The New Zealand comedy “The Breaker Upperers” adds some welcome irreverence to the homogenized mix of Netflix comedies. This collaboration between Jackie van Beek and Madeleine Sami — who wrote, directed and star together — exhibits their fairly irresistible comic chemistry, even if the conceit of the movie wears a bit thin.
Their characters, Jen (Van Beek) and Mel (Sami), operate an agency that helps clients too wimpy or sneaky to end their own relationships. Each case requires its own form of deception. The two are introduced posing as police officers who tell a woman (Celia Pacquola) that her husband — who is about to flee to Rio — has disappeared.
This is not an airtight line of work; for starters, as the movie acknowledges, it relies on Jen and Mel’s never running into anyone they deceive. But the business does supply Sami and Van Beek with a steady stream of gags until it becomes clear that the film’s real subject is their friendship. Mel has too much empathy to be a good liar, while Jen has grown wistful over the rocky end of one of her own past relationships. A cloud of mawkishness looms, though it never quite overshadows the rest.
Also funny is James Rolleston, who dryly steals scenes as a 17-year-old rugby player who seeks out Jen and Mel’s services. Not only is he probably too young to be experiencing such a baggage-laden breakup, but he is also, amusingly, not the sharpest tool in the shed.
That said, it’s possible the jokes about his bossy Maori girlfriend (Ana Scotney) play well in New Zealand. Here, they lean too heavily on stereotyping to land.
Additional Information:
“The Breaker Upperers"Not rated. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.