I’m going to do something I usually don’t do for my reviews… I’m going to start with my rating: 5 stars!  That’s right, this movie written by John Favreau, Vince Vaughn, and Dana Fox and directed by Peter Billingsley (long-time friend and business partner of Vince Vaughn but better known as Ralphie in A Christmas Story) had me ROTFLOL with a big ol’ Simpsons grin all over my face. Produced by Vaughn’s Wild West Picture Show, Couples Retreat doesn’t go overboard with crude, rude, or lewd humor. It delivers on humor gained from life and doesn’t take itself too seriously about marriage and long-lasting relationships. What Couples Retreat manages to do is present a caricature of four types of couples we all know well, and lets us look at life from their perspective.

After an opening montage of marriages from the 50′s through 2009, we meet the four couples that are featured in the movie. For fun I’ll list the couples as if this were The Newlywed Game:

• Couple #1 – Dave and Ronnie, played by Vince Vaughn (The Break-Up) and Malin Akerman (Watchmen); this is the couple that doesn’t realize they are looking at their marriage like a job and both just happen to be “working” in the same relationship with the same children, extended family and friends.
• Couple #2 – Joey and Lucy, played by John Favreau (I Love You Man) and Kristin Davis (Sex And the City); this is the couple that was high school sweethearts. She got pregnant at 18, then got married so they could raise their daughter together. Eventually they realize that they don’t love each other as much as they originally thought they did and are only still “married” just for their daughter.
• Couple #3 – Jason and Cynthia, played by Jason Bateman (Hancock) and Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall); this is the hard-working, does-everything-by-the-book, over-thinking couple that eventually realizes that they may not be as compatible as they thought. They are working on saving their marriage and have a business plan in place to dictate how their lives should be lived.
• Couple #4 – Shane and Trudy, played by Faizon Love (Who’s Your Caddy) and Kali Hawk (this is her first co-starring role in a movie); This is the newest couple in the movie as Shane is recently divorced and dating a younger woman. Only time will tell if he is happy and can move on or is still in shock from the divorce.

Now that the table is set, lets look at the main course – the plot. Jason and Cynthia are having marital problems as she is not able to get pregnant. The stress of this is causing a split in their marriage so they are going to make one last effort and try to save their marriage. Jason and Cynthia know of a tropical place called Eden that has the best couples’ therapy in the world. The only catch is they can’t afford it on their own so if they can get their friends to come along, the costs is cut in half. Reluctantly the other couples agree as a way to show support, get a free trip, and leave to start the journey with their friends. Each couple embodies someone we know and we can laugh with as events unfold at the Eden Resort.

Upon arrival to the resort they learn that there are two parts of Eden: Eden West, where the couples retreat is located and Eden East, where the singles retreat and parties are located. The couples’ retreat is run by Mr Marcel played by Jean Reno (The Pink Panther 2) who is the world’s leading couples spiritualist.  The resort’s job is to make sure that there are no distractions for the couples and allow them to re-learn why they married in the first place and find the missing spark of their marriage. Needless to say hilarity ensues as we watch the couples partake in the couple-building exercises.

Couples Retreat is a comedy that has romance as part of the plot; I would not classify this movie as a Rom-Com (Romantic Comedy for those that aren’t up on their movie ling0).  And boy-howdy do the jokes start flying fast and funny. There are some scenes in this movie that will have you laughing so hard that you’ll want to go back and see the movie again JUST to catch the jokes you missed the first time.  I want to go into detail of the jokes and humor but I’m afraid that if I do I’ll ruin the fun and surprises.  This is the type of comedy where the delivery of the humor is in the words and life situations and not related to pratfalls and sight gags. I won’t ruin the fun but I will say that the younger child of Dave and Ronnie (Vaughn and Akerman) steals the movie in two scenes involving a Home Depot-type store.

As for the main characters, the script was written in such a way as to showcase each couple and their specific problems without taking away from the overall plot.  With this type of movie comes similarities to previous movies such as Parenthood (which itself is now the basis for two TV shows) The Break-Up,  Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and I Love You Man. All five of these movies show the funnier side of marriage, relationships, and life. With that, I will say that both Vaughn and Favreau  have great comedy timing and play off of each other with relaxed ease making the comedy flow as if natural and not being pushed. The same is true of the script – it allows everyone to shine through the words and situation and again, no rude or lewd sight gags are needed.  I keep bringing this up as too many movies rely very heavily on crude and/or scatalogical humor, or setup gags that have a cruel punchline. Couples Retreat manages to deliver the humor with a great cast while being real to itself and not talking down to the audience.

