Couples Retreat

FILM REVIEW : Couples Retreat (2009)

 

Julian Stark (pen name)<br />
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Founder/Editor: Movies and Other Things<br />
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http://julianstark-moviesandotherthings.blogspot.com

Last updated: 2010-04-09 23:42:50 by user07

Couples Retreat

A-bore a-bore in Bora Bora!

One Word Movie Review: BAD

Couples Retreat is about a group of people trying desperately to salvage something funny from a movie about a group of people trying desperately to salvage something from their dismal relationships. In the movie, the four couples find happiness despite horrible odds but in the theater, the audience is left with the wreckage of a failed movie experience. To cite the many cringe-worthy scenes of “comedy” is too depressing for this reviewer. If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve seen all the good bits.

Vince Vaughn is the creator of this misguided effort to mine the humor of failed relationships through “couples skill building” in a tropical paradise. He co-wrote and produced and, although he has had funny moments in a few films, he gets more screen opportunities than his motor-mouth characters deserve. His best efforts have been in supporting roles in films like Be Cool and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. In a lead role, his shtick wears thin quickly and his attempts to act earnestly and honestly care about others are a dull one-note snooze. The rest of the male leads are neurotic, insecure irritating guys you’d avoid like the swine flu if you met them at a spectacular resort like the one featured in this movie (the St. Regis Bora Bora).

The women are all attractive, spend time in bikinis and their underwear and are virtually indistinguishable from each other. A lot of supporting talent and scenery is wasted, especially Jean Reno as a French love guru (couples whisperer) and Carlos Ponce as a yoga instructor. Unless you like movies featuring lots of marriage counseling scenes (which I equate to scenes in dental chairs with lots of drilling sounds and squirming limbs), take a pass on this lame attempt at comedy.

The Story

Four couples have the usual challenges with their mates (boredom, control, fertility and work/life balance) and get blackmailed into a week in Tahiti after sitting through a powerpoint presentation. Now, if you are like most people who hate powerpoint presentations at work, the last thing you want is to sit through one in a movie on your free time. However, it convinces these eight losers to take off for paradise by the boogie-board light.

There is the “oh my, I’m not wearing underwear” scene, the “oh my, I’ve got an erection” scene, the “oh my, I’m naked” scene and the “oh my, I’m not jerking off” scene. Amid all this hilarity are the therapist conversations which are so boring and the love guru scenes which are even more boring. The rest of the story is like tag-team wrestling with each couple arguing until relieved by the next pair hanging over the ropes. When the four couples escape to the other side of the island where the singles crowd hangs out, you realize there was a whole other fun movie happening here. Eden West is where boring couples try to “stay together” while Eden East is where hot single people “come together”.  Once our miserable lovers escape to party-central Eden East, they magically re-discover their original love for each other and “come together” big time and then go jet-skiing.

The big wrap-up has Jean Reno giving each happy couple a wood carving of their “animal spirit” which represents the foundation of their love. Three guesses who gets the ass (donkey)? The lesson is simple, to stay in love you have to act like an ass. Well, old Vince has got that down solid. The other couples get a rabbit, wolf and a honeybee and are instructed to follow their animal spirit to blissville. Gosh, they will be married happily ever after now!

The Genre

The romantic comedy genre is in deep trouble. It did attempt a resurgence by getting down and dirty with a string of R-rated sex comedies but still, there are only a few actresses who can pull it off, namely Jennifer Aniston and – no, she’s about it and she’s getting too old now. She’s usually the older mom now, like in Marley & Me.

Couples Retreat may have started out as a R-rated sex comedy, like another Vince Vaughn effort, The Wedding Crashers which did good business and was actually funny in parts. This PG-13 effort is not sexy or raunchy enough to appeal to the mature audience yet it has nothing to appeal to the younger audience. All the men are aging, paunchy “dad” types without a dreamy hunk in the group. There isn’t any spark of attraction between the couples and the one scene where Vince plays “Guitar Hero” is just plain embarrassing.

