Day 036 || Couples Retreat

Couples Retreat, 2009

Dir. Peter Billingsley

"It's like a little kid gets a puppy for the first time, just hugs it so much, snaps it's neck. It's puppy cradle death syndrome. All that love is gonna snap that neck."

Couples Retreat is a film that received a ton of hate when it was released and it seemed like it would be one of those comedies that really failed on all fronts, despite in incredibly likeable cast. Maybe I'm soft, or some other discerning factor, but I don't think Couples Retreat really deserved all the hate. It's not a great film, nor does it really add anything new to the comedy genre. It's just a solid little comedy, that sometimes divulges a bit too much into sappy and mishandled melodrama.

The best parts of the film are easily the actors, since the script is paper thin. Seeing Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau back together is always a welcomed treat. It's like visiting old friends again. And the daftly underused Faizon Love is great as well, as a tired, old man who's trying to keep up with his new twenty year old girlfriend. Jason Bateman is good, but it's sad to see his character so minimalistic and unlikeable. There's nothing really interesting or deep about any of these characters because all of their situations and problems ring hollow.

It's a shame because there's no real focus here. It's either sappy melodrama or light and breezy comedy. The film never really finds its equilibrium and we're treated to two very different tones that sometimes synch up, but for the most part feels uneven. Couples Retreat would've benefited from picking one tone or direction and sticking with it. Either give us a light-heated comedy, or dig deeper into the characters and give us a better written script that actually tries to say something.

Couples Retreat is a quasi-dramedy much in the vein of The Break Up, but whereas that film had rich characters and the balls to actually try to make a point, Couples Retreat is an efficient and often funny comedy, that is altogether thoughtless and has nothing really interesting to say on the subject of marriage or the problems that arise within marriages. Fans of the actors will be happy to just spend time with the enjoyable cast, but everyone else might be a little disappointed to the lack of real substance. Recommended for a diversion, just don't expect anything life-changing.

3 out of 5