I wanted something light to relax with. A romantic comedy, which I expected to be like a junior-grade “The War of the Roses”
Yeah, uh… the words “romantic comedy” should not be associated with “The Break-Up.” I laughed once, late in the movie, during a mercifully amusing scene between Vaughn and Jon Favreau that was almost certainly inserted to add some balance.
“The Break-Up” was well written, well crafted (for you know screenplays are crafted as much as they are written, don’t you?) and well acted by a great cast obviously enjoying themselves among friends. Vincent D’Onofrio was particularly fun to watch. It was a fine piece of work.
It’s just not a comedy, not by any stretch… but I bet the studio assumed they wouldn’t have sold a single movie ticket if they hadn’t pushed it as such.
The movie was… painful to watch. Painful to the point of tears. I’ve been, or been in relationships with, people like these. Had the same arguments. Dug the same graves. Ouch. Ouch.
About the finest thing I can say about “The Break-Up” was that it caused me to reflect and think and count every single one of the lucky stars left bravely shining in my sky. It made sad and it made me grateful. It made me want to write or call or send up smoke signals to several people to apologize / check in / wish them well.
That’s a fool’s errand, for the most part, so I’m writing this blog post, then I’m gonna play a little music, think about stuff, and try to go to sleep. As I’m sure many of you in relationships can attest, it’s tricky sleeping when your significant other is out of town. We’ll see..!
The last time a movie hit me in this particular way was “Sideways,”
One of the functions of art is to cause us to examine our own lives and experiences. Yeah, I’m calling “The Break-Up” art. I would have paid full price to see it in the theater when it first came out, had I known it was the kind of movie it is.
What movies have you been broadsided by, and why? Don’t be shy; lay it out there. Tell me about it in the comments.
No related posts.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind hit me like a ton of bricks, and left me reeling for the remainder of the evening. It hit me in places and ways I didn’t expect. Thankfully I’ve not had the need to wipe a relationship from my mind, but I could understand every motivation in that film. I could see exactly how a relationship could go so incredibly right that when it came crashing down, that goodness would become a seemingly-unbearable memory. I could also see how, if I made that decision, I would also fight tooth and nail to hold onto every last bit of it once it did start to finally rip apart and disappear. As far as relationship movies go, I think that one had the most impact for me.
Sideways didn’t quite have that impact that you’re describing for me, although it did have a hell of an impact. It was one of the funniest films I had seen in years, while 100% genuine, and both characters were sad sacks of life’s dregs, in completely different ways. Paul Giamatti’s situation, and its open ending, did strike me pretty hard, though, and stuck with me for the rest of the day, wondering, hoping, imagining. Hollywood rarely leaves open endings like that. They’re far more common in books. I mentioned to you at dinner how it took me a long time to come around to short fiction, simply because I hate endings, and there’s a lot more of them in short fiction. The open ending and I have a love/hate relationship, too, as when a story’s well-crafted enough, what goes on in my own head afterward doesn’t seem like it can stand up to what the writer had crafted before it. But occasionally I can accept them. I think in the case of Sideways, the open ending did more for holding the film in my mind for the rest of the day than if they had finished it up, so that worked for me.
Anyway, knowing now that The Break-Up’s more than the goofy romantic comedy it was billed as, I might just have to check it out. So thanks for the heads-up!
“Eternal Sunshine…” is one of those movies I really wanted to see when it came out, but never got around to it. I really should make the effort. There are some movies I can tell I’ll like — “I Heart Huckabees” was one — before I see it, and maybe because of that, it takes me forever to actually sit down and watch.
For example, I just saw “Magnolia” a few months ago..!
I like open endings, because if the piece is done right and the audience is paying attention, the ending isn’t open at all. Sure, lives go on past “the end” and situations might remain unresolved, but if the characters have completed their arc (which might not — should not? — be the same as the plot) then I’m satisfied.
Jennifer Aniston’s hot.
That’s deep, brother. Deep.
I love your movie reviews.
I’m logging onto my library’s website to reserve The Break-Up now.
Thank you, Chris! I should have known Vince Vaughn could put together a movie with some depth after seeing his supporting actor turn in “Into the Wild” a while back.