Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston starred together in The Break-Up as Brooke and Gary, a couple stuck together in an apartment after their relationship ended. Having both invested in the apartment, neither one wanted to give it up. Instead, they divide the space and continue living together, making each other miserable in this essential breakup movie.
After a while, their little acts of defiance against each other turn their condo into a full-on warzone, as they try to one-up each other. Both Gary and Brooke give as good as they get, so it's hard to determine which of them is to blame for the breakup, or if both are at fault.
Gary: Took Brooke For Granted
One of the things that led to the breakup was the fact that Gary took Brooke for granted. She felt like he didn't appreciate her or anything she did for him, especially around the house. He refused to help as well, even when they were hosting a family dinner and Brooke had to cook, clean, and wash the dishes on her own.
Feeling unappreciated and unseen in a relationship can be frustrating, so Brooke's reaction was understandable. Unfortunately, even after revealing this, Gary didn't change, so during an argument, she broke up with him.
Brooke: Breaking Up With Gary For The Wrong Reason
Granted, their relationship hardly seemed healthy and probably should have ended earlier, but when Brooke broke up with him, it was for all the wrong reasons. She hoped the breakup would open his eyes and make him see what he would be missing out on if he lost her.
The logical choice here would have been for Brooke to communicate better with Gary. Instead, she broke up with him, even though she didn't want to, and resorted to manipulation to get him back. This was just one thing that showed what a dysfunctional movie couple they were.
Gary: The Pool Table
In retaliation of her breaking up with him, Gary bought the pool table he'd always wanted, but couldn't get because she wouldn't let him due to space issues. He put the pool table in their apartment without talking to her about it first and she only found out about it when she got home and saw him playing with his friends.
Like Brooke, Gary refused to handle their disintegrating relationship maturely and instead engaged in the same childish mind games she did. Brooke's argument against the table was a logical one, as they clearly didn't have enough space for it. Unfortunately, in his pursuit of revenge, Gary threw logic out the window.
Brooke: Threw Gary's Clothes Out
After they broke up and Gary brought the pool table into the house, Brooke went to their shared bedroom and threw all his clothes out into the corridor. This was her way of claiming the bedroom and showing Gary he was no longer welcome there since he refused to apologize to her or beg to get back together.
Tossing someone's belongings out is a common theme seen in movies to watch after a breakup, even though it's not exactly a mature one. For Gary and Brooke, it was the first step in a long line of terrible decisions that made a breakup that could have been amicable absolutely unbearable.
Gary: The Pictionary Fight
During a game night with their friends, they played Pictionary and were on the same team. The game became a fight when Brooke tried to draw a clue and Gary kept guessing wrong until time ran out. Rather than accepting the loss and moving on, he started attacking her over her drawing skills in front of their friends.
Hosting game night while they were fighting was a bad idea anyway because there was already tension between them. The competitive atmosphere of the night added to that, making their fight even worse.
Brooke: Insulted Gary's Career
During the heated argument over a game of Pictionary with their friends, Gary yelled at Brooke over her terrible drawing skills and she retaliated by belittling his job. As a tour bus guide, Gary didn't have a fancy job, but attacking him over it in front of everyone was a really low blow.
While Gary lit the match by yelling at Brooke right from the minute she started drawing, she stoked the fire by mocking his career and a bunch of other things she yelled at him. The issue escalated into one of the worst couple fights in TV history until one of their friends intervened and sat them down to address their toxic living situation.
Gary: Stood Brooke Up
Once they found a buyer for their condo, the reality of their breakup hit Brooke and she decided to make peace with Gary. Armed with tickets to a concert, she invited him to a night out, hoping it would lead to their reconciliation. Gary was wary of her invitation and in the end, he didn't show up, which broke her heart since she'd so bravely put herself out there.
While it was reasonable for Gary to be wary of Brooke's intentions since they'd spent the past days hurting each other, he was too quick to judge her here. Seeing her crying after getting stood up is one of the saddest moments in a romance film and a wake-up call for him. But it came too little too late and by then, Brooke didn't have it in her to try again.
Brooke: Fake Dating Other Men
When Gary wasn't reacting the way Brooke hoped after she broke up with him, she kicked things up a notch by pretending to date other men. She brought two different men to the condo they shared to "rub them in his face" and make him jealous.
The manipulation made things worse between them. Gary did get jealous, but he hid it and feigned indifference, frustrating Brooke even more. To make matters worse, one of the guys bonded with Gary instead and seemed to like him more than her. Inciting jealousy is never a sign of a healthy relationship or a proper way to show someone that they need to pay better attention to their partner.
Gary: Strip Poker In The Condo
As his retaliation for Brooke bringing dates to the house, Gary hosted a strip poker night with some friends and invited some women along too. When Brooke got home that night, she found half-naked people dancing in the living room, which hurt and embarrassed her.
Neither of them was good at communicating their issues and instead kept one-upping each other to hurt the other more. Rather than talk things out, they used jealousy to hurt each other, which didn't help matters at all, as was the case here.
Brooke: Getting Gary Kicked Off The Bowling Team
Gary and Brooke were on a couples' bowling team, along with a bunch of their friends. Knowing how important the team was to Gary, Brooke decided to get him kicked off to hurt him and manipulate him into begging her to take him back.
The whole thing was humiliating for Gary, as he had to take off the team shirt in front of everyone and leave shirtless. It only served to antagonize him and led to him plotting his revenge on her.