Peyton Reed is a very brave man. After starting his Hollywood career with underrated wish-fulfilment fantasy cheerleader movie Bring It On, a movie understandably but unfairly remembered primarily for its casting, he gives us underrated knockabout throwback rom-com Down With Love, a movie dismissed as kitsch. Despite the genius stroke of casting David Hyde Pierce. And now the poor bastard’s third consecutive brave move, history’s least romantic rom-com, has to endure the fallout of Brad’n’Jen, and the “Are they? Aren’t they? Who gives a shit?” tabloid bollocks surrounding his two leads, which overshadows this underrated movie. With great casting.
Mr Reed will surely be delighted to learn that I don’t give a monkey’s who Jennifer Aniston’s riding, unless it’s me (which seems… unlikely) as long as she continues to entertain so effortlessly. She’s well worth her place opposite the lightning-tongued Vince Vaughan, giving as good as she gets in the most bitterly unpleasant on-screen fallout in recent memory. In case you’re not sure of the plot from the title, Gary and Brooke are sharing a gorgeous Chicago condo when their relationship goes the way of Pete Doherty (give it a couple of weeks), and because neither of them wants to relinquish it, a game of cruel one-upmanship ensues.
The main reason for the lack of appreciation shown towards The Break-Up seems to have been its refusal to play by the rules. Gary and Brooke’s interplay isn’t laugh-out loud funny, it’s realistic. For example, when he gets the pool table he always wanted, she doesn’t set it on fire or shit in the pockets. So this potentially American Pie-tastic set-up is wasted. And, it’s the least date-friendly movie ever. It’s sure as hell not romantic. Anyone with any unaired relationship issues will be wriggling uncomfortably as the titular moment occurs. What’s the use of a non-rom-not-enough-com?
Scratch the surface and what you’ll find is a moving, well-written little comedy-drama with sparkling dialogue and some great characters. Aniston and Vaughn are excellent throughout; in fact, Jen would take the cake if it weren’t for the film’s secret weapon, which we’ll get to in a moment. There’s some great support from Jason Bateman, Judy Davis and Justin Long, and continuing the J-theme, The Break-Up sees the glorious reunion of Vaughn with fellow Swinger Jon Favreau. The two of them have put about an extra person on in weight since the mid-90’s but my GOD do they still have the magic. You can only hope that Swingers 2 script they’ve been working on finds its way to a high-quality-but-underrated-and-therefore-cheap director (Peyton Reed should do) soon.
If I have a gripe, it’s that when Gary suddenly has a few home truths spelt out to him by best mate Johnny (Favreau, who else) regarding why his relationship has imploded against the wishes of both protagonists, it seems slightly too abrupt – and nothing in the latter’s character arc has suggested such a moralistic thought exists in his head. Maybe there’s more than we’re being shown, but it seems unlikely Reed will ever be allowed to release a Director’s Cut – public demand would insist there be a sex scene included which involved the paparazzi looking in through the window. Shame. The Break-Up flouts all the rules and makes up its own, plowing a bitter furrow of recrimination and broken hearts. And I loved it.