The Break-Up has been inaccurately described as this summer’s first romantic comedy, a misleading and inappropriate label. There’s nothing romantic going on in the Vince Vaughn/Jennifer Aniston film and there’s very little real comedy either. Think a watered-down version of War of the Roses with less biting wit and sarcasm - and a little less physical comedy - and you’ve got a very good idea of what you can expect from this mean-spirited movie.

Vince Vaughn stars as Gary Grobowski, a Chicago tour bus guide who spends his days doing stand-up comedy routines in front of vacationers eager to laugh. After putting in a hard days-worth of joke telling, he enjoys nothing more than to go home, crash on his comfy sofa, pop open a few beers, and watch sports or play video games while his infinitely classier girlfriend, Brooke (Jennifer Aniston), takes care of everything around the house. She cooks, she cleans, and does all the planning for those occasions when Gary liberates his rear from the sofa and the two go out. She’s like a classic TV sitcom homemaker without the pearls but with a supermodel body.

The film provides nothing in the way of background information so as far as we can tell, the twosome spend 90% of their evenings together with Gary settled on the couch and Brooke waiting on him hand and foot. Two years of that and finally Brooke snaps out of her Stepford Wives-ish trance. She says enough is enough when Gary brings her three lemons instead of a dozen right before a big dinner party with both of their families. And come on people, how can you possibly have a party without 12 lemons? That's the straw that broke the camel's back? Most women would have pushed him off that couch at least a full year earlier.