20 Realistic Movie Portrayals of Men Going Through Breakups

Albert Brooks’ ‘Modern Romance’ perfectly captures the descent into madness
20 Realistic Movie Portrayals of Men Going Through Breakups

“Woman goes on a journey of self-discovery following a breakup” is practically a whole genre of movie. Legally Blonde, Under the Tuscan Sun, Kill Bill — women be eating/praying/loving. Most of the time, the dude is fine — he’s at the strip club before the woman’s first tear even hits the ground. In real life, of course, men are just as devastated by the destruction of a relationship as women are. It would just be a lot less fun to see a movie where a woman slashes the tires of a mopey lump who’s worn the same hoodie for 20 days straight.

As Redditor ImaginaryAI recently pointed out, breakups are “almost like a withdrawal from a drug,” but most movies are “very, very unrealistic” in their depictions of dumped men. And so, they asked r/Movies, “What are good movies that go through the emotions and feelings of isolation, grief and dread after a breakup from a long relationship?” Reddit recommended cinematic retreats into other countries, into art and occasionally into science-fiction dystopias.

500 Days of Summer

The Wedding Singer

The Break-Up

Marriage Story

High Fidelity

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Swingers

The Five-Year Engagement

Don Jon

Blue Valentine

Manchester by the Sea

Mallrats

Everything Must Go

Cashback

London

Modern Romance

Blue Jay

Closer

Shaun of the Dead

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