The Break Up

Romantic Comedy. A live-in couple learn how hard it is to break up when they refuse to leave the condo they both share. This is a very insightful comedy that captures the differences between men and women with a spot on brilliance. The moral of the story is the growth of Vince Vaughn’s character into a responsible male who turns from a selfish orientation into a selfless person who is as concerned about other’s good as his own. His best friend tells Vince at the self revelation that everyone knows that Vince controls everything and only does what he wants to do and doesn’t care what others want. Vince’s moral transformation is highlighted when he goes into the office all night to do the paperwork he was responsible for but never did for his co-owner of his company. I particularly found the ending of this movie to be very impacting in that when Vince does the right thing and changes, he DOES NOT get the girl back, because she has already changed and it is too late. People do change in these things and you can do damage to them that is real. But a last little denouement shows them meeting a year later and Vince is a different man, and maybe, just maybe they might see each other again. So, it shows the hope without the neat and clean resolution. I liked that. It showed that maturity doesn’t always result in getting what you want, but it is worth it anyway.

The major gripe I have with the movie is the complete assumed casualness of living in sin that it takes in its story. Sadly, this is a reality in today’s world, and I will be considered an archaic Neanderthal for even considering that sex before marriage is morally unacceptable and detrimental to relationships. So sue me, I’m not a modernist and you are. But the true tragedy is the attempt of people to live out of wedlock and try to attain all the blessings of marriage without the responsibility and commitment. Now that would be a worthy story indeed.