Breaking Upwards (2009)

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

New York couple Zoe (Zoe Lister-Jones) and Daryl (Daryl Wein) are starting to drift apart. They decide to be proactive and plan for their breakup. They plan for days off for their relationship. His parents Joanie (Julie White) and Alan (Peter Friedman) don't understand. Helaine (Andrea Martin) is her weird mom. Zoe sees another actor from her work as they struggle to navigate their new relationship path.I'm a big fan of Zoe Lister-Jones. She's funny and has great vulnerability. This is a reverse romance. It's not quite as fun. There are funny bits. There are moments of good chemistry but it's hard to stay with them. It's a nice attempt but it doesn't quite work.

I agree with the criticisms here, but find them easy to ignore. OK, it doesn't look like a Hollywood production, and the actors are not the best you could imagine. So what? I thought it was quite an accomplishment, given that the two stars are also involved in the screenplay, direction, and production. Yes, the characters don't really know what they want, but isn't that the point? The movie is a picture of a couple on the verge of permanence, and neither of them is quite ready to say yes or to say no. It's a very painful situation, but each of them feels the pain in different ways and at different times. After four years they know each other extremely well, but at the same time they can't quite get it together enough to really communicate. Yes, some of the things that they do are irrational, but people in this situation don't always think straight. Yes, there are lots of movies about breakups, but this one seemed original and very moving to me.

Ah, kids.My primary reaction watching "Breaking Upwards" was that I'm....old. OK, so I'm only 35, but this movie made 23 feel like a looong time ago. It follows the travails of two younguns struggling with a waning relationship while at the same time scared to cut loose altogether. They instead try to go at relationship resuscitation in an ordered, spreadsheet fashion, scheduling days apart and establishing ground rules. By the time the film is over, you just want to say "break up already, it's not that bad....trust me, you'll find someone else." I have a toddler and my wife is pregnant with our second child. I will have 23 year old kids someday, and I know from experience that things only seem to not be a big deal once you're old enough to look back at them -- everything seems important while you're in the middle of it. Therefore, out of respect to the filmmakers, and my own children, I don't want to dismiss the emotions in this movie as being unimportant just because it's kids feeling them. But my wife and I spent more time being amused by the two lovers in this movie than feeling empathy for them.A handful of fairly well-known stage actors appear in supporting roles, like Pablo Schreiber (brother of Liev), Peter Friedman, Andrea Martin and Julie White, who plays one of the most awful, overbearing Jewish mothers ever committed to film.This movie is likable but immature.Grade: B

It's cute and entertaining and features some good acting, especially by the parents, but it contains some obvious flaws. First, there is no conflict development. The movie opens up with us seeing a few quick shots of how the relationship is stale, and then it immediately moves into them strategizing their breakup. Second, both Daryl and Zoe are supposed to be 23 years old. This jars with their lifestyle, in that they share a fancy west village apartment together, portray themselves as mature, working professionals, have been in a serious relationship together for four years, and have all the fears and phobias that seem to strike mid-to-late-twenties couples. And yet, they're only a year out of college? There are also some cliché moments, such as Zoe deciding at the spur of the moment to buy a little dog; Daryl having the token gay brother; and Daryl getting offered an amazing job in another city that ultimately causes the couple to split (at least, for now). Nonetheless, the ending is appropriate, in that it shows that both Daryl and Zoe still love each other but need to move forward in their lives, giving hope that the relationship may not really be over (a resolution you longed for, since they had obviously reached a stale point in the relationship but display a love for each other that neither might realistically find again).