Couples Retreat

It's never fun to watch talented people working below their ability. In Couples Retreat, we get a screenplay that is not up to the talents of two of its writers and stars, Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn. Oh, they're fine in the movie, and so is the rest of the cast. But watching it, you get the sense that their hearts aren't into the material. They give just enough to be passable. In this case, the screenplay has been written at almost a sitcom level. These guys are better than that.

Take this example - The plot concerns four different married couples who are best friends, and head to a private island resort where they get help in their individual relationships. Favreau's character is Joey. He's been married to Lucy (Kristin Davis) for years, but it's been a loveless one for a long time, and the only reason they're still together is because of their teenage daughter. Joey has a wandering eye toward the other women on the island, and does not do a good job of hiding it. In one scene, while Lucy is taking a shower, he sees a photo of a sexy woman in a bathing suit on the cover of a resort brochure. He props the photo up next to him, and prepares to start to pleasure himself. Just then, one of the resort workers walks in to deliver room service. Joey is caught in an awkward position, which could be funny, but there is no pay off. He just lies there on the couch, staring at the guy, and the employee just stares back uncomfortably until he leaves. They share a few awkward words, but the scene never builds to any real laughs, except the obvious one. It feels like the first draft of a scene that wasn't even finished.

I don't know if this is the fault of the screenplay, or the end result of Universal Pictures editing a movie that was originally R down to a somewhat racy PG-13. Given the success of movies like The Hangover and most of the works of Judd Apatow, studio executives should realize that smart adult comedies can usually be box office gold. Then again, the movie isn't really smart enough. It gives us stock characters with stock problems, and then gives them convoluted and stock solutions. Besides Joey and Lucy, the other couples include Dave and Ronnie (Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman), who are the seemingly perfect couple living the dream with a beautiful house and adorable kids, but are emotionally distant. Next up is Shane (Faizon Love), who is dealing with the recent divorce from his wife by romancing a 20-year-old woman named Trudy (Kali Hawk). Finally, there's Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell). They're the masterminds behind the getaway to begin with, and have come to save their failing marriage. They invite the other couples along, as there's a discount if they go with a multi-couple package. The island itself is run by a French mystic named Marcel (Jean Reno), who is supposed to come across as eccentric and wise, but the screenplay forgets to give him a real character, or anything interesting to do or say.

Couples Retreat never strives to be more than what it has to be. I can imagine a very funny and maybe even insightful movie to be made from this material, but it just wants to play it safe, and never go beyond the obvious. We never get to experience the characters beyond their marital problems, or their current situation. The characters in this movie are what happens when the screenwriter creates a basic personality or problem, but then never goes any further. They become one note, and only grab our attention because of the actors playing them. We like the actors, so we want to like the characters, but the connection is never made. It's hard to get involved with people who constantly find themselves thrown into contrived, sitcom situations. Such examples include the men feeling uncomfortable around a scantily-clad yoga instructor (Carlos Ponce), who gets a bit too much into their personal space, or dealing with menacing sharks during a marriage exercise out at sea. The set up and the outcome is pre-determined, and that's how it stays. There's no spark, and no indication that writers Favreau, Vaughn, and Dana Fox (What Happens in Vegas) had any real confidence in the material.

For most of the movie, it didn't bother me too much. I liked the actors, who all give lively performances, and I was enjoying the scenery, which was shot on location on the islands of Bora-Bora. But then the movie has to wrap up everything, and this is when it starts to bite off more than it can chew. We get a long, dragged-out climax that is so convoluted and contrived, it almost has to be seen to be believed. Despite how hard it struggles to tie everything up with a neat little bow, there's just far too many leaps of logic we have to take in order to accept what we're watching. There are too many conveniences, too much implausibility, and it all builds to a final scene that makes less sense the more you think about it. If you see this movie, ask yourself this when it's over - How could a certain character have known about everything that happened the night before, have everything prepared for the four couples, and know exactly what to say to them? Unless the character has spies all over the island that watch and listen in to everything that happens, there's no way they should have known.

This is a watchable movie, and it doesn't offend, but I honestly expected more. It's gutless and tame, when it should have been risky and smart. Couples Resort doesn't have much to recommend, or much to say. You get the sense that the cast got a lot more out of this movie than most audience members will. At least the actors got to enjoy a tropical paradise for a month or two. All we get is a movie that should have been more than what it is.

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