Critics Consensus

Critical Consensus: "The Break-Up" Gets Dumped

by | June 1, 2006 | Comments

This week at the movies brings us "The Break-Up," a hotly-anticipated dark comedy featuring two actors whose faces are criminally under-documented by the paparazzi. What do the critics say?


"The Break-Up:" This wouldn’t have happened if she just had a couple more pieces of flair.

Critical Consensus has had a couple bad breakups in the past. Fortunately, CC has some really good friends who are always available to provide pep talks. They have said, "Move on! Get over it! It’s all good!" Unfortunately for "The Break-Up," starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston, the critics just can’t move on. They can’t get over it. The film, billed as an "anti-romantic comedy," tells the story of a couple in the final death spiral of a relationship, the inverse of typical Hollywood rom-com fare. It’s an intriguing idea (kinda like a Frat-Pack version of Bergman‘s "Scenes from a Marriage"), but the critics say that two of contemporary cinema’s most likeable actors stranded in a tonally schizophrenic plot with unfunny bickering that is simply hard to watch. At 22 percent on the Tomatometer, this one can’t catch a "Break."


"District B13:" Seriously kids, do not try this at home.

In limited release this week, French martial arts thriller "District B13" currently stands at 88 percent on the Tomatometer; the Iraq documentary "The War Tapes" is at 92 percent; indie comedy "The Puffy Chair" is at 75 percent; "Favela Rising," a doc about Brazilian political unrest, is at 60 percent; the Floridian noir "Coastlines" is at 50 percent; "Peaceful Warrior," starring a philosophical Nick Nolte, is at 40 percent; and the South Korean action thriller "Typhoon" is at 17 percent.

Recent Jennifer Aniston Movies:
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68% — Friends with Money (2006)
21% — Derailed (2005)
18% — Rumor Has It (2005)
26% — Along Came Polly (2004)
51% — Bruce Almighty (2003)

Recent Vince Vaughn Movies:
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69% — Thumbsucker (2005)
74% — Wedding Crashers (2005)
29% — Be Cool (2005)
70% — Dodgeball (2004)
63% — Starsky & Hutch (2004)