User reviews

It is extremely frustrating when a studio deceives you by selling a film as something it is not. The Break-Up is NOT a laugh a minute comedy of he said/she said. It is not the playful battle of the sexes so guiltily enjoyed in Peyton Reed's previous film Down With Love. It is, however, an enjoyable (that's perhaps not the right word) take on the part of a relationship we rarely see in an otherwise romantic comedy.

Centering a film on the ugly side of dating is a risky task, which is why it is understandable that the studio would try to sell the "hilarity" of incompatibility. Yet by doing so, the film's trailer really sells short the strength that this film has as a dramatic rendering of an adult relationship gone sour.

Vaughn and Aniston give strong, believable performances as a couple in crisis. Their attraction and chemistry is right, in that you can see these two hooking up, but not exactly hitching up. Neither one deserves the other, as both display their worst faults as their relationship devolves. A strong supporting cast plays their pals caught in the crossfire, with some funny results and some ridiculous mugging at times. Reed does a fine job of hitting the right notes, though the jump between comedy and drama can be a little jarring.

The film tries to realistically deal with a couple's break-up, yet finds truth in the dialogue more often than it does in the actions of its characters. Some honest reactions spill forth from the mouths of the hurt, confused couple dealing with their emotions, but their over-the-top responses by way of making grand purchases and throwing away their hard earned lives and bodies at a whim seem less real and more made in Hollywood.

Still, in the end, without the misleading theatrical trailer and real life romance (and prior break-ups) of the two leads, the film is convincing and entertaining. Just expect a lot more screaming than laughing.

Grade: B

My husband and I went to see this film on its opening night and weren't surprised to see a full theatre.

The movie has its hilarious moments which are interspersed with plenty of uncomfortable, tense arguments as these 2 people who love one another try to one-up each other in the payback mode for the pain in their relationship.

My husband thought it dragged from the middle on a little, although I didn't.

We both left thinking the movie was really funny in some parts, pretty sad and even tragic in others. Overall, we thought the acting was solid & believable and though the ending wasn't expected, it was real and even hopeful.

We both said it was worth seeing, and if you're looking for a fairly real-life view of the life of a struggling relationship, you'll be glad you saw this film.

I left the theatre feeling a little empty, but glad that in real life, these two are together!! Enjoy!

As mama used to say, "The extent of the nourishment you get from your entertainment water is directly related to how deep your well of expectations runs." I always thought mama was a bit too verbose in her metaphorical philosophizing, but there's truth in them there words! Thanks to Hollywood's constant desire to market films based on what they feel they have to trick people into thinking they're about, some audiences will likely go to see The Break-Up, ignore the insinuations of the movie's title, and expect something cute and fluffy. As such, the movie is unfairly saddled with expectations that it can't possibly meet for no other reason than the simple fact that this is NOT a conventional "chick flick" romantic comedy that will warm those little heart cockles and send you floating out of the theater on a cotton candy cloud. After a chance meeting at a Cubs/White Sox baseball game, an "opening credit relationship photo montage" creatively establishes that Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn are a couple. Just not for much longer. You see, Jennifer is busy cooking for a family dinner. Vince's only responsibility is to bring home 12 lemons so that she can create a centerpiece for the dinner table. So what does he do? Brings home three. Jen's understandably agitated. Rather than dutifully go get the extra lemons, Vince tries to find alternatives that will allow him to just sit on the couch and play video games until everybody arrives. Perhaps use the lemons to flavor the chicken since he tasted it and thought it was a little too spicy anyway? Maybe place them in a glass and create a smaller centerpiece? Yeah, it's fairly clear which three letters he puts in "class." This leads to his lack of desire to help with the dishes later that evening. Oh, he'll help with them in the morning, but Jen really wants them done tonight. Fifteen minutes of work won't kill the guy, right? When Jen expresses her disdain for the lack of appreciation he shows her, he goes into a character-exposing rant and declares his desire to just be left alone. Jen's had enough and decides to grant him his wish. Commence with the break-up and the emotional tug-of-war that carries the majority of the movie. This is where some audiences might get lost. Why? Probably because it feels so real, and sometimes reality doesn't always sell. People still love fairy tales, you know? The arguments and hard-feelings that slowly develop will likely hit home with anybody who has gone through a break up, and I have no doubt that many, if not most, guys will fill a little discomfort when they see some of themselves in Vince. The thing I appreciated the most is despite his penchant for being a jerk, Vince isn't adorned with a black hat and presented to us for our jeering. It's just the way he is. He likes doing things his way. He treats his friends and brothers in the same manner, but they still love the guy and like hanging out with him; he just needs to learn to accept doing things he might not want to for the people he loves. He's likable and funny enough that we root for him to learn the lesson. Likewise, Jennifer isn't placed on a pedestal with a golden halo on her head. Though she's the more sympathetic of the two, she still resorts to playing dirty and isn't allowed to come off completely innocent. Perhaps the character flaws won't play well with the "give me idealistic characters!" crowd, but I found them refreshingly realistic. The movie's focal point is the often volatile chemistry between Vince and Jennifer, which I thought was great, but the supporting characters are also very effective, albeit underused. Vince has some show-stealing scenes with Jason Bateman and particularly one with Jon Favreau (and his ever-increasing girth) that are so good that you can't help but be disappointed that there aren't more to savor. Speaking of disappointment, go ahead and prepare yourself for the potential of more as the closing credits begin to scroll. I admit that I wanted a little more closure than I was given, and that seemed to be the audience consensus. I suppose we should admire the screenwriters for sticking by their guns and refusing to tie all the loose ends as tightly as test audiences have demanded, but that doesn't mean we have to be happy about it. I could have handled it better had it not felt so abrupt and left me feeling a little incomplete. But it certainly doesn't ruin the movie. You just need to check your expectations and give the film a fair chance. Don't be a pawn of the marketing team's efforts to mislead audiences into the door. If you're a Vince fan I would also advise you not to expect the Johnny Jump-Up zaniness of The Wedding Crashers or Dodgeball. The Break-Up is a movie of a different breed. Abandoning the temptation to deliver a consistently uproarious comedy romp, The Break-Up deliberately balances itself with dramatic conflict, and gives us something a little different than what Hollywood has forced us to become accustomed to. It doesn't do it flawlessly, but at least it makes the attempt.

