This is not the film I expected, truth is told. Now that does not mean it is a 'bad' movie or that it was a waste of my time. Not exactly; but it was realistic and maybe that is what bothered me so much by the time it was over.
This is the story of two lovers, Gary and Brooke who are about as mismatched as any couple you can think of. She is an art expert working for a high priced gallery while he is the third owner in a Tour Bus Company. She is upper crust, he is just plain crust.
They met at a baseball game and from there the romance blossomed until they bought a condo together.
But, Brooke feels that Gary does not appreciate her. While this is a typical female attitude toward men, in the case of Gary it is also pretty obvious. Gary is a first class jerk.
We see as evidence the first clash:
Brooke asks Jack to bring home 12 Lemons. A dozen; but he brings home 3. Three lousy lemons when she specifically asked for 12. Instead of running out real quick to get her the other lemons, he pops open a beer and sits down to watch a ball game.
He tries to come up with excuses for not getting the lemons, including insulting her chicken that he tasted and "Probably needs lemon."
This escalates after dinner into a nice verbal battle based on his again unwillingness to help her clean up. He is willing to help in the morning, but right now he just relax for awhile. Doing ten minutes worth of work is not going to kill anyone especially when they can see how important it is to the other person.
Brooke is correct in her feelings of being unappreciated. Jack is somewhat insensitive to her feelings and in many ways has ignored the signals that have been coming up.
Finally deciding to break up with Jack, she seemingly undergoes a transformation, remembering the things that she originally loved about him. Talking to her friends and her boss, she gets ideas and follows them as she can. Such as getting a 'fresh canvas and letting him see another painter ready to work on her'. Personally I liked that scene.
While she is trying to get him to appreciate her more, the two have one other worry; they share a Condo in one of the prime real-estate areas of Chicago. And he moves into the living room and dining room while she gets the bedroom and I guess the kitchen. This leads to one of the more funny scenes where they argue over 'Game night' and he says he will take care of everything.
Which means that fifteen minutes before the guests arrive, he asks her what to serve and if she is going to prepare it? This leaves them with individually sliced American cheese, Ruffles, and water.
While the emotional warfare is going on, I was reminded of War of the Roses, another not-really Romantic Comedy. I kept waiting for one of them to pull out a gun.
I think the whole purpose of "The Break Up" was not to show that love is a great, wonderful thing but that the reality is that once in a while it does need a kick-start. The only problem is, you begin to wonder if these two will ever get that.
Are these two really meant to be with each other or are they supposed to go their separate ways? That is the reality of life, and the reality of this movie. It makes you think about your own relationships and what you might be doing in them.
Do you try to share in your significant others interests? Brooke wanted Jack to go to the Opera at least once. Shoot boy, take an Ipod and a pair of dark glasses. No one will know you are asleep. She does not want 'you to go to the (insert any thing she wants that you keep saying no too).'
What she wants is spelled out in the movie by Brooke. She wants you to "Want to go with her" so that you can share her world. So that you can follow some of her interests.
When I got married, my wife did not know anything about Comics. She had never been into a Comic store, to a convention bought or sold them in her life. Sheltered child, I soon changed all that.
At the same time, I found things that she wanted to do that I didn't but still did, just to share them with her. She wanted to go ride bikes together so we did. In the summer, in the Central Valley with temperatures in the low 100's.
But she wanted to go, so I took a bottle of water and I went with her. And that was probably the worst, unless you include family meetings where someone barbequed very badly, most of them drank too much beer and all any of the men wanted to do was talk sports, which happened at least four times a year. But I went, because I wanted to share with her.
That is what Brooke wanted. For him to take an interest in her and the things she enjoyed. Men, this is a lesson for you. Suck it up and go with her to a few emotionally draining 'Chick Flicks' now and then.
Shoot, make her dinner and I don't mean chicken from KFC. Rub her back, without trying to have sex. Just rub her back.
While this film is entertainment with some comedy, the drama often blots out the laughter. Don't go in expecting light-hearted humor or gut busting laughter like you did in "Two Weeks Notice" or "Wedding Crashers." You will be disappointed.
Just go in with a desire to see Jennifer Anniston naked (from the rear) a few laughs and maybe to learn a few things.
The language gets pretty rough in a few scenes, and as I said there is one nude scene (with Anniston or a nice stunt double) but the film would probably be acceptable for those 12 or older.
But if you are in the middle of a divorce or break up, don't take the kids to see this one. I just think it would aggravate an already painful subject.