← Back to Reviews
in
Day 118: August 26th, 2010
Couples Retreat
It may be paradise... but it's no vacation
The problem with this film is that it's not funny. The script is poorly thrown together to get some good looking females and some comedic guys in some tropical island paradise. That would be one of two reasons why I think so many funny people are in this flick, they get the chance to spent time in such a gorgeous place. The second would be that thing called a pay cheque.
The casting works and it doesn't. The male actors get most of the laughs...or I should say chuckles....wait, I mean smirks. I attribute this to their comedic talents, not the script. Favreau stands out in my opinion and it's nice to see him get some screen time, since his life has been dedicated to some kind of iron man. Vaughn does his usual thing, which grows tiresome at points, but at others he shows why people love him. His fast paced dialogue works here for the most part. Faizon Love and Jason Bateman also play the roles as they usually do, so serious forms of effort.
The women on the other hand, with the exception of Kristin Davis suffer tremendously. The script seems to favour the men for the funny bits and the women are left with nothing. Malin Akerman has been in some funny films, but here she plays the role straight and isn't a match for Vaughn. Kristen Bell is cute and adorable, here she is the wife of Jason Bateman...what? Who the hell decided that this pairing was a good choice? They are the least believable of all the couples.
As I said, the locale is gorgeous and it makes you sit there and cry at the fact that you're not there, instead your sitting at home jealous of these people and the fun they get to have. The script lacks the comedic touch, it also follows the path that every other comedy that deals with couples set before it. Couple have problems, throw them in unknown situation, they have a big fight over something, then come to realize they do love each other. Uninspired and coupled with the fact that the film is suppose to be funny but isn't, only hurts it more.
Couples Retreat is a film you can miss and be happy that you did. Not even the man himself, Jean Reno, can save this disaster.
Couples Retreat
It may be paradise... but it's no vacation
The problem with this film is that it's not funny. The script is poorly thrown together to get some good looking females and some comedic guys in some tropical island paradise. That would be one of two reasons why I think so many funny people are in this flick, they get the chance to spent time in such a gorgeous place. The second would be that thing called a pay cheque.
The casting works and it doesn't. The male actors get most of the laughs...or I should say chuckles....wait, I mean smirks. I attribute this to their comedic talents, not the script. Favreau stands out in my opinion and it's nice to see him get some screen time, since his life has been dedicated to some kind of iron man. Vaughn does his usual thing, which grows tiresome at points, but at others he shows why people love him. His fast paced dialogue works here for the most part. Faizon Love and Jason Bateman also play the roles as they usually do, so serious forms of effort.
The women on the other hand, with the exception of Kristin Davis suffer tremendously. The script seems to favour the men for the funny bits and the women are left with nothing. Malin Akerman has been in some funny films, but here she plays the role straight and isn't a match for Vaughn. Kristen Bell is cute and adorable, here she is the wife of Jason Bateman...what? Who the hell decided that this pairing was a good choice? They are the least believable of all the couples.
As I said, the locale is gorgeous and it makes you sit there and cry at the fact that you're not there, instead your sitting at home jealous of these people and the fun they get to have. The script lacks the comedic touch, it also follows the path that every other comedy that deals with couples set before it. Couple have problems, throw them in unknown situation, they have a big fight over something, then come to realize they do love each other. Uninspired and coupled with the fact that the film is suppose to be funny but isn't, only hurts it more.
Couples Retreat is a film you can miss and be happy that you did. Not even the man himself, Jean Reno, can save this disaster.