The Break-Up

When Brooke (Aniston) and Gary (Vaughn) finally call it quits on their relationship, neither person is willing to move out of their Chicago condo. Engaging in a bitter war of wills and mind games, both try to push each other over the edge in the hope that the other will move out. It's a simple idea and smacks of unoriginality on paper but Jeremy Garelick and Jay Lavender's script (from Vince Vaughn's short story) have raised the bar for romantic comedies; opting for realism instead of sentimentality and predictable Cameron Crowe movie moments. In what is a War Of The Roses meets About Last Night for the Sex In The City generation, The Break-Up ticks all the boxes that a romantic comedy should have and still manage to boast it's own particular freshness. The dialogue is one of the areas where The Break-Up stands head and shoulders above the increasingly bland competition; witty without being knowing, observational without going over the same old men vs. women arguments and allowing the characters to ad-lib in parts, they all add to the authentic feel of the film. Sometimes it's not pretty to watch as the story shows what happens when men and women reduced to childish instinct when their back is up against the wall and pride is at stake - Gary goes out of his way to be deliberate and petty in a way that is just embarrassing to see while Brooke reduces herself to the age-old tactic of flirting with other men in the hope of making Gary jealous. The characters are fleshed out and well rounded, as every guy will see himself in Vaughn and laugh, while every woman will see her boyfriend in Vaughn and despair. The dialogue is matched by the performances, as Vaughn hasn't been this charming since Swingers and Aniston hasn't inhabited a character this perfectly since, well, ever. The Break-Up is a date movie that could air out those underlying tensions in your relationship before it kick-starts another huge row. Or it could just kick-start another huge row.