Friday Night Date: Couples Retreat
Friday, October 9th, 2009
This movie is like a stunning, charismatic brainiac whom everyone expects will excel as an environmental lawyer, or a Nobel Prize winner, or the next Bill Gates (in sky-high Louboutins instead of loafers), but who ends up working in a seedy L.A. agency booking gigs for Elvis impersonators. In other words, we expect that with its fame-packed cast, Couples Retreat will be an entertaining, gut-busting thrill of a show. From what we hear, though, the film fails to live up to its awesomeness potential.
The hook: Jason (Jason Bateman) and his perky, (much) younger wife Cynthia (Kristen Bell) are experiencing some marital bumps. So, they decide that only the idyllic Bora Bora can save their marriage and when they find a resort that specializes in couples counseling, they invite three other couples to join them to get a discounted group rate. The other couples think they’ve scored a cheap ticket to Paradise, but they soon realize they’ve been duped and that participating in the resort’s intensive couples therapy program is mandatory: talk about your emotions, or get voted off the island. What comes to light is that the broken couple who spearheaded the venture isn’t the only duo experiencing previously-unaddressed relationship woes.
Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman, Jon Favreau and Kristen Davis, and Faizon Love and Kali Hawk make up the other three couples. There’s an awkward erotic yoga session with a greasy, Speedo-clad instructor who enthusiastically ensures that his clients get the deepest stretch possible. But didn’t we get over inappropriate beachside hip-thrusting after watching Russell Brand’s raunchy performance in Forgetting Sarah Marshall? While we haven’t actually seen Couples Retreat, we’d bet you a Large popcorn and a bag of M&Ms that the original scene outshines this film’s overly erotic (and cliché) yoga teacher.
The scenery is also very familiar and we’ve seen some of these stars in similar settings in recent years: Kristen Bell in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Malin Akerman in The Heartbreak Kid, and Kristen Davis in the movie version of Sex and the City. It feels like we’ve already seen these marriages fall to pieces and we’ve already laughed at these jokes.
It’s a cruel, cruel world we live in if a cast of quality stars doesn’t guarantee that the movie in which they’re starring is of a certain caliber. All of these actors have flexed their mighty comedy muscles in the past, but it seems they’ve failed to work their magic to create an Old School-quality film. Instead, it looks like this movie is as authentic and creative as a can of Spam.
Go and see it for yourself, though, and then report back with a review on Monday! For your enjoyment, here’s the trailer.
