After Friends ended in 2004, Jennifer Aniston went on to have a successful movie career with her best films being hits like Marley & Me, Horrible Bosses and Dumplin’. Of course, it's also hard to forget about her iconic role in the 2006 romantic dramedy film The Break-Up, which made more than $100 million at the box office. Now, Aniston is getting real about how she felt about the timing of the offer for that role, which ironically came shortly after her "little separation” from Brad Pitt.
The year that Jennifer Aniston landed the role of a soon-to-be ex in The Break-Up, she was going through the same thing in real life. She and then-husband Brad Pitt announced their separation in 2005 amidst infidelity rumors about Pitt allegedly dating his Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-star Angelina Jolie. While re-watching The Break-Up during a segment for Vanity Fair, Aniston revealed how she felt about being offered the role soon and, apparently, she viewed it as a positive "opportunity." She explained:
I might have just gone through a separation. That little separation, I’m sure nobody remembers that. It was kind of cathartic to go right from that. So when they came to me with the offer, they were a little nervous about making the offer because they thought, ‘Oh, is that insensitive? Is it inappropriate?’ But I actually thought, ‘What a great opportunity.’ I knew it would actually kind of benefit me emotionally, just as a human being, and also serve the script and the character pretty well.
I definitely see where Jennifer Aniston is coming from. Considering The Break-Up is about an ex-couple trying to drive each other out of their shared condo, the notion of offering a role like that to an actress going through her own break-up seems awkward.
However, Aniston seemingly found it therapeutic, in a way, to play a character she could resonate with and add a touch of humor to. To that point, Aniston previously busted out a great Brad Pitt divorce comment during the final episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. That comment specifically related to how Break-Up represented a new chapter in her life after her divorce, proving that the end of a marriage doesn’t mean the end of personal growth and renewed joy.
The Peyton Reed-helmed film is already one of Jennifer Aniston’s best movies, but these latest comments make me appreciate it even more. As Aniston rewatched the big-screen comedy for VF, she pointed out the relatable conflict her character and Vince Vaughn’s went through, during which her character wanted her boyfriend to do the dishes while he preferred to play video games. That’s a scenario Aniston believes many couples still go through now, and she also thinks Reed's flick tackles other pain points partners face.
Sure, some viewers may not be over the inevitable split the two characters go through at the end of The Break-Up. However, the movie certainly flips the narrative on the standard rom-com trope of the guy trying to win back his love and succeeding. In real life, that’s not always how it works.
What I appreciate about TBU is that it does a great job showing that while two people may not be together anymore, they can still forge a friendship. And, simultaneously, both can find their own happy endings. In real life, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt reunited for a Fast Times at Ridgemont High virtual table read in 2021, during which Aniston described her and Pitt as “buddies.” So it seems there's a level of respect between the former spouses.
You would think after going through a “little separation” in real life that it wouldn’t be the best time to star in a movie about a break-up. However, I love that Jennifer Aniston owned her situation and helped make a movie that's still very entertaining.
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