A comedy centered around four couples who settle into a tropical-island resort for a vacation. While one of the couples is there to work on the marriage, the others fail to realize that participation in the resort's therapy sessions is not optional.
A bounty hunter learns that his next target is his ex-wife, a reporter working on a murder cover-up. Soon after their reunion, the always-at-odds duo find themselves on a run-for-their-lives adventure.
On a weekend trip to Hawaii, a plastic surgeon convinces his loyal assistant to pose as his soon-to-be-divorced wife in order to cover up a careless lie he told to his much-younger girlfriend.
Director:
Dennis Dugan
Stars:
Adam Sandler,
Jennifer Aniston,
Brooklyn Decker
John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey, a pair of committed womanizers who sneak into weddings to take advantage of the romantic tinge in the air, find themselves at odds with one another when John meets and falls for Claire Cleary.
Sarah Huttinger is a woman who learns that her family was the inspiration for the book and film "The Graduate" -- and that she just might be the offspring of the well-documented event.
Director:
Rob Reiner
Stars:
Jennifer Aniston,
Mark Ruffalo,
Shirley MacLaine
Two salesmen whose careers have been torpedoed by the digital age find their way into a coveted internship at Google, where they must compete with a group of young, tech-savvy geniuses for a shot at employment.
An affable underachiever finds out he's fathered 533 children through anonymous donations to a fertility clinic 20 years ago. Now he must decide whether or not to come forward when 142 of them file a lawsuit to reveal his identity.
In Chicago, the art dealer Brooke Meyers feels not appreciated and neglected by her immature boyfriend Gary Grobowski, who is partner with his two brothers in a tourism business, and decides to break-up with him to make Gary miss her. Gary misunderstands her true intention, both follow the wrong advice of family members and friends, beginning a war of sexes with no winner.Written by
Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
When Joey Lauren Adams is bathing the kids she pulls the soap out of one of their mouths and says, "We'll save that for when you're twelve." This is clearly a nod to A Christmas Story where Peter Billingsly, Joey's husband in The Break Up, plays Ralphie and gets a mouth full of soap at twelve. See more »
Goofs
When Gary walks into the apartment with the grocery bag (before the dinner party) the bag starts out standing up on the butcher block. In the next shot it's folded up and the mixer's missing, then the next shot it's folded up, laying down on the other side of the mixer. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Gary:
Come on, come on, come on.
Johnny O:
All right, here we go.
See more »
Alternate Versions
A version aired on TNT pixilates the shot of Jennifer Aniston's bare butt when she walks away from Vince Vaughn. See more »
It is extremely frustrating when a studio deceives you by selling a film as something it is not. The Break-Up is NOT a laugh a minute comedy of he said/she said. It is not the playful battle of the sexes so guiltily enjoyed in Peyton Reed's previous film Down With Love. It is, however, an enjoyable (that's perhaps not the right word) take on the part of a relationship we rarely see in an otherwise romantic comedy.
Centering a film on the ugly side of dating is a risky task, which is why it is understandable that the studio would try to sell the "hilarity" of incompatibility. Yet by doing so, the film's trailer really sells short the strength that this film has as a dramatic rendering of an adult relationship gone sour.
Vaughn and Aniston give strong, believable performances as a couple in crisis. Their attraction and chemistry is right, in that you can see these two hooking up, but not exactly hitching up. Neither one deserves the other, as both display their worst faults as their relationship devolves. A strong supporting cast plays their pals caught in the crossfire, with some funny results and some ridiculous mugging at times. Reed does a fine job of hitting the right notes, though the jump between comedy and drama can be a little jarring.
The film tries to realistically deal with a couple's break-up, yet finds truth in the dialogue more often than it does in the actions of its characters. Some honest reactions spill forth from the mouths of the hurt, confused couple dealing with their emotions, but their over-the-top responses by way of making grand purchases and throwing away their hard earned lives and bodies at a whim seem less real and more made in Hollywood.
Still, in the end, without the misleading theatrical trailer and real life romance (and prior break-ups) of the two leads, the film is convincing and entertaining. Just expect a lot more screaming than laughing.
Grade: B
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It is extremely frustrating when a studio deceives you by selling a film as something it is not. The Break-Up is NOT a laugh a minute comedy of he said/she said. It is not the playful battle of the sexes so guiltily enjoyed in Peyton Reed's previous film Down With Love. It is, however, an enjoyable (that's perhaps not the right word) take on the part of a relationship we rarely see in an otherwise romantic comedy.
Centering a film on the ugly side of dating is a risky task, which is why it is understandable that the studio would try to sell the "hilarity" of incompatibility. Yet by doing so, the film's trailer really sells short the strength that this film has as a dramatic rendering of an adult relationship gone sour.
Vaughn and Aniston give strong, believable performances as a couple in crisis. Their attraction and chemistry is right, in that you can see these two hooking up, but not exactly hitching up. Neither one deserves the other, as both display their worst faults as their relationship devolves. A strong supporting cast plays their pals caught in the crossfire, with some funny results and some ridiculous mugging at times. Reed does a fine job of hitting the right notes, though the jump between comedy and drama can be a little jarring.
The film tries to realistically deal with a couple's break-up, yet finds truth in the dialogue more often than it does in the actions of its characters. Some honest reactions spill forth from the mouths of the hurt, confused couple dealing with their emotions, but their over-the-top responses by way of making grand purchases and throwing away their hard earned lives and bodies at a whim seem less real and more made in Hollywood.
Still, in the end, without the misleading theatrical trailer and real life romance (and prior break-ups) of the two leads, the film is convincing and entertaining. Just expect a lot more screaming than laughing.
Grade: B