SNMR 9.8: "Couples Retreat"

GREEN'S PEEING IN THE DEMO TOILET IS BAAAAD REVIEW:

Jason and Cynthia (Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell) are thinking about getting a divorce. In an effort to salvage their marriage they want to go to an exclusive couples resort for the counseling. But they can't afford it on their own and need to convince their friends to go with them so they all can get the group rate. After much hesitation, Dave & Ronnie (Vince Vaughn, Malin Ackerman), Joey and Lucy (Jon Favreau, Kristin Davis), and recently divorced Shane and his twenty year old girlfriend (Faizon Love, Kali Hawk) agree to go - but for the fun only.

When they get to the resort they are stunned by the beauty (filmed on location at a resort in Bora Bora) of the place and the amazing food but are shocked to learn that the group therapy and couples counseling is not optional and starts promptly at six in the morning.


Through the counseling Dave & Ronnie discover issues in their marriage that they didn't know existed, Joey and Lucy's bickering gets worse and overweight Shane just doesn't have the energy to keep up with a twenty year old.

What follows are some moderately funny situations that couples could find themselves in. After a blowup between one of the couples and a wild night at the singles club on the other side of the island, they all realize that all married couples have issues and that their marital problems aren't as bad as they thought they were.

The starring cast is excellent and there are wonderful performances from the supporting cast, including Jean Reno, Peter Serafinowicz and especially Carlos Ponce.

Former child star Peter Billingsley makes his feature length directorial debut and does a decent job managing this star heavy cast, getting everyone as much screen time as possible within the confines of the story. The script was written by Vaughn & Favreau with Dana Fox is witty and the story moves along fairly well.

The DVD features some nice extras including filming in Bora Bora and on the yoga scenes as well as deleted & extended scenes and a short gag reel.

This is a decent film and well worth a rental on Netflix or better, as a freebie from your library.

*** out of *****

Couples Retreat (2009, PG-13, 114 minutes) starring Vince Vaughn, Malin Ackerman, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love and Jean Reno. Written by Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau and Dana Fox. Directed by Petere Billingsley.