Critics: Jen, Vince Not So Hot Onscreen

By Stephen M. Silverman

05/26/2006 at 08:45 AM EDT

Stars Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston may have found romance while filming The Break-Up, but early reviews of the movie indicate that audiences may not feel the love.

Variety says the film is not the "boisterous comedy" one would expect from ads, and calls it "relentlessly unpleasant" and "ill-conceived virtually from the opening frame."

The Hollywood Reporter labels The Break-Up "a major disappointment of an anti-romantic comedy" and predicts the audience will give up on it long before its "tacked-on" ending.

At a recent press conference promoting the movie, Aniston talked about filming on the heels of her 2005 breakup from husband Brad Pitt. "It was definitely therapeutic," she said. "It was also all happening at the exact same time with my – you know."

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She continued, "At first, I thought it was a joke when I got the phone call from my agent about a movie called The Break-Up. I said, 'You've got to be kidding me.' But after reading the script, I thought there was no better way to heal than through laughter."

At the movie's May 22 Hollywood premiere, Vaughn, who is also a producer and writer of The Break-Up, said of the film, "I feel great. The response has been so good, the movie's very funny, and it also has some real moments in it."