Billed as an ‘anti-romcom’, The Break-Up charts the relationship meltdown between stylish art-gallery salesperson Brooke (Jennifer Aniston) and Chicago tour-bus guide Gary (Vince Vaughn). They have a whirlwind romance and move into a flashy apartment together but within minutes of the film starting you can see that things are going wrong between them.
A fight over food shopping escalates and they are soon living separate lives in the same condo. Brooke resorts to flaunting her new dates in front of Gary every time, while Gary lives like a slob, buys a pool table and hosts wild parties. Secretly they both want to get back together, but will they?
Directed by Peyton Reed (who made the brash but enjoyable teen comedy Bring it On), this is a subtle and grown-up drama with occasional wry comedic moments. However, as a screen couple Aniston and Vaughn only truly convince when they are having a row, and even the most laddish male would probably find it hard to identify with the largely insensitive Gary. It’s not the kind of movie where HD is really necessary but it’s a slickly made film and Aniston looks as sweet as ever.
Related story: Another off-beat romantic comedy showing in HD this month is Just Like Heaven.
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