We Broke Up (2021) Movie Review

Directed by Jeff Rosenberg from a screenplay by him and Laura Jacqmin, We Broke Up follows a longtime couple as they navigate leaving each other. The film, which is meant to be a comedy, doesn’t provide much in the way of humor and offers even less character development. While there's an attempt to convey a message about relationships, We Broke Up is more focused on awkward shenanigans than in exploring its characters.

Lori (The Boys’ Aya Cash) and Doug (The Good Place’s William Jackson Harper) have been together for a decade and they’re happy together — or so they think. When Doug asks Lori to marry him, her non-answer leads to the couple breaking up. However, their break-up comes at an inopportune time, just days before they are scheduled to attend the wedding of Lori’s younger sister, Bea (Sarah Bolger), who is marrying Jayson (Tony Cavalero) only four weeks after they met. The quick nuptials are much to the chagrin of Lori and Bea’s mother Adelaide (Peri Gilpin), who had envisioned Lori and Doug walking down the aisle first. Lori and Doug decide to pretend they’re still together so as not to take away from Bea’s big day and so they don’t stir up drama at the family affair. Naturally, things get super awkward between the couple as they tiptoe around each other and the problem at the root of their relationship’s demise.

We Broke Up Aya Cash and William Jackson Harper — William Jackson Harper and Aya Cash in We Broke Up

We Broke Up certainly has its endearing moments and Harper and Cash are wonderful in their roles. But the film is too focused on making it extremely awkward for Lori and Doug, both of whom would rather skirt around their break-up than discuss it or its implications on their lives. They’re both on different pages and that’s realistic, but this is a couple who have been together for ten years and it’s difficult to imagine they’ve never spoken about their future together. Lori is comfortable where they are now — she enjoys sharing a cozy apartment with Doug and having stability, affection, and love. Doug, however, wants more than what they have now — marriage, kids, a single house.

Considering their primary point of contention isn’t explored until the final act (and even then it’s barely touched upon), the film falls short on what could have been a compelling arc. The differences in the couple’s wants and needs is an intriguing one, but it’s handled with little depth, which leaves a lot to be desired. Rosenberg and Jacqmin’s decision to compare and contrast Lori and Doug’s long-term, struggling relationship with that of Bea and Jayson’s new, hopeful one is an odd one, primarily because it takes away focus from Lori and Doug’s issues. The audience barely gets to know them as individuals or as a couple before they’re thrown into the wedding festivities.

The rest of We Broke Up only superficially explores the rift between the main characters, with their relationship woes coming in second to the comedic spectacle of the weekend, most of which is cringe-worthy instead of humorous. The idea was perhaps to show how, even when a couple has been together for a long time, things are not always what they seem. It’s a fantastic concept to tackle, but one the film mishandles entirely because it refuses to engage with the topic in any meaningful way. Harper and Cash, who do a great job portraying the tension between their characters, wind up doing most of the emotional heavy lifting, with their body language and facial expressions conveying what the screenplay doesn’t with its overall lack of thoughtful dialogue and thin plot.

There’s very little emotional investment all around, which is a shame because the story’s setup and the dynamic between Lori and Doug has so much potential. What starts off as an interesting premise quickly veers off into somewhat silly and ridiculous territory, with We Broke Up side-stepping the elephant in the room rather than work to address it. To do so would have certainly helped to elevate the material and the film struggles to balance the heart with the humor, which is a detriment to the story.

Next: Jeff Rosenberg & Laura Jacqmin Interview: We Broke Up

We Broke Up is now playing in theaters and is available on demand and digital as of April 23, 2021. The film is 80 minutes long and is not rated.

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