You all know the story. I don't think anyone would have expected it to be so loud, but the story is that one. The break up of two people who were not suppose to be together in the first place. He is that obnoxious guy offering her a hot dog. She meets him at the same time we do. I would have run as far as possible as fast as possible but apparently there was something about this slightly deranged tourist guide who likes to play video games that appealed to her. Well, so, my dear you deserve every bit you're going to get. Vince Vaughn has all the "funny' lines and she is like a farcical woman from yesteryear, dating other guys to make him jealous. I'm not kidding, that's what she does, while he goes to visit Jon Favreau - the best bits in the film - to cry his miseries to the one other character more moronic than himself. Glimpses of Judy Davis, Ann-Margret and Vincent D'Onofrio give the movie an unexpected lift but, dear me, dear me. Rush to see the films of Preston Sturges, I'm talking to the filmmakers naturally. The awful part of the whole thing is that I found myself laughing and that as far as 2006 comedies is not half bad. Isn't that just terrible?

The cast is allstar. The banter is fairly witty and entertaining. The premise is enticing for its boldness in shying away from the expected in a romcom. All of the above isn't enough to make anything great happen in The Break-Up. It seems that as a viewer, I wasn't prepared to enjoy anything other than the classic formula in this genre, and that is likely entirely my fault.

Gary Grobowski (Vince Vaughn) is a loud mouth boorish Neanderthal who works as a tour guide in Chicago. Brooke Meyers (Jennifer Aniston) works at an art gallery and feels completely neglected by him. They fight and they break up. Only neither of them are willing to move out of their luxury apartment and a war of the sexes ensues.

He is an insensitive idiot. It's not a new character for Vince and it's getting tiresome. She's a high maintenance girlfriend disguised as the girl next door. Again it's not a new character. They are not likable characters and I'm getting tired of the actors doing the same thing over and over again. They don't make for a good couple, and they don't have good chemistry. They should never be together in the first place. The only good thing is that they don't get back together.

This is meant to be a comedy. But there is too much serious anger and hate to be funny. It had a chance of this being a dark comedy, but nobody here could figure out how to make one.

Title says it all. Both actors do a great charismatic job and it's interesting to see both perspectives of the break up... also oretty realistic...

The Break-Up is a highly watchable drama that contains elements of cleaver comedy. Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Anniston put in solid performances in a film that feels strikingly real at times.

The Break-up does not play out as a light-hearted comedy with a predictable wrap-up in the last five minutes. The Break-Up reveals the very human side of a failed relationship and its potential reconciliation. Yes, there are some very funny scenes. However, as the misalignment of expectations quickly unfolds the movie reveals its true self.

