Love will tear us apart…

I watched ‘The Break-Up’ today, and it turned out to be a pretty sweet movie. One of the things I liked most about it was the fact that they didn’t portray the female character, played by Jennifer Aniston, as the totally innocent victim…as one might expect from a Hollywood movie about breaking up. It was refreshing to see. I thought this movie would just be your typical guy meets girl, guy and girl fall in love, guy starts to take girl for granted, maybe guy’s eyes wander to a hot new co-worker, or he does something stupid and unforgivable or gets caught in a lie, girl then breaks up with guy, and guy has to win girl back kinda flick. All of these things did happen in the movie in one form or another (except for the hot co-worker), but there was an air of honesty permeating throughout the movie…how the small things, like not helping with the dishes, can be the trigger for an avalanche of pent up frustration…hints are not picked up…’tests’ are failed…and animosity and frustration build until bitterness takes over and ruins what was once a happy, fun, and very real love affair.

The dialogue also struck me as quite believable, like they weren’t pandering for laughs or trying to wrench your heart at every plot turn. Yes, all the rom/com stereotypes were present…but it was subtle and not over the top like many films of the genre can be. The film didn’t play (heavy) favourites, and while the moral of the story wasn’t anything earth shattering…men and women are different animals, and if open communication breaks down, so too does the relationship… the way it was presented, combined with solid performances from virtually the entire cast, made this one an enjoyable flick. Not great…but good. I think I probably laughed out loud maybe 2 or 3 times (its not a hilarious movie by any stretch) but I would recommend it to just about anyone…and will.

*** 1/2 out of 5