Breaking Up

Watching Breaking Up is hard to do. It is one thing not to care about the characters onscreen; it is another to realize thirty minutes into this loves-me/loves-me-not romantic drama that you don't even remember their names. Russell Crowe and the beautiful Salma Hayek star as a tiresome couple who argue, split up, enjoy great sex, argue, split up and so on. The heavy-handed dialogue is trite (a lot of shouted talk about not talking) and the observations clichéd (a pint of ice cream is once again the snack of choice for heartbroken lovers). Albert Brooks' Modern Romance remains the standard-bearer for obsessional romances. Crowe and Hayek have generated mild heat with L.A. Confidential and Fools Rush In, respectively, but they are not exactly marquee names. This won't be missed. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include commentary by director Robert Greenwald, 19 minutes of six additional scenes and outtakes (with optional commentary), cast and crew filmographies and a trailer. Bottom line: when the original review was written, Crowe and Hayek were not, as we said, "marquee names"; today they are, but the film is just as bad and a handful of solid extras can't change that.] (K. Lee Benson)