The Break-Up (**1/2)

The Break-Up is a well-intentioned, if ultimately unsuccessful "romantic comedy." I'm not quite sure who's labeling it that, since it's not all that funny and definitely not romantic. Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn are likeable actors, but here, their characters' relationship is a little too one-sided. Vaughn plays an annoying jerk of a character and for all the arguments on screen, you can't help siding with Aniston's character for almost all of them. That's poor writing if you ask me. The movie is a tad too concerned with formulaic arguments, and less with either striving for authenticity or comedy. The beginning starts off well enough with a very funny John Michael Higgins doing his darndest to make this movie more than what it is. The only other real highlight is the re-pairing of Vaughn and his Swingers co-star Jon Favreau. The two are great together, and I would have liked to have seen more of them together. The movie is entertaining enough. It's more of a missed opportunity than anything else. An ending that feels tacked-on and fake doesn't help matters any.