++: The preview for this movie said, "When the passion is this intense...When the sex is this great...It's time to let go." I have to admit, I was intrigued. However, when I saw Breaking Up, I was bored.
This movie has a cast of only two--Salma Hayek (Fools Rush In) and Russell Crowe (L.A. Confidential). She plays Monica, a fiesty elementary school teacher and he plays Steve, a struggling photographer who likes to take pictures of fruit. They are young New Yorkers who jump into a relationship without really getting to know each other first.
The plot of the movie, not unlike the characters, is very predictable. The first scene opens with the couple complaining about their relationship to an invisible counselor (the audience maybe?). Throughout the movie, they proceed to get back together, fight, and break up. Over and over. But what was most annoying was the fact that it starts in the middle of their relationship and never flashes back to the beginning. While watching it, I had no idea why they got together in the first place, and since there was no chemistry between them, I didn't know why they should stay together. Luckily, it was only 1 hour and 25 minutes, so I didn't wonder too long.
However, Breaking Up did have its good parts and I sometimes found myself laughing hysterically. I liked her ice cream binges (every woman can relate) and the times when the picture stopped and you heard all the thoughts that were swirling through their heads. By far, the funniest scene was the one in which Steve imagines Monica and her new boyfriend, um, "working out" at the gym. Believe me, if they had men like that at SAC, I would go every day!
Nevertheless, this movie was crazier than it was funny. This couple was so bad together, I couldn't believe they got together in the first place. I actually cheered each time they broke up. Much to my surprise, there is a happy ending to all this chaos.
Should you go see this movie? Well, guys will probably like it just because Salma Hayek is in it. And I guess if you are actually going through a break up, you might get a kick out of it. Then again, you might not.