The Break-up does a more than credible job of displaying many of the aspects of how people deal with conflict and remorse. Many of the situations play all-in-one as funny, sad and realistic.

The bottom line is that the Break-Up is solid film built with Hollywood money and stars that chooses a route its benefactors rarely allow to be taken. This fact alone makes the movie worth viewing.

Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn are going through "The Break-Up" in this 2006 comedy-drama that also stars Judy Davis, Ann-Margret, Jason Bateman and Vincent D'Onofrio. Vaughn plays a funny guy who is in the Chicago city tour business with his brothers. Aniston is his girlfriend, who works in an art gallery. The two live together in a beautiful condo. We see them when he meets her for the first time at a ballgame; the next time we see them, she is throwing a dinner party, and he isn't helping out. They break up not long after.

I'll just cut to the chase on this one. I wasn't disappointed that it was advertised as a comedy and had dramatic moments. I thought the acting was fine. Vaughn has good delivery, and Jennifer Aniston is a likable actress. There were great performances in good roles by Vincent D'Onofrio, Judy Davis, and Jason Bateman. And there were some very funny scenes.

At 1:47 minutes, fifteen minutes could have been cut. The movie dragged.

Now for my real problem. I read a few reviews on this board, and only one person mentioned this. Why the hell would a bright, well-read, good-looking woman with no end of intelligent, well-read, attractive men asking her out allow herself to be in a relationship with the selfish, irresponsible, nearly Neandrathal slob Vince Vaughn played? I can see that he was a funny guy, and they had good times together - but that's it. And that's not enough. I never got from the Aniston character that she had no self-esteem, but to stay with this guy, and lay out his clothes, and cook, make plans for get-togethers, and do whatever he wanted - she must not have had any. The abrupt change in Vaughn's character was unbelievable as well.

In short, I thought she was too good for him, and why she hadn't figured that out is beyond me. Just not a good script as far as characterizations and believability. The comedy sections were good, but the rest of the script just didn't hang together.

If you're looking for a romantic comedy that has real warmth of relationships and a sense that something was actually gained by their experience, look elsewhere. Aniston seems remarkably old (save the die-for bod) than the boyish, immature Vaughn, yet her character has the emotional IQ of a young teen. Jason Bateman is the only actor that brings something a bit interesting or unexpected to his role, but he disappears into the one-dimensional background of the film along with all the other split-second characters. These people are generally pretty boring and the lead characters leave us with one rather "discount-bin" message: "Watch this movie because we're both cute and popular stars." I'd like to see Vaughn play a deep and serious, dramatic role and I'd like to see Aniston cross over to a mature role closer to her age--with some real, dramatic depth.

This movie exceeded my expectations. Judging by the Cast I thought it would be just another comedian romance. Turned out I was wrong. I'm not saying the movie is great, but it hits differently than the rest. Unlike most of its genre, it is unpredictable and moving, as the massage the film is trying to transmit is important. Through comedy, emotion and expectation, the film manages to take you on a ride of emotions and laughs that really is a war of genres.

Of course the story has problems and some things don't make sense but I think it's ok because I don't look for such things in these kind of movies.

If you want to spend a good hour and a half I recommend you watch it because it will keep you entertained the entire time.

I was expecting a very basic romantic comedy. But this movie was missing any consistency in both.

Let's be clear, i wasn't expecting a great deal of either - but the it was difficult to really relate to either character's situation. You would hope to see the argument (breakup) from both sides, see both characters merits - and downfalls. But it ended up just feeling like a manipulative woman and a man who just didn't realise his own folly.

Even as a chick flick (and i like a good chick flick) this one falls down. If u see it on TV, maybe give it a few moments - but if you've seen the trailer, you've seen the highlights - and they were much much better when seen in the context of the trailer, sadly - not in the movie.

In Chicago, the art dealer Brooke Meyers (Jennifer Aniston) feels not appreciated and neglected by her immature husband Gary Grobowski (Vince Vaughn), who is partner of his two brothers in a tourism business, and decides to break-up with him to make Gary misses her. Gary misunderstands her true intention, both follows the wrong advices of family members and friends, beginning a war of sexes with no winner.

