The Break-Up is billing itself as an "anti-romantic comedy," so it shouldn't surprise us when Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston spend the entire movie trying to make each other's life a living hell. Think War of the Roses, only with a couple who just got together five minutes ago. Vaughn's a guy's guy, the kind that would like to put a pool table in the living room. Aniston's...well, she's Rachel again - sweet, spunky, skin the color of a perfectly roasted marshmallow. Oh, and with a preference for ballet over Nine Ball. Opposites attract, right? Right. Before we know it, matrimony has given way to acrimony. But neither party is willing to move out of their fabulous Chicago condo. As in War of the Roses, possession is nine-tenths of the brawl.
Directed by Peyton Reed (Bring It On), The Break-Up is being hammered by critics. But it's often funny, sometimes uncomfortably so. And there's something so...refreshing about how far it's willing to go to make us both laugh and cringe. Call it a date movie for those who, unbeknownst to their partner, have been planning a break-up of their own.