The Overall Quality

Couples Retreat starts with old footage of couples from the early black & white days to the present, with David Bowie singing “Modern Love” in the background. Look closely at these clips as they are the best images in the movie. Vince’s wife then utters the summary phrase of the movie, talking about handles for her new kitchen but really referring to men, “I’’ll pick whatever knob I like”. From there, the movie slides into a quagmire of tasteless jokes about ball cancer, Richard Simmons, “asstastic” code words, kid’s public peeing, puppy cradle death syndrome, shark bites, Ponderosa room décor and yoga sex positions (boom-boom).

The actors are all playing this so serious, getting into the arguing and complaining and apparently not trying to be funny at all.  Perhaps the director led the cast astray by telling them it was all working fine and to go with it. Somewhere, this movie went off the rails. Perhaps it was all just an excuse for the crew to get a holiday in Bora Bora. If so, they spent their time in Eden East where the fun was.

The theater was very QUIET during the showing I attended, except for one loud guy with his date who laughed at all the inappropriate times, proving I guess, there is one in every crowd. I felt sorry for his date, and maybe she learned something and will take appropriate action soon.

Movie/Market Analysis

MarketBOB’s sentiment indicators, the GQS (Genre, Quality, Story) rate this movie a sad BEAR of a movie. If you stay until after the credits, you will see an outtake of the four guys pissing in the bushes beside an abandoned Starbucks. It’s not a funny scene, but it does sum up visually the overall rating this movie deserves.

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Couples Retreat

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Malin Akerman, Jason Batemen, Kristin Bell, Jon Favreau, Kristin Davis and Faizon Love
Comedy, 2009 (PG 13)

With their marriage quickly falling apart at the seems spurred on by infertility issues Dave and Cynthia enlist the help of their friends by asking them to go with them to a couples retreat where they can get counseling so that the price will be affordable. The other couples have no interest in couples counseling but motivated by a week in paradise and their friends' plea for help they decide to accompany them. It turns out that Dave and Cynthia weren't the only ones in need of a relationship overhaul. The singles island is a temptation for one and they all find themselves in a place they didn't think they would on their tropical vacation paradise retreat.

• This movie was funny but not as funny as I thought it would be.
• There was a lot of wordy dialogue throughout so there were moments that kind of got slow for me.
• Vince Vaughn was hilarious as usual. He plays the same kind of character over and over but does it well.
• Actually, they all did a great job showcasing their comedic acting abilities and it was a really great cast that I enjoyed watching.
• Malin Akerman is cute as a button.
• Kristin Davis has a great body. She was the oldest of the female leads but she looked just as good as the young bucks. It's always fun to see her in other movies after loving her so much as Charlotte in Sex In The City.
• I really like the storyline. The idea of couples working on their marriages and re connecting.
• That freakin' island was amazing!! I wanted to jump through the screen and be there myself it was so beautiful and idyllic. It was filmed in Bora Bora which is an island in Tahiti.

3 STARS

Just Me

Couples Retreat - **

Starring:  Vince Vaughn, Malin Ackerman, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Jon Favreau, Marcia Cross

Review:  I will have to be honest, I didn't really expect much from this and I didn't get much in return.  Really, I was just bored and decided to rent this movie.  There are a few good laughs in this movie but nothing really all that worth mentioning.  There are also very few memorable quotes which is very rare for a Vince Vaughn movie.  This made me realize that perhaps Vince Vaughn's dry, sarcastic humor is growing old and this may signal the end of his considerable run.  Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Vince Vaughn fan and think he is hilarious, but when he plays the same character in every movie, it can only last for so long before it's not quite that funny anymore.

The movie takes a decent premise of 4 couples going to a beautiful island for fun in the sun and some couples therapy on the side.  It turns out to be the other way around once they arrive as the resort's employees keep them on a strict schedule of couples events.  Naturally, each couple discovers problems they didn't know they had while talking about the ones they did know about.  This leads to the inevitable point where all the couples find themselves all doubting their relationships and at a point where they are all ready to break up.  Ultimately, they all get back together, even the ones we thought wouldn't, and everyone lives happily ever after.  There is very little character development to go along with this predictable story.  There is also very little that makes you care about any of the characters in this movie.  All in all, I should have waited until this was on cable.  A slight diversion but nothing more.  Not really worth your time.