Only adding to the humor are the secondary characters, the “quirks” that are always needed to help sell the story. One face you’ll recognize is that of Dr Ken Jeong (The Hangover) who plays the Therapist that Jason and Cynthia talk to at the resort. His soft hands / soft heart approach adds to the quirkiness as he is there to help the hard-nose straight-laced couple try to fix their marriage.  Another character that the audience loved was Stanley [as he says in the movie, "Stanley with a C"] played by Peter Serafinowicz (Shaun of the Dead). Stanley is the concierge of the resort and Mr Marcel’s right-hand man. Serafinowicz’s portrayal of Stanley reminded me of a very young Christopher Walken in style and appearance. A scene near the end of the film will have you laughing as Dave and Stanley battle each other in Guitar Hero. Yes, another movie works Guitar Hero into the plot it but does add some fun to the style in which used. (This has nothing to do with the review but can you name two other movies that  also used Guitar Hero?  That would be Rain Wilson’s The Rocker and Kevin James’ Paul Blart: Mall Cop.)

The humor (which I keep mentioning but can’t give too many details as it would ruin the fun) and the characters are worth the time to see Couples Retreat. Vaughn and company do a great job in delivering one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a long time. With a running time of 107 minutes, this PG-13 movie distributed by Universal is a movie I’d recommend seeing on Date Night or with a bunch of friends. You will get your money and time’s worth in seeing this movie.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Written up by the super great Jon Farveau and directed by Peter Billingsley, aka Ralphie from A Christmas Story if you must know, comes the latest comedy to spawn out, Couple’s Retreat. Starring Vince Vaughn, Kristen Bell, Malin Akerman, Jason Bateman and many others, the story follows four midwestern couples who embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to jet ski, spa and enjoy some fun in the sun. They soon discover that participation in the resort’s couples therapy is not optional. Suddenly, their group-rate vacation comes at a price. What follows is a hilarious look at real world problems.

Being coughed out by Stuber and Wild West Picture Show Productions, with the help of Universal Pictures, the film will set to be released on October 9th of this year. Stop reading this already, watch the trailer below:

ERIK BUCKMAN: Romantic comedies, like nearly every film in the horror genre, have a small playing field and a list of guidelines in which to play from. Here’s a list of some of those guidelines:

1. You must have an “airport scene.” You know, where the guy sprints to the airport to declare his love before it’s too late? If you can’t have an airport scene, you must have some kind of a chase with the guy (it’s always a dude) chasing the gal on foot while she is in a fast-moving 40-ton vehicle.
2. The story must focus on a guy who must either be a hardcore philanderer that is afraid of real love/commitment, or on a nasty woman who fills the large void where her personal life should be, with her career. The two are interchangeable…but not usually.
3. The kiss that changes everything.
4. The female lead must leave the friendly confines of home and visit an environment outside of her comfort zone with hilarious consequences.

PHILIP BARRETT: I’m doing to add guideline number five, which is solid chemistry between it’s leads. All of the above cliches are ultimately forgivable if the man and the woman come off as two people who at first wouldn’t like each other, but could conceivably get along and have some form of romance. The most recent Ghosts of Girlfriends Past worked largely in part because Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner played off of the other well. There are flaws in that film, yes, but the leads go hand in hand which wipes away most of the blemishes. One could say, romantic comedies live or die by chemistry. The Proposal, while not completely terrible, dies horribly by this cree.

BUCKMAN: Ah! But Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds worked well in The Proposal simply because they didn’t play well off each other. The duo are trapped within circumstances which are largely awkward. They captured this exquisitely. Showing that while they learn each other’s foibles, sweet, sweet movie love can happen anywhere and to anyone. In Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner’s characters knew each other since childhood. It makes sense that they matched up so well. Here, it makes sense that they do not.

Speaking of Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, I’m glad to see we don’t have an ancient and decrypted figure hitting on a tween in The Proposal. Now that’s awkward.

PBAR: But think about this; this is your boss, who has crapped all over you for so long and kept you from seeing your folks for three years solid and you complain about her. It’s a stretch to begin with to given the plot, I understand that, but I honestly doubt Ryan Reynolds would have gone along with it  The film gives nothing remotely likable about Bullock’s Margaret Tate and it’s not helped by the fact Bullock doesn’t drop “witch” mode the entire film. Reynolds on the other hand is one of the best things in the film. Even if I feel his character would have told “Maggie” ‘go screw your hamster’ when the proposal was given, he did a perfect job as Andrew and really sold the anger towards his father.

BUCKMAN: I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a rom-com that wasn’t a stretch. Some are stories work better than others but the film managed to suspend my disbelief for that hour and a half. I’m with you on Reynolds. Dude was outstanding. Another highlight was Betty White. She was a scene-stealer from start to finish. As for the lovely Mrs. Jesse James, I actually had the opposite problem. I never saw her as a fire-breathing dragon-lady. Sure all the signs were there: pulled back hair, tight pencil skirt and stiletto heels, but beyond that, I wasn’t buying that she was such a jerk.

PBAR: Oh I agree Bullock is still outright gorgeous for her age, no argument there. For some reason, and it’s not a knock on her, she’s always given me this “dominating bitch” vibe BUT in things like Demolition Man or Speed she doesn’t appear as such so she’s capable of not doing it. Opposite of Mