Even though some parts of this non-romantic
comedy seem like they belong in some sillier sort of movie, at its best this
Jennifer Aniston-Vince Vaughn vehicle grapples fairly honestly with the idea
that letting go is more difficult than breaking up.
This is a flawed movie that I liked anyway. According to the
quote, pulled from Maxim magazine, that the newspaper ads kept using,
it’s a “painfully funny movie that truly proves men and women are from
different planets.” Sounds painful, all right. Fortunately, this isn’t about
men and women, but about one couple, Chicago yuppies sharing an upscale
apartment, played by Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. They break up in the
beginning of the movie, in one of those scenes where a small argument turns
into a big one. You’ve seen this scene before, but a lot of times it comes off
as forced, and I thought it was done pretty realistically here. You’ve seen a
lot of a lot of this before, actually. Her character wants him to appreciate
her more and help out with the housekeeping. He thinks she’s a nag. These roles
aren’t a big stretch for either actor. Vaughn in particular might be a
five-years-later version of the overgrown party boy he played in Wedding
Crashers…or in Old School… or in Dodgeball…. People like that
don’t usually change, not easily anyway, and the movie is really about
Aniston’s character figuring that out. It’s a pretty honest depiction of the
ambivalence that even the person who does the breaking up feels.
As a plain
comedy, this is decent to good. The supporting characters seem there either
because this type of movie requires some best-friend types for the couple to
complain to or because the filmmakers were worried about things getting too
serious. They’re a mixed bag at best. Joey Lauren Adams as Aniston’s sister is
underwritten. Jon Favreau as Vaughn’s bartender/friend is over the top. Justin
Long’s temperamental gay receptionist is overfamiliar, and even Judy Davis, as
Aniston’s imperious art-gallery boss, didn’t entirely win me over. Not all of
the supporting character humor falls flat, but some of it seems like it ought
to be in a broader sort of comedy. The part in the beginning where a family
dinner turns into a sing-a-long (to Yes’s “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” no less)
literally made me cringe. The best parts of the movie are mostly the ones with
the two leads. If you don’t like watching couples bicker, steer clear of this
movie. There’s a lot of that. But breaking up is painful. Sometimes even
painfully funny.
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