"The Break-up" is a surprisingly good dramatic comedy, showing a delightful war of sexes between a young couple that is misguided by family members and friends. The story is well constructed, has many funny moments, it is never corny and has a wonderful conclusion, different from the usual clichés of Hollywood movies. The charming and gorgeous Jennifer Aniston and the nice Vince Vaughn show an amazing chemistry and have great performances with an excellent cast, and Judy Davis is unrecognizable in the role of Marilyn Dean. The alternate ending in the Extras of the DVD is simply awful, and could have spoiled this good movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Separados Pelo Casamento" ("Separated by Marriage")

In amongst the conveyor-belt of dreadful and repetitive Hollywood comedies, I finally found something of actual quality. What separates The Break-Up from the usual claptrap is the fact that it has a thoroughly believable love story at the centre of it. Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Anniston both give career-best performances (in my opinion anyway) and the terrain of a relationship breakdown is explored delicately and authentically. There was an episode of Friends where the relationship between Ross and Rachel comes to an abrupt end and the quality of acting from Anniston and David Schwimmer was exceptional. The Break-Up is kind of like a movie-length version of that episode.

On top of that, there is plenty of good comedy without all the toilet humour and sex jokes that plague these type of rom-coms. Vaughn is the only member of the infamous 'fratpack' who has any actual comedic talent and it shows here.

I also love the way the story wraps up which is refreshingly realistic. The writers chose not to take the expected route and the film is all the better for it. If this movie was a piece of foreign cinema with unknown actors, I'm confident it would be rated an awful lot higher.

This movie was discovered by me on here itself and seeing the rating I underestimated its comic timings and punch lines and the wonderful performance but forth by both the leads. I would like to watch it over again sometime in the future.

Yes, I have seen it ages ago and forgot about it. So I can't say it is a masterpiece. But after a rewatch I have to say, I like it. It is a good drama about relationships. A comedy though, not so much. And I enjoyed watching this movie even though it made me quite sad.

There have been several romantic comedies which have seemingly came and went and seemed to be forgotten. The Break-Up was quite a success at both arguably the peaks and primes of Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston's career. They deliver great performances and the chemistry shows throughout which is the main reason as to why this film worked as it does, as they both make it more enjoyable than need be. Vaughn is funny in his deliver and mannerisms and Jennifer Aniston is quite lovely, and although unlikable at times, the character works.

With little knowledge of the film expect remembering hearing about its success years ago, one was cautious of watching as many romantic comedies tend to be overly try-hard funny, or too emotional and romantic, and predictable.

The Break-Up feels quite different in sense though somewhat feels as a plot for a television series. What is quite good and different in the film is that it doesn't try too hard at being romantic and lovely. And within the end, we see that a happy ending isn't always the most predictable one.

Recommend for those not typically into the typical romantic comedies but something to be more relaxed in and not think too much.

Gay jokes, clichés and other minor details aside...did ANYONE notice the continuous visual blooper of the BOOM MIKE CONSTANTLY BOBBING UP AND DOWN ABOVE THE ACTORS HEADS thruout MANY scenes in the film?? Reading the reviews from EBERT, and other "distinguished" film reviewers, no one seemed to notice this or care that it made the final cut of the film.

They spent better than a month in Chicago to reshoot the end of the movie because word has it the test audiences didn't like the way the original cut of the film ended, spent many hundreds of thousands on non-union extras, rental of equipment, food, paying the actors outrageous sums of money to make this turkey, and the director, the producer, the film editors and the production people at Universal Studios can't even properly frame a scene so that the boom mike doesn't show on camera??? I'd expect that kind of amateur editing from teen filmmakers at Columbia College, but UNIVERSAL?? What happened, Mr Reed? Fall asleep watching the rushes??

Outside of the fact that many of the characters were shallow and unnecessary (somebody actually PAID Ann Margret to make a cameo appearance and sit like a bump on a log at the dinner table scene when a no-name extra could have done just as well), the film felt uneven and stopped being funny about 30 minutes in. All the hoo-haa, interviews on Letterman & Leno, Vince And Jen romance PR and the unnecessary media circus they did for this flick could have been saved by delaying the release of the film until they found a professional to edit and frame it properly, and THEN develop the characters to more resemble people we can care about.

The end scene where Vince and Jen accidentally "bumped into" each other in front a store some months after their breakup concluded with Jen and Vince flashing a little smile at each other before they walked their separate ways. I imagine they were both thinking "we pulled off a nice little publicity scam, and got paid WAAAAYYY more than we're worth, and the public came to see us anyway..."

This is film-making? Apparently it's easier to scam the public than I thought......