Movie Breakdown: We Broke Up

Pre-Screening Stance:

Aya Cash was great in the most recent season of The Boys, and William Jackson Harper was great throughout the entirety of The Good Place. So yeah, I’m down for a rom-com that features the two of them.

Post-Screening Ramble:

With a runtime that’s just 80 minutes (including the credits), We Broke Up is a lean affair, but it still has plenty to offer. The film is centered around Doug (William Jackson Harper) and Lori (Aya Cash), a seemingly perfect couple who have been together for a decade. One day, off the cuff, Doug asks Lori to marry him, and she responds by throwing up. This brings their relationship to an abrupt end, but because they’re immediately due (and have responsibilities) at Lori’s sister’s wedding, they decide to tough it out until they return home.

While the majority of We Broke Up is dedicated to Doug and Lori, it isn’t just their film. Lori’s sister, Bea (Sarah Bolger), is an impulsive spaz who’s about to marry a total goof, Jayson (Tony Cavalero), and pretty much no one at their wedding believes it’s going to be something that lasts. Bea is also about to launch a company, and no one is convinced it will be successful. And Jayson, despite being a very positive, loving person, is considered to be an immature flake. It’s an overall interesting comparison to Doug and Lori, who look like mature adults in a “real” relationship, but their break up has revealed a hollow existence. Doug loves Lori, but her previous indiscretions and a lack of ambition have built up a lot of bitterness inside of him. Likewise, Lori loves Doug, but she isn’t operating on the same page as him, and instead of acknowledging it, she’s been pretending that everything is fine. Don’t judge a book by its cover, right?

Again, for a comedy with a very swift runtime, We Broke Up has a lot to unpack. I liked it. The film will open in theaters this Friday, April 16.

One Last Thought:

As a huge fan of Frasier, it was pretty fun to see Peri Gilpin (aka Roz Doyle) in this film. She isn’t in it a ton, but she does own the brief scenes that she’s featured in.