Advertisements for films are often misleading.  The advertisements for Couples Retreat made me think that the film would be a harmless and average comedy, with perhaps a few very funny scenes. The advertisements are accurate; this film is all that and less. 

When Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) realize that their marital problems are serious, they convince their friends to join them at a couples counseling resort offering a group rate. Friends Dave (Vince Vaughn) and Ronnie (Malin Akerman) are happy but busy with demanding jobs and small children. Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristen Davis) are counting the days until their daughter leaves for college so they can divorce. Shane (Faizon Love) is divorced and has a twenty year old girlfriend.  These three couples do not want counseling, but are ready for some fun and sun. As Joey notes, the place “looks like a screensaver.” The couples are not very interesting, but the film picks up when they all arrive at the Eden West Resort in Bora Bora.

I have enjoyed the writing and acting efforts of friends Vaughn and Favreau since their excellent Swingers, and enjoyed seeing them together in The Breakup. Once again, it is fun to watch their comic timing in their shared scenes, but this film lacks the sharp observations and wit that first brought them attention. Bateman, Akerman, Bell and Love are fun to watch as well, but they can only do so much with their stock characters, and the film’s predictable end. The funniest moments in this film belong to a trio of strong supporting actors.

Jean Reno shows his comedy chops as Marcel, the “couples whisperer,” as he forces the couples to arise at six, undress on the beach and look at fish. When sharks arrive, Marcel lectures the couples about the “circle of life.”  Peter Serafinowicz is hilarious as Stanley, the supercilious assistant to Marcel. When Serafinowicz explains the many rules of the couples retreat, he tells the four couples that the retreat does not accept money, “But we do accept smiles.”  But the funniest scenes in the film (and I wish there were more of them) belong to Carlos Ponce, as Salvadore, the very buff yoga instructor. Salvadore wears very little and demonstrates yoga positions that all look like sex acts. He refuses to be insulted as he flirts with all of the women and touches the men. This may be the first time I have seen bulging muscles used as comedy props, but Ponce pulls it off with flair. All of his scenes made me laugh.

Vaughn and Favreau wrote the script with Dana Fox, and friend Peter Billingsley (best known for his childhood performance as Raphie in A Christmas Story) directed. It seems that these friends had lots of fun working together in Bora Bora, and there is certainly a lot of talent in this resort. But the writing is mediocre, and the charm of the performers is not enough to carry this film. Vaughn and Favreau have done and can do better.

Couples Retreat.  Directed by Peter Billingsley. Vince Vaughn(Dave), Jason Bateman (Jason), Faizon Love (Shane), Jon Favreau (Joey), Malin Akerman(Ronnie), Kristen Bell, (Cynthia), Kristen Davis(Lucy), Carlos Ponce(Salvadore ), Peter Serafinowicz(Stanley)and Jean Reno (Marcel).  Universal Pictures, 2009.

 

Gail sees a movie appears every Wednesday.

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