Movie Review: The Break-Up: Aniston and Vaughn Struggle for the Condo

Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston star in this comedy. Brooke (Aniston) breaks up with her live-in boyfriend, Gary (Vaughn) because she feels that he is taking her for granted. It is true that she does most of the work in the relationship, and she finally gets tired of it.

Gary is a nice enough, fun guy who doesn’t seem to be particularly capable of taking another person’s point of view. It seemed to be a stereotypical relationship in terms of sex roles; she kept the relationship going and was the giver, while he was the taker.

Neither one wants to leave their condo, so they each try to force the other one out using a variety of tactics. They by play loud music at all hours, bring dates and/or strippers to the condo, move a pool table into the living room, involve their friends in a bitter fight when they come over for game night, and so on.

I’m sure their friends couldn’t wait to come back for the next game night. After this particular disaster, their friend and realtor (Jason Bateman) strongly advises them to sell and go their separate ways. (I was afraid this would end up being like War of the Roses, another movie about a couple splitting up where neither wanted to move out, but The Break-Up was much funnier and less bitter).

Lots of funny moments in this movie, but some soul-searching too, especially by Gary, whose best friend dares to tell him the truth about how Gary’s behavior contributed to the end of his relationship. This movie got mixed reviews by the critics, but I enjoyed it.