The Breaker Upperers (2018)

Written by SierraKiloBravo on June 29, 2020

Click here for a video version: https://youtu.be/Cv_KKXkY9mk

The Breaker Upperers is a 2018 New Zealand comedy that follows the adventures of two ladies with a unique business. Here’s the description to give you an idea of what it’s all about:

For the right price, BFFs Jen and Mel will ruthlessly end any romance. But when one grows a conscience, it threatens to derail their relationship.

Even as a New Zealander, I find New Zealand comedies to be very hit or miss. The Breaker Upperers falls kinda awkwardly somewhere in the middle. The key problem is that it can't seem to decide if it’s a comedy or a drama. It has funny parts for sure, but it's not consistently funny enough all the way through to be a full comedy, and nor does it have enough drama to be called a drama. It starts off strongly but then the laughs become more and more spread out as the runtime ticks over.

When it was funny it was hilarious. There's some great visual gags and physical comedy in it, and the whole Celine Dion sequence in particular had me in stitches. There’s also some great cameos from some famous Kiwi actors in it. Lucy Lawless, Jemaine Clement, and Rima Te Wiata all make appearances and steal their scenes.

So all up it’s what I would call a light comedy. You won’t burst your sides while watching it, but it will put a smile on your face.