Vince Vaughn has called The Breakup an 'anti-romantic comedy.' Well, it's not very romantic and despite a few good scenes (most of which are in the trailer) it's not very funny either. But, I do give it points for trying to do something a little different; whether or not it works remains to be seen.

Gary (Vince Vaughn) is an avid Red Sox fan and video gamer who runs a tour bus company with his brothers (Vincent D'Onofrio and Cole Hauser). Brooke works in an art gallery and enjoys the ballet. You can see where this is going. These two have managed to stay together for several years. They share cool 'couples friends', a bowling league and a condo. However, it's beginning to dawn on Brooke that Gary is just a wee bit self-centered and that he takes her for granted (this is the part where I got an eerie and unsettling sense of deja vu ... but we won't go there). An argument turns into a breakup which Brooke doesn't seem to mind. She thinks that the 'temporary' breakup will make Gary see how wonderful she really is. Her best friend Maddie (Joey Lauren Adams) tries to talk some sense into her but to no avail. Of course, Gary doesn't see things the way Brooke would like which leads to a serious escalation of the situation. She dates a bunch of guys to make him jealous. He hosts a strip poker night at the condo with professional strippers. Brooke and Gary end up selling the condo. Things just keep going from bad to worst.

I actually liked Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston as a couple. As actors they worked well together; but when it came to their characters, I just cringed. Maybe it was the deja vu talking but every time I saw his charming, charismatic but ultimately self-absorbed personality, I kept hoping she'd cut her loses and run.

The supporting cast was impressive: Ann Margaret, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jon Favereau, Judy Davis and John Michael Higgins (who stole all of his scenes as Brooke's gay brother), but they weren't given much to work with at all which was frustrating considering everyone I mentioned could carry a movie on their own. I wished they had made more use of such fabulous talent.

Part of the problem with The Breakup can be attributed to its uneven script (by Jeremy Garelick and Jay Lavender) ...which gets less and less funny as it goes along. Outside of their 'meet cute' beginning and a heart-felt plea by Gary towards the end, there isn't much romance either. I think they were going for a sort of realistic romantic comedy spin and they did achieve that in part, in the end.

If you go into this expecting a laugh-out loud comedy, you'll be disappointed. If you go into this expecting romance, you'll be disappointed. If you end up seeing shades of you and your ex-boyfriend, you'll be slightly unnerved.