Post by StevePulaski on Mar 30, 2011 23:05:04 GMT -5
Vince Vaughn assures a therapist he has no problems in his marriage in Couples Retreat.
Rating: ★★
When you watch a comedy film, one that is supposed to be funny, and it's more of a drama, combined with few comedic elements, it sucks. You feel cheated. Couples Retreat is a film stuck in the wrong genre. It states it's a comedy, but doesn't work well as one. This could've been a serious movie, and really should've been considered. But with names like Vince Vaughn, Kristen Bell, and Faizon Love it obviously wouldn't have worked.
What we get is a poor comedy stuck in a drama filled plot. It's almost a bad hybrid. The humor is added into make us feel like it's a comedy when it isn't. Almost nothing in the film is funny or worthy of the title "humor." Vince Vaughn's quick witted mind is probably the only think that works for this movie. No one else gives their potential.
Vince Vaughn and Malin à kerman play Dave and Ronnie. A couple with two children, a seemingly functional marriage, but it's the classic Husband too busy, Wife wants fun in relationship.
Jon Favreau and Kristin Davis play Joey and Lucy. They married early meaning Joey couldn't fool around with younger females and had to fulfill Lucy's needs. They have a teenage daughter going through the "teenage daughter" phase. They fight periodically and need some time away.
Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell play Jason and Cynthia. Their marriage is possibly the worst of the bunch. They come up with the amazing plan to take their friends to Eden to couple therapy where this mess begins.
Faizon Love and Kali Hawk play Shane and Trudy. Shane and Trudy are uncomfortable because of their drastic age difference. Trudy expects a lot from Shane and Shane can only give so much. Halfway through the movie, Trudy goes out to party and take advantage of the idea they are on sort of a "vacation."
Jason and Cynthia take the other three couples out to Eden, a place where couples enjoy a luxurious paradise but they can't take part in too much of it. They must attend couple therapy in the early morning hours before having their own fun.
Couples Retreat is not a comedy. It's a poorly written drama. It packs in a respectable amount of character development and recognizable faces, but overall the screenplay is just lukewarm and general. It runs at 113 minutes which is way too long for a movie like this.
It's runtime could be at least fifteen minutes less if some of the dreadfully boring and unfunny therapy scenes were cut out. If the therapy instructor's dialog would've been cleverly written and not just thrown together, idiotic sitcom craziness Couples Retreat may have had something going for it. Instead it takes the easy way out of not trying to be memorable or clever. Just cliche.
The scenery in Couples Retreat is the best thing the film has going for it next to Vaughn. In the trailers to the film made it look like a CGI island. In the film they actually go to the island which was really a plus. One character, can't remember by name, might have been Jon Favreau, said "it looks like a screensaver." It truly does. It's almost too gorgeous.
The film is totally not fit for the comedy genre. Being on the verge of divorce isn't funny and is actually a sad topic. With the right writing and a more serious approach Couples Retreat could've retreated us to a more enjoyable and memorable film. Instead we surrender to its simple mindness and unfunny gags.
Moral of the story: When you're watching something that is supposed to be funny and it isn't. It's undeniably awkward.
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Faizon Love, Kristen Bell, Malin à kerman, Kristin Davis, and Kali Hawk. Directed by: Peter Billingsley.