reviews I've been reading, its not that bad. They had tagged it uncomfortable because of the fights, but there was some humor in the a few of the fight, and in between the fights there were some great moments of comedy and some really great secondary characters. I'd like to see a movie of Vince Vaughn, his friends and family.

At the end of the movie I actually really liked how that whole thing played out.

I'll probably forget that I saw it in a few weeks, but it more than filled its role as a fun Friday night movie.

I liked it.

Vaughn is the reason to see it, if you think he is funny, you'll love a lot of his scenes. The only time I laughed out loud is when he said something to the effect of "I've got some friend's with no god damn future!"

Other than that, the dramatic scenes were touching, except for Vaughn delivery. I'm thinking he has no dramatic weight, which I also noticed in Return to Paradise.

Also, I just don't like Jennifer Anniston. She's hot, but so what. She isn't funny and she can't act!

Add me to the list of people who hated the ending. I felt that I did my part by showing up, the movie should fill it's half of the bargain. Maybe it was done to have the audience experience what Aniston's character went through first hand.

D

How much is Vincent D'Onofrio in this? Is it a few minutes or more than that? Whether or not I pay to see this in the theater or rent it depends on the answer to the question. He's the only reason I would want to see it, personally.

This was a really schizophrenic film. It would change tone from scene to scene, trying to be a wild Wedding Crashers-esque comedy in one scene and then take a darker dramatic tone the very next scene. The filmmakers want you to laugh at Vince Vaughn's outrageous antics one minute and then think he's a complete assh*le for those very same antics the next minute.

The movie is called The Break-Up. The fact that the audience expects something else is a byproduct of years of cliche romantic comedies and mis-marketing.

But like DRG says, its schizo, it wants its cake and wants to eat it too.

I actually think the cast works against the movie

Onebyone: Vincent D'Onofrio is one the secondary characters who is awesome, but has too small of a role. He's has a short scene in the beggining, shorter scene in the middle, and even smaller scene at the end.

I just got back from this movie and I think I must've seen a different cut than the rest of you. I was laughing constantly and the darker parts I thought were pretty spot on. The two people I went with also liked it.



Not the funniest movie of the year, but pretty good. I have to recommend it.

D'Onofrio was totally wasted and actually kind of annoying in this. Usually I love the guy, but here he just didn't do much of anything...and can someone explain to me why he took a handkerchief to his ears in that one scene in the office? Bizzare.

MATT
I had high hopes because of Peyton Reed's track record...Bring It On and Down With Love were movies that ended up exceeding my expectations and were a ton of fun... The Break Up is his first to really miss the mark.

Thanks for the information. I guess now, unless I have unexpected free time, I will just wait and netflix it in a few months. I was hoping he was in it a lot. Oh well.

I agree...I was laughing pretty consistently, and found this much funnier than Wedding Crashers actually. I agree that it was pretty one sided in that it was the guy causing all the problems which was my biggest complaint of the movie. I mean really, Aniston's character was a bit on the real big bitch of a complainer side, but other than that it was a decent comedy.

My problem with the film was that Anniston gets blown away onscreen by Vaughn during their fights, and it's uncompelling cinema. Had her character had some real ammo to launch towards Vaughn's character, it would have made their break-up more interesting to watch. As-is, it's far too bland and unimaginative.

I give it 2 stars, or a grade of C.

and that's the problem with the film, for me, is that Vince's character is such an ass-shat, that he just comes off as a selfish prig - he's all laughs, Jennifer's character is made out to be bad person in the relationship - the film can't seem to make it's mind who to pander to. I related to Jennifer's character moreso than to Vince's.

It's a good film. It is what it is - a fun movie to go see but it's not going to be some groundbreaking comedy.

The last 25% though I thought they tried to get way too serious and had almost no jokes. If they had just kept with the joke pace of the first 75% it would have been much better IMO.

Oh, and it was well worth it just for the line for me.

Fairly good flick. Not sure yet if I'll buy the DVD.

Some very funny moments with interesting drama mixed in.

I think I'll stay away from this as it seems the consensus is Vaughn is wasted. He was the only reason I was contemplating seeing this, and apparently his character isn't put in too good a light.

However, Why would somebody feel ripped by an ending like that? They want the same sappy thing they always get so they can go home and maybe get some from the girlfriend?

Yeah, who the hell would want that?

I think the mentality comes from going into it expecting a romantic comedy. Much like in an action film you expect the hero to win in the end. When they toss you the screw ball and the hero dies in the end then it's just a really surprising thing. Not really a bad thing.. but just not what you expected.

I welcome a screw ball if it makes sense with the rest of the movie. Given what I have read that most of the movie isn't what people are expecting (AKA it doesn't have as much comedy as advertised), then I think it almost makes sense for it to not play out at the end as expected.
I just hope they don't make a trilogy of movies with a drawn out love story where one of the pair dies in the end and the other one turns evil and is hideously deformed; that would be the ultimate screw ball and nobody would like the series as a whole. Wait a minute.....

What trilogy are you referring to...I am completely blanking on that reference.

MATT

Maybe I should have added that the guy has to wear a black life support outfit, if you aren't being sarcastic.

I had a feeling you were talking about star wars but you were pretty vague with it so add me to the list of not being sure what you were referencing.

Jon Favreau was the star of the movie for me. I too thought it was way too one-sided towards Aniston's character, which made it hard to watch. Jason Bateman was also great.

The wife and I both enjoyed it quite a bit, but we also didn't go into the film thinking it would be an off-the-wall comedy like The Wedding Crashers.

***1/2 out of *****.

Great cast, particularly the supporting players.

Saw it last night, liked it. It seemd like 10 minutes too long though.

I think the problem was that it was marketed as a rom-com, and the jokes and supporting cast are the sort of characters who populate rom-coms, but the tone of the movie was very jarring and didn't fit comfortably into that frame. It seemed like most of the supporting cast had walked in out of a different movie. The device of them both living together after the breakup seemed like more of a comic setup than a frame for the kind of fighting that really makes up the bulk of the picture.

I went in expecting it to be about an acrimonious sort of breakup, but I sort of expected it to be hyperbolic and, I guess, wackier. I didn't expect to sit there and watch them fighting like that. I agree with most of the critics that the movie didn't really work on several levels. I think dealing with this kind of emotional warfare may work better in a more stylized, metaphorical context, like "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

I wonder if the idea was to take the characters from what would be a stock romantic comedy about a star-struck, unlikely couple getting together, and then fast forward it a couple of years to show that disintegrating. I kind of expect that must have been the idea at some point, but if it was, it sort of fell apart when the wacky supporting cast stood mutely by rubbernecking the train-wreck of the relationship. They really should have pulled in a few more of those type characters and given them more to do in the story. As it was, Joey Lauren Adams and John Favreau got about as much screen-time as "Grand Theft Auto."

Still, this was something I haven't seen before, and think everyone involved deserves a lot of credit for trying to explore some boundaries instead of playing the safe territory. I do think, though, that the box-office success this weekend was due to its misleading marketing and the real life events surrounding the cast.

I have to say, as a concept, the idea of gathering all their friends for "game night," and setting the scene up for some sort of comic hilarity, only to have it break down into a really nasty argument in front of everybody is a really clever idea. It just wasn't as funny as it sounds like it should be.

I think it's really bold to try to do a comedy around this kind of an event. Usually, if they do a movie about breakups, it's a middle-aged couple with kids divorcing, and played for melodrama

When you are trying to make a moral point in a comedy, you get this movie. And it was as if, once this moral point was made, I walked out disappointed. And, just for the record, the only reason I walked in was because my wife wanted to see it, not me.