POV Review - The BreakUp

Point of View Reviews
POV Review - The BreakUp
By Cynthia Kirkeby
Aug 19, 2006, 18:48 PST

I always worry a bit when I'm told that a movie is a "dark comedy." It usually means that there is at least an equal dose of pain served up with the comedy. The Break-Up is no exception to that rule. For me the dose of pain was too large to make this an enjoyable film.

I suppose there may be people who can watch two people torturing each other as their relationship falls apart and find humor through the agony, but I found myself cringing in my seat. There are definitely some hysterical moments in this film, most of them appearing at the beginning of the film.

If you can take the pain The Break-Up dishes up, there is plenty to learn from the story:

Relationships take two people who are on the same page
You can't have only one person doing everything in a relationship.
There is an actual breaking point that you can hit, where you can't go back to the relationship.
Hurting your partner to get him to notice you, usually back-fires.
Sometimes, it's better to just move out and stay friends then exert your property rights.
If you move in with a over-grown adolescent, don't expect him to be a grown-up when you need one.
Even over-grown adolescents eventually have to grow up.

The performances by Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Anniston were brilliantly painful. Each played their role with abandon and sensitivity. Vaughn is constantly surprising in films as a sensitive side breaks through the out-of-control overgrown adolescent. When he finally understands in The Break-Upthat he has to give something back in his relationship, it's a heartwreching scene. Jennifer Anniston also adeptly portrays a woman who stands on the line which defines whether or not she can muster one more try, only to find that she can't.

The beginning and end of this film have wonderful moments of humor, sensitivity, and wistfullness, but the middle is so excruciating to watch for anyone that has had a difficult break-up in their life, that you may find yourself looking for a way to escape.

Visit the official site for The Break-Up