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couples retreat

well, for grown people go on spring break it was kinda tame i thought.  i see this movie with younger folks.  like early to mid twenties.  with the dude from the office that everyone loves so much.  he was also in a really bad movie with george clooney about football in the 30’s or something.

john krasinski.  that’s the guy.

but as it was, i guess this film wasn’t  too terrible.  the funniest stuff you’ve already seen in the trailers.  and it tends to drag a bit at times.  and it takes them too long to get to the island in the first place.  they coulda shaved a good ten minutes off the front of the movie so we could get more bikini action.

but no.

it’s an enjoyable chick flick though.  i’m not gonna run out and buy it or anything, but it’s a good date movie.  it’s got some intimate scenes, but nothing too racy or provocative.

i find it incredibly ironic that the creators of swingers are starring together in a movie about relationships.  but then again, aren’t most movies about relationships?

it’s probably the best date movie out in a while though.  it’s way better than love happens.  or what was that one with gerard butler?  the ugly truth.  it’s better than that one too.  that one sucked.  so did love happens.

so there you go.  couples retreat.  not terrible.  but decent.  i enjoyed sitting next to long, lean and sexy much more than anything on screen.  well, there’s some terrific eye candy.  kristin bell might be the most exciting thing i’ve seen on screen since..since…i can’t remember.  i freaking love kristin bell.  go check out a film called reefer madness.  just do it.

and i love malin ackerman as well.  and i love that her hair is a different color in every movie she does.  and she looks great in any hair color!

Cal Reed

Couples Retreat

In 1996 Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau gave us a classic comedy in "Swingers" It announced Vince Vaughn as a major player in Hollywood and the movie became a classic. Vince Vaughn and his comic delivery of dialogue is unique and genius and he does it like no other. It is like he is the David Mamet of acting with his delivery. He was the perfect counterpoint to Owen Wilson in another new classic comedy "The Wedding Crashers". With those two and also "Old School" Vaughn was building a good career including his serious turn in "Into the Wild". Since those movies though I think Vaughn has been neutered and put in material too safe and normal. The material might not be up to his standard but his new movie "Couples Retreat" was co-written by him so here he is to blame. "Couples Retreat" is like a safe television sitcom that provides small chuckles but nothing laugh out loud. Without Vince Vaughn this would be one of the worst movies of the year but he saves it somewhat. Again his line readings and delivery are the best thing in this movie. Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau and Faison Love give good support also but the ladies are given the shaft. They are talented actresses but only Kelli Hawk is effective. This movie has a few laughs but mostly misses and the ending becomes safe and sappy. I don't want sappy Vince Vaughn, I want edgy "Old School" ,"Wedding Crashers" Vince Vaughn. The material is not here for him and the movie is light and safe instead of hilarious.

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Vincent Snavely

Movie Review: Couples Retreat (2009)

Couples Retreat
 
, the new comedy written by and starring Vince Vaughn and John Favreau, gets my vote for the most surprisingly unfunny movie of the year.  How is this possible?  While it is not terrible, it left me wondering how a film featuring a whole cast of brilliant comedians could turn out to be so overlong, tedious and completely devoid of humour.

I’ve been a fan of Vaughn and Favreau since the 1996 hit Swingers, so I had reasonable expectations for this film.  Then when I heard Jason Bateman and John Michael Higgins (two of my favourites from Arrested Development) were also going to be in it, Couples Retreat became a ‘must-watch’.  The rest of the cast wasn’t too shabby either – Malin Ackerman (The Heartbreak Kid), Kristin Davis (Sex and the City), Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Faizon Love (My Name is Earl), Ken Jeong (Role Models), Peter Serafinowicz (South Park) and Jean Reno (The Pink Panther 2) – all actors with comedic experience.

The premise was also very promising – four couples with various relationship problems going to a paradisaical resort.  The opportunities for laughter were seemingly endless.

