Four Midwestern couples embark on a journey to a tropical island resort for a vacation. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three is sucked into the resort's couples therapy. They soon discover that participation in the resorts couples therapy is not optional. Suddenly, their group-rate vacation comes at a price.
by Ray
on 13/01/2010 0 of 2 people found this review helpful
What I loved most: None
What I really hated: Inane humour
For a comedy about the psyche of married couples, "Couples Retreat" offers no insights to the dynamics of life after marriage and is more concerned with slapstick and farcical gags that are at times too outlandish to be considered humourous. The picturesque scenery of the titular vacation venue does little to salvage the slender and vacuous plot and the constant bickering between the neurotic and dysfunctional couples really gets on the nerve at times. Watching a bunch of couples suffering through a bad case of mid-life crisis is no fun, but would have been tolerable in the hands of the pool of excellent comedic talents. However, the plot did them no favours, resulting in perfunctory performances lacking in verve and spontaneity. The cast which has so much potential is blatantly wasted, all of whom regulated to cardboard caricatures for the sole purpose of delivering cheap laughs, making this film nothing short of a travesty.
"Couples Retreat" is no different from other romantic comedy films. Nevertheless, the lineup of well-known Hollywood actors in the movie does make newbie director Peter Bilingsley's first feature film much more entertaining.
The movie tells of four couples on a vacation to the island resort called Eden Island for some fun in the sun. Later when one of the couples, Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) undergo a therapy session to save their marriage, the other couples discover that they too are forced to abide by the hotel's program to carry forth with the counselling session.
Having starred in numerous comedies, actors Vince Vaughn and John Favreu who previously collaborated together in "Four Christmases" (2008), Faizon Love and Jason Bateman ("Juno" and popular TV series "Arrested Development") have not lost their touch as they manage to give a good performance that will make audiences laugh out loud. Although, it would've been good to see a difference in Vaughn's performance as compared to his previous works like "The Break-Up" and "Wedding Crashers".
Apart from the male actors, the lovely actresses in this one are also big names such as Kristen Bell ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall"), Kristin Davis ("Sex And The City"), Malin Akerman ("The Proposal") and Kali Hawk. It seemed as though these actresses were chosen more for their fit physique than their suitability for the roles as there are plenty of scenes were they bare their sexy bodies in bikinies. However, Kristen Bell stood out amongst the other girls with her more genuine approach to her character.
The movie kicked off to a great start, however lacked the punch to keep the interest going as there were issues in the movie that were solved and moved on too fast that could've been elaborated to make the story more engaging. If only director Peter Bilingsley could've managed to keep the interest going throughout as the beginning showed a promising introduction.
Overall, "Couples Retreat" is a romantic film that is best enjoyed when you don't have such high expectations on comedy - laughter will eventually follow at some point, no matter what age you are.
