The Breaker Upperers

a hilarious and heartfelt ode to female friendship ... van Beek and Sami flesh out their premise with more than just gags, turning the tables on society’s expectation that romance is the path to happiness. Beyond the ample break-ups, the film offers a considered but always comic exploration of finding fulfilment in other ways. a too-neat third act, but it wins hearts and hearty guffaws along the way..

– Reviewer Sarah Watt in Screen Daily, 8 June 2018

The Breaker Upperers has the increasingly familiar patter of Kiwi comedy: dogged naivety, nervous politeness, hazy thoughts that trail off like vapor ... it’s a terrific showcase for the duo [of Jackie van Beek and Madeleine Sami] and their entire cast, which, besides a pop-up bit from [Jemaine] Clement, is curated from a local talent pool that Hollywood has yet to spelunk. After this, it should.

– Amy Nicholson, reviewing The Breaker Upperers in Variety, 14 March 2018

...it's hilarious and packed with witty, awkward and nutty ideas from start to finish ... Laugh-out-loud funny and at times wonderfully subtle, this ever-so-likable romp confirms something many already knew, [Jackie] Van Beek and [Madeleine] Sami can do almost anything.

– NZ Herald reviewer Francesca Rudkin, in a four star review, 3 May 2018

I want a nice clean break. I don't want years of heartache and stalking and therapy, and possible violence.

– A potential client (Oscar Kightley) of The Breaker Upperers

The first draft of the film was a ridiculous sort of sixty million dollar thing with speed boats and stuff but our producer quickly brought us back to reality who was like “you’re never going to have a budget for a speedboat and an underwater scuba thing.” So then we worked on what the tone of the film was going to be and the underlying story of these two women and what their lives have become because of some sort of trauma they haven’t dealt with and how they’re going to keep existing like that.

– Madeleine Sami on The Breaker Upperers