The Break-Up (HD DVD)

To this point The Break-Up is this year's best romantic-comedy, which is saying something since it is described as the anti-romantic-comedy, a sentiment that carries through to the special features of this HD DVD/DVD Combo release.

The Break-Up is the movie that started one of Hollywood's latest gossip rag couples as Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston met just prior to shooting and continued their relationship well after the cameras stopped. The story finds the two meeting for the first time at a baseball game in the early moments of the film. This is followed by a montage of photos during the credit sequence and then five minutes later we have our happy couple living in a fantastic condo in downtown Chicago. Five minutes later... the shit hits the fan. Was it 12 lemons or three? You bet your ass it was 12 and when Gary (Vaughn) brings home only three it is the snowflake that started the avalanche as a night with the Gary and Brooke's (Aniston) families ends with the two, you guessed it, breaking up. This is our movie folks. This flick is filled with comedy and emotional drama, if there was a problem it would be the wishy-washy ending that is neither horrible or terrific, it just is... and you will get a look at the original option on the special features where an alternate ending is offered with two separate commentaries.

Speaking of commentaries and special features, Universal looks like they are really getting into the swing of things with their HD DVD releases as they have included yet another example of their brand new "U Control" feature on this HD DVD. Too bad it is yet another movie that doesn't really benefit from the immersive nature of the feature. For those that did not read my Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift HD DVD review (what's your problem) I will tell you what "U Control" is. This is a feature offered by Universal that is far better than Warner's In Movie Experience as it not only offers the viewer the opportunity for picture-in-picture (PIP) behind-the-scenes commentary and featurettes while the movie is playing it also offers production stills and whatever fancy gizmos come with each release. This is all made available via a fancy little navigation system in the lower right hand corner of the screen that changes based on what material is available at any given time. As for this release of The Break-Up it comes with a PIP feature and a look at some production stills during playback.

Now, while I love the "U Control" feature and think it is going to be a major selling point on future HD DVD releases with The Break-Up it felt like overkill, especially once you dive into the special features. This may be a rom-com, but damn... this disc is packed with extras. It all starts with the alternate ending I mentioned earlier, which I still don't think is a good ending, and it might be a little more rom-com than they were trying for, but you can find out for yourself as both Vince Vaughn and director Peyton Reed offer up separate commentaries. Next are the deleted and extended scenes along with some outtakes, none of which are really all that funny or fun. This tends to be a problem with these special features, the life and character of the movie just doesn't carry over to the extras. The Break-Up offers so much goodness that the features just can't hang. Plus, Vince Vaughn just isn't as funny once you have seen him trying several jokes, all very similar, all at the same time in the same scenario. This is what editing is for folks, it takes the funniest moment and gives it to us once, and it doesn't beat us over the head with nonsense.

Of course there is also the making-of featurette, which regurgitates a little of what you will hear and see in the "U Control" PIP and then along the same lines is a "Three Brothers: Tour of Chicago" feature which stems from Gary's job in the film and takes viewers on a trip around Chicago showing off the shooting locations. In HD Chicago looks fantastic and this might have actually been the best feature of the bunch. The last little making of feature ,that is actually more interesting than funny (even though it should have been vice versa), is called "Improv with Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn". This feature shows you one scene where the two characters have a long string of dialogue. The scene was shot using two cameras and getting the performance of each actor as it happened, not separate takes. Vaughn and Favreau offer optional commentary over the feature, which adds a little insight into their acting process and may be a good tool for aspiring actors. As a viewer that is not trying to act I thought it was interesting, but that is about it.

Finally, I told you there was a lot, are the two commentaries. Yup, on top of "U Control" and all that other stuff there are two separate commentaries. The first is with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston and the other is with director Peyton Reed. Believe me when I tell you, these are dull. Vaughn and Aniston offer nothing and Reed is just tiring if you have already watched everything else. If you must listen to one or both I would, however, suggest Reed. I know you are inclined to listen to Vaughn and Aniston yuck it up, but there isn't any tabloid news here folks just your average everyday blah.

Overall, the special features on this release are overkill. This is a romantic-comedy, not a sci-fi thriller with twists and turns up the ying-yang. All I need from a release like this is one commentary, a gag reel, a few deleted scenes and a thank you for my purchase. However, too many features never killed a good movie and that is what The Break-Up is. While this isn't the best romantic-comedy ever it is an alternative option to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and You've Got Mail. It isn't entirely cliché, it has heart and it has comedy. I think you will like it and it is worth your dollar.