Couples Retreat (2009) Movie Review, Trailer, Film Still and Poster

USA 2009
Director: Peter Billingsley
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Faizon Love, Kristen Bell, Malin Åkerman, Kristin Davis, Kali Hawk, Tasha Smith, Jean Reno
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: 9 October 2009
Running Time: 1 hour 53 minutes

The Movie Review

Couples Retreat film still 1


COUPLES RETREAT
Storyline:
Cast:
Ending:
Overall:

It's a fun day the other day, it's a fun albeit rainy day on last Sunday, June 5th 2011. Me and my wife brought home several VCDs on crazy sale. After watching The Ward (2010) in a mall in North Jakarta, hop we go to another mall in South Jakarta. I mosey along there with my wife having nothing particular to do when we decided to go check some books in a famous book store. Yes, from The northern tip of North Jakarta all the way to the southern tip of South Jakarta, our inner city travel under the heavy rain and breaching the traffic gridlock finally paid off. The book store was discounting quite diverse collection of movies with a price of only Rp 5.000,- each! Hmmm.... Sweet deal!

The sales event offers many titles to select, Cop Out (2010), Repo Men (2010), The Wolfman (2010), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), The Invention of Lying (2009) and Where the Wild Things Are (2009) among others. Although my personal favorite is Mr. Bean collection! But sh*te did we pick some wrong titles! Including.... (of course) Couples Retreat.

Couples Retreat revolves around the miserable marriage life of four couples who are also friends. The retreat for the couples to the Island of Bora Bora is started when Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) are facing a deadlock when they can't conceive a child even after underwent so many efforts. So they propose to their six friends for a cheap tour package if they enrol as a group. Dave and Ronnie (Malin Åkerman), Joey and Lucy (Kristin Davis), Shane and Trudy are reluctant at first to go along with this trip, thinking they have jobs and kids to take care of. But eventually all of them pack their stuff and fly to Bora Bora of French Polynesia.

Arriving on the resort the guys see bunch of hot bikini-clad girls going to the opposite direction. Apparently, the couples are housed in the western part of the resort called Eden West, and they have quite rigorous program planned for them by the resort leader, Marcel (Jean Reno), to ensure the couples are focused to rebuild their love life through exercise together and obscure therapy sessions. Of course it is only Jason who's very anxious about the whole strict program with extra sharks that scare the sh*t out of Dave (Vince Vaughn) and passionate instructor, Salvadore (Carlos Ponce), that woes most of the wives! While the other guys, especially Joey (Jon Favreau), are drooling to go to Eden East, the place where all the singles are free to do everything with the spirit of spring break.

The heat between the couple is inevitable as some of the husbands and wives are self-centered and facing their different personal problems, like Joey and Lucy who's bored with their marriage, Jason who's a control freak, Dave who's a workaholic and Shane (Faizon Love) who's just got dumped by his wife, Jennifer (Tasha Smith) and dates a free-spirited 20ish girl, Trudy (Kali Hawk). So in the middle of their heighten boredom, the couples decide to go to the other part of the island, Eden East, no matter what, even though strictly forbidden by the Resort staff. Will the couples solve their problem or will they follow what their hearts are telling?

Couples Retreat is a boring travelogue of Bora Bora. It's a wonder why this movie is labelled as Comedy Romantic or even as Comedy. To call it as a comedy is one's own opinion, that is... if you can laugh at all the excessive whining of the characters about their personal/marriage issues. If you can then good for you mate. You have one heckuva (useful) sense of humour. Because throughout the running length, comedy can be said as absent. It's almost devoid of any laughter. Even in the first half of the movie (in this case VCD CD-A) it's hard to stifle a yawn. There are several smile-inducing scenes, but somehow it is painful to hear other people complaining about their problems with their therapist or listening to the characters arguing with each other. What is so romantic about that? Even the circling-sharks-around-Dave scene is not funny.

But to label this film as a drama with a smidgen of comedy, a pinch of romanticism and a welcome use of the beautiful location of Bora Bora is more appropriate and acceptable for a single viewing session. You see, the problems that are endured by the characters are compelling only arguably to those of their ages. And if you are willing to see how they find the solution to their marriage life and how to spice them up, that is actually what making this movie as worth-viewing. The solution in the end is pretty logic and does give us the expected-conclusion of Happy Ending without making it too cheesy.

So for fellow movie buffs, don't consider this as comedy 'cos it fails big time in that department, but as a light-hearted drama, I'd recommend this for those in the same age as them or for a relaxed evening (though might be a sleeping pill) for a couple.