Jodi Breakers - Review

Jodi Breakers has the right mix of ups & downs, moments - insecure & 'aawww', comedy, that define a relationship. Unfortunately, it spends all its energy in just getting from one to the next which makes the whole story look functional rather than involved and connected.

Similarly, the actors too look like they are keeping a one-arm distance from their characters. Except for one moment, R Madhavan looked like he was trying to justify the decision to cast him, and he looked extremely uncomfortable opposite Bipasha Basu. And this is despite the fact that he looked comfortable with his non-hero-like body and the story used it well too.

One could call it a restrained performance, but Bipasha Basu, didn't look like she wanted to go too out of her way to emote. And yes, I'm one of those who believe that she can. As a natural outcome then, the 'chemistry' they were forcing themselves to invoke looked mighty unnatural.

Not that there is anything very natural about the basic plot line - Sid (R Madhavan) makes a business out of separating couples who aren't getting along too well with each other. And separate them he will - by hook or crook. Therefore, having a manipulative mind is inevitable and he takes a liking to Sonali (Bipasha Basu) because she is even better at coming up with manipulative ideas to kill a relationship.

When I first saw the trailer of Jodi Breakers, I assumed at least some portion of the film would be spent on how creatively the twosome break marriages apart. But, nothing of the sort, the one or two cases that are shown in a tiny bit of detail are outrageous. In fact, they aren't too creative about the type of reasons that couples want to break up either. It's either cheating or the mother-in-law. That's it.

The second half of the film isn't even about the breaking-up bit. It almost is a second film with another story at its center, except that we are carrying minimal baggage from the first half. In 30+ years of watching films, I've never been able to understand how easily people fall in and out of love and how willingly some characters forgive others who have wronged them in the most unimaginable way possible. Jodi Breakers is another film that can be added to that list of question marks. But, I guess, it is expected that a good cine-goer will forgive them. Oh, just like those characters! Aah...

Yet, there were some moments in the second half that looked like they'd evoke some emotion out of me. But, they remained half-hearted, half-baked. And it's sad that a romantic film cannot stir you. Same goes for the comedy parts as well. Except for a couple of well-timed one-liners by Omi Vaidya and R Madhavan, the film barely kept me from smiling. I guess I should be thankful that I didn't have to cringe too much.

On that note, let's bid adieu to another rom-com that misses the mark by a mile.