Breaking Up
Directed by Robert Greenwald
Also starring: Salma Hayek (Monica), Abraham Alvarez (Minister)
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A peculiar little film, with a sometimes not very sympathetic romantic struggle, Breaking Up has a lot of good camera angles, and a very playful use of colors. Watch that first diner scene for a sharp-toned visual metaphor. Hayek and Crowe I find perfectly believable as Monica and Steve. Not predictable or reasonable, but believable.

I found the film fairly depressing, but this was because I think it is fairly true to the modern age. The couple is so in love with the idea of a relationship that the suppression of self and true desire is never questioned, it is treated as the normal pattern of the much coveted relationship. This is ironic since the notion of love and marriage in this century has steadily developed from a practical affair to a matter of the heart. "Love conquers all." So if you don't have one go get it at any price ASAP? The movie does a good job of demonstrating why the modern love cycle is in such disarray.
--petshark

Reviews:

This movie will delight some and disgust others. It's a story about a couple living in New York who have been dating for two and a half years, in between their many break ups.

Steve (Russell Crowe) and Monica (Salma Hayak) are virtually the only characters in this film, so the viewer is treated to a lot of Russell on the screen. However, viewers may find Steve to be a little hard to take, considering he is, as Russell put it himself, a d**khead.

Both Russell and Salma give sound, believable performances as a couple struggling to survive in a relationship. Any one of us could find ourselves in this situation. Let's hope we would handle it better.

Some viewers who have been in similar situations will be able to relate, others may not. Even so, I couldn't help but cry because I felt their pain.

Highlights include: Russell licking and kissing Salma's feet, Russell wearing a tux with tails and dancing with Salma next to a pool (very graceful), a mini shot of Russell's naked butt in the first make-up scene (definitely a rewind moment), and Russell with good hair (not too short and not too long).

Look for your tears to be jerked during the last street scene and the last phone call (sob).  This is not really a spoiler; after all, the movie is called Breaking Up.

Definitely worth the rental price and possibly to buy. Lots of Russell to get your fix with. It's better than two crows, but not quite up to three.

Note to director: Naked Russell in the bath tub could have been put to better use.

Note to Russell: Steer clear of scripts with "dream" sequences, please.
Rated: Two Crowes
~bbw