That is a weird title, right?  The Breaker Upperers (2018) is a comedy set in New Zealand, which is a familiar yet strange place in and of itself.  If you see this movie, you will notice the influence of American culture, but a style of humor that is foreign despite them speaking the same language.  What I appreciated, though I had to find this through internet research instead of anything seen in the film, is that Catholicism is the largest Christian sect in the country.  I could have used some of that here, with a lot of material that is difficult for a Catholic to swallow.  What is at odds with Church teaching should be evident from the following synopsis.  What I will give it credit for, however, is it ending on a fairly solid pro-life note.  Intrigued yet?  Consider that a warning.

There is nothing to consider about The Breaker Upperers.  Jennifer “Jen” (Jackie van Beek) and Mel (Madeleine Sami) are the eponymous pair who have made it their job to find ways to break apart unhappy couples.  Through an opening montage, we see them in a variety of scenarios playing the needed role to supposedly resolve those who no longer wish to be together.  This comes after we see them dressed as police officers meeting Anna (Celia Pacquola).  One of Jen and Mel’s methods is to claim their client has gone missing, and they come as cops to report to Anna the “disappearance.”  Anna does not take this news well, and Jen and Mel drive off with her ex in their back seat.  Jen and Mel make quite the pair, with the former being the more business-like, and the latter being the gentler one.  Things are going well for them until one night they are invited to dinner with Jen’s parents.  During the meal, her brother informs her that her former boyfriend, Joe (Cohen Holloway), has moved back to Auckland.  She gets more information while they do cocaine in the bathroom, so, yeah. . . .  The news triggers a lot of unhappy memories for Jen, though we soon learn Joe’s cheating is what brought her to Mel.  Joe had been two-timing the women with each other, and it is part of the reason why they decided to start their cruel business.  While Jen obsesses a bit over Joe, she and Mel have another job to do.  They are contracted by the up-and-coming rugby player Jordan (James Rolleston) to get his girlfriend, Sepa (Ana Scotney), out of his life.  In their interview, Mel develops an attraction for Jordan despite him being several years her junior, and not being the brightest.  The feeling is mutual, which is how she is chosen to pose as a woman he has impregnated.  When this is all presented to Sepa, she rampages with her friends and chase Jen, Jordan, and Mel back to their car.  A little while later, Jen and Mel encounter Anna while they are out having lunch, and their one-time customer is confused that they are not in uniform.  What is also clear is that Anna is not over her lost loved one, and she tries to get them to help her put up missing flyers around town.  It is Mel who takes pity on her, and they end up taking Anna out for some drinks.  The evening ends when Anna accidentally lights her hair on fire and partially burns her face while crashing a bachelorette party.  On the way to another job the next morning, luckily again dressed as officers of the law, Mel convinces Jen to stop at Anna’s house to check on the injured woman.  Somehow, Anna manages to convince them to take her to the precinct to look at her ex-husband’s file.  They manage to get into the building, but when they are not recognized they are taken as strippers and forced to perform.  My Catholic sensibilities stopped short of being fully offended when it remains a clothes-on affair.  What it does for Anna is show that Jen and Mel are not cops, and Mel specifically sees a friendship end.  Angered, Mel leaves Jen, taking off in her car, picking up Jordan, and taking the barely legal man to her place.  Jen walks in as they are in the throes of intercourse, and her anger over the situation is the final blow for their friendship.  Mel moves in with Jordan and his mother, while Jen tries to tell Joe that she is still in love with him.  As you might imagine, none of these scenarios go well, particularly for Jen, who is told unequivocally that things are over with Joe.  In talking with her mother, Shone (Rima Te Wiata), Jen realizes how terrible she has been to Mel, and how much she misses their friendship.  Jen tracks Mel down to a grocery store where Mel reveals that she is pregnant with Jordan’s child.  Though she is not ready to forgive Jen, Mel does make the Catholic choice to keep the child.  As pleased as Jen is by this decision, she can tell that Mel is not happy.  Thus, she approaches Sepa, who, once she has calmed her murderous rage, agrees to team up to win Jordan back.  They make their presentation while Jordan is about to announce that he is going to give up an opportunity to play professional rugby to raise a family.  The gesture works for everyone involved as Mel is touched by Jen’s efforts.  We close with Jen and Mel restarting their business, this time adding a service wherein they can help keep couples together.

There are a lot of different kinds of couples in The Breaker Upperers.  I mean that in terms of sexuality.  Whenever that topic comes up, there is a fine line for a Catholic to walk.  Homosexuality is considered a sin in Catholicism.  Whenever that is said, people get the impression that the Church treats such people as second-class citizens, for lack of a better term.  This is not true in the slightest, and I can say that because the Faith teaches that we are all sinners.  People who commit murder are sinners, as well as those who lie.  While some transgressions are considered graver than others, no matter their gravity they all separate us from God.  If we continue in that separation, then we will end up in Hell no matter the nature of the act which brings us to that place.  There is a path forward, and it involves contrition.  An avowed homosexual probably would not see it in these terms, and such ideas are far from this movie, at least in a religious sense.  It is good to see Jen and Mel be sorry for what they have done to one another.  That is something.  It also would not matter to such people because they do not believe in such things.  God not only believes in it, but He loves us and will always hold that door open for us to return.  Speaking of loving acts, I have to again credit Mel for keeping her pregnancy.  As a Catholic, I cringe at the casualness with which they talk about the possibility of abortion.  Unfortunately, this is a sign of current culture, and something that needs to be fought against in a Christ-like manner.  Because of that, we should celebrate when somebody makes such a counter-cultural decision like going through with a pregnancy.

I am guessing that most audiences will find The Breaker Upperers to be a little too counter-cultural.  This goes beyond my Catholic take on Mel’s pregnancy.  As such, I cannot give it a full recommendation with the amount of adult humor.