However, for some unfathomable reason, Couples Retreat simply wasn’t funny.  Sure, some of jokes fell flat, but the bigger problem was that there just weren’t very many jokes in the 113-minute film.  Being Couples Retreat, there was of course a lot of focus on relationships, but it was as though they forgot that this was supposed to be a comedy.  The situations were custom made for laughter, yet the laughs rarely came.  And it was like this all the way through, until the end when the film was reduced to a sentimental mess with painfully forced resolutions.

Without the laughs, it was just a bunch of selfish, annoying, unlikable people being obnoxious in a beautiful place.  Now, being unlikable does not stop a person from being outrageously hilarious or even endearing (eg Homer Simpson, George Costanza, David Brent/Michael Scott, the entire Bluth family).  Unfortunately, not one of the characters in Couples Retreat managed it.  Only John Favreau delivered a few decent laughs and only Malin Ackerman’s character demonstrated mild endearing qualities.
At the end of the day, Couples Retreat was a massive disappointment.  I saw an interview with Vaughn and Bateman when they were promoting the film in Australia and they were absolutely hilarious by just being themselves.  It will forever remain a mystery to me why Couples Retreat couldn’t have channeled some of the hilarity of its wonderful stars into it.

2 stars out of 5

PJM

Last updated: 2010-01-05 22:03:47 by user04

Couples Retreat

Beautiful scenery, beautiful women, some comedy thrown in there, and decent  acting. Could this film go wrong anywhere? *SIGH* I hate to admit it, because I  really wanted to like this film, but it got bit confusing. No, the plot didn’t  confuse me, but rather the film’s tone. It was like it couldn’t decide if it  wanted to be a chick flick, romantic comedy, gross out comedy, drama, or what.  Granted the mixture of all those genres could work, but it has to be executed to  perfection, which is something that doesn’t happen here.
Plot aside, any red-blooded, straight man is going to love this flick for no  other reason than tons of women running around in bikinis, including Kristen  Bell, Kristin Davis, and Malin Akerman, although they could have pulled out the  bikinis a bit more. They were on an island paradise, after all.
Unfortunately for the women, they aren’t so lucky. With the exception of  Carlos Ponce, the men in this film aren’t exactly the best eye candy.
All that aside, the way the film starts off nearly had me knocked out from  boredom. One of my pet peeves about films are those that start out plodding  along or that try to cram everything in at the end. This film does both.  Ugh! 
It does pick up when we get the PowerPoint presentation from Jason Bateman’s  character, coincidentally named Jason, who is neurotic and controlling, and is  the most unlikable character, for me, of the bunch.
I love how on the way to the island, they decided to pan out and show the  beauty of the water. It was truly breathtaking. Then when they unload, these 3  girls take off their shirts and revel true bikini hardbodies, more beauty.
I didn’t too much care for how they made Faizon Love’s character one big fat,  old guy joke the entire time. It’s not like Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau are  sporting 6 packs. Also, I wasn’t too fond of his 20 year old girlfriend, who  plays an important, albeit inadvertant, role in his realizing something  important.
As I sad before, this is supposed to be a comedy, but save for a couple of  bits here and there, comedy was slim pickins. With a cast like this, they could  have done so much more with the funny.
A friend of mine said this was kind of Forgetting Sarah  Marshall for more mature audiences. Other than both films star  Kristen Bell, I don’t see the similarities, but I see where he was going with  it. Both films are in tropical paradises and deal with couples trying to  reconcile, although Sarah MArshall had a different set of circumstances.
Anyone who is in a relationship should watch this film. You may end up  finding out something you didn’t realize before. I know I did, and that’s a good  thing. Also a good thing, are  very hot actresses that save this thing for the  guys, because otherwise, this was a snorefest. Still, it wasn’t horrible. I’m  actually a bit torn as to what I think about this picture, to be honest. The  pros and cons equal out, and I did find it more than an above average picture,  so if I had to recommend this to someone, I would, so why not check it out?  Sure, it could have been better, but it also could be way worse.
3 1/2 out of 5 stars
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