Couples Retreat

Synopsis: Four couples vacation to a couple’s therapy resort in the hopes of saving one of their marriages.

Release Date: October 9, 2009     MPAA Rating: PG-13

Genre(s): Comedy, Romantic Comedy

Film Review

Marriage is difficult and it takes some effort to make it work. Well, duh. It doesn’t take a tropical resort vacation to figure that out, but that’s basically all that happens in this movie. Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) are having problems with their marriage so they decide to go to a couples therapy paradise called Eden. The problem is they can only afford the trip if they purchase the group rate. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! The bells of convenience ring as the rest of the characters just drop their lives and come along for the painful ride. That’s mostly what’s wrong with this movie; everything from the overly convenient plot, far too attractive wives, and the glossed over happy ending screams out fake plastic trees Hollywood. We don’t feel sorry for these characters because they’re not characters, they’re just some likeable actors having a grand old time in Bora Bora. The great cast looks like they had fun during their time together; our time however, is wasted on an unromantic, unmemorable, and banal piece of filmmaking.

There’s no way these couples actually exist. I can buy that older guys often get hooked up with much younger attractive women; it’s pretty commonplace in the dating world of today. But real marriage and family problems from this lot? It’s challenging to believe that when there’s no romantic connection at all. The cast all seems to get along just fine, but it takes more than friendly working relationships to deliver genuine emotion on the silver screen.

The funniest parts of the movie are when Dave’s (Vince Vaughn) cute son mistakes a store toilet for an actual working toilet resulting in well, you get the picture. The fact that the best comedy doesn’t even take place at the actual resort and that it comes from this kid rather than a cast that includes Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, and Faizon Love should give one an idea of how disappointingly unfunny the movie ends up being. The proven comedic talent of Vaughn, Bateman, and Love is regrettably restrained leaving them with nothing but sub par one-liners such as “ass-tastic” and “you sound like Chewbacca.” There are some slightly amusing scenes including Vaughn being surrounded by some baby sharks and a yoga class featuring an uncomfortably sexual instructor, but other than that it’s mostly cheap sex jokes, stereotypes, and bad caricatures. Former professional badass, Jean Reno, is reduced to a weird, zen-like, “couples-whisperer.” Say it ain’t so.

Cast and Crew

• Director(s): Peter Billingsley
• Producer(s): Jon FavreauVince VaughnDana FoxMalin Ackerman
• Screenwriter(s): Kristen BellKen JeongJason Bateman
• Story: Jon Favreau
• Cast: Vince VaughnJean RenoKristin Davis Dan LebentalEric EdwardsShepherd Frankel
• Editor(s): Susan Matheson
• Cinematographer: A.R. Rahman
• Production Designer(s):
• Costume Designer: 
• Casting Director(s): 
• Music Score: Hammerhead Productions
• Music Performed By: 
• Country Of Origin: USA