‘Break-up’ exceeds comic expectations

Vince Vaughn has fooled everyone.

Alongside Jennifer Aniston, Vaughn made the movie-going public think his new film “The Break-Up” was just the type of breezy “date” film to watch with an oversized tub of popcorn and an overpriced coke.

But this is not the archetypal romantic comedy everyone is expecting.

Vaughn knew after successful runs with films like “Dodgeball” and last summer’s hit “Wedding Crashers,” people would line up to hear him deliver delightfully crude comedic dialogues to the lovely Aniston without even a thought to what might actually lie at the heart of the film.

This is not to say that “The Break-Up” lacks comedy, however, watching Gary Grobowski (Vaughn) and Brooke Meyers (Aniston) quarrel over who’s going to set the table, it’s hard not to at least crack a smile — especially when Gary goes on a diatribe about Michelangelo painting the “16th chapel.”

The two meet ever so romantically at Wrigley Field over a hot dog and a beer — only they’re sitting five seats apart. With buddy Johnny O (Jon Favreau) by his side — in a Sox jersey, no less — Gary whisks Brooke away from the “tucked-in shirt guy” she happens to be with, and the two are henceforth inseparable.

Unfortunately, the audience never actually witnesses the couple’s blissful courtship. Instead, a two-minute montage of happy snapshots takes the place of any on-screen chemistry, making it unclear why Brooke even hung around. But one thing is for certain: the beer-bellied owner of Three Brothers Tours and the sophisticated babe from the art gallery are bound for disaster.

The argument begins over lemons — he brings three; she wanted 12 — but this leads to much deeper issues that Gary isn’t willing to face. They break-up, but neither will budge over their condo.

Gary rolls in the pool table he always wanted, and Brooke invites her brother Richard’s (John Michael Higgins) a cappella group, the Tone Rangers, for an early morning rehearsal.

Lines are drawn, and the battle is on.

Vaughn’s side: the pounding pollock Johnny O, his realtor Riggleman (Jason Bateman), his perverted brother Lupus (Cole Hauser) and his work-a-holic brother Dennis (Vincent D’Onofrio). Brooke’s side: best friend Maddie (Joey Lauren Adams), co-worker Christopher (a hilarious Justin Long from “Dodgeball”) and domineering art gallery owner Marilyn Dean (Judy Davis rivaling Julianne Moore in “The Big Lebowski”).

Much like Brooke and Gary’s relationship, the film is better with the supporting cast in frame, which may be because Vaughn and Aniston are burdened with holding together a rather novice script by Jeremy Garelick and Jay Lavender.

After a throw down over a game of Pictionary, Brooke and Gary realize just how great the schism between them has become, deciding ultimately to sell the condo. Brooke isn’t ready to part ways for good, however, and with only two weeks left, she goes on an uncharacteristic spree of organized blind dates.

In the end both she and Gary learn even good relationships take a little work — but just how much work should true love really be?

It’s difficult not to find the fate of the couple more adventitious than planned. Partly because director Peyton Reed (“Bring It On”) creates no balance between the script’s capricious humor and contemplative monologues. But mostly because what took the writers a whole script to realize took the audience half an hour: Brooke and Gary shouldn’t be together.

Grade: B