I had a chance to catch a press screening of “The Break-Up” this past Tuesday evening. I was having dinner with my managing editor anyway and he was covering it, so I tagged along for fun. I loved it! I went in knowing nothing about it and expecting some sort of light, romantic comedy. Boy was I wrong on that one! Oh, it had plenty of humorous moments but it was much darker than I expected. Most of the comedy is rooted in the reality of a relationship melting down in spectacular fashion. I suspect that much of the audience was laughing because, like me, they’ve been there and gotten the t-shirt.

I really like Vince Vaughn and he didn’t disappoint here. I’m not a huge fan of Jennifer Anniston but she did well in this role. I also loved Jon Favreau as Vince’s friend and bar owner, freakin’ hilarious and more than a bit twisted. I should also mention John Michael Higgins playing a brilliant character that rather literally… errr… smashes… a common stereotype at one point. You have to see it, trust me! You’ll recognize plenty of other cast members, both big and small names.

I suspect most mainstream reviewers will frown on this movie, it’s not the type of film that garners raves. If you go into it expecting it to be light-hearted, date-friendly material you may be disappointed also. But if you’re like me and don’t mind dipping your toes into darker fare, and you can find a chuckle in wicked displays of revenge and retaliation… then you might find it entertaining. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though!

I really like the soundtrack too BTW… always a plus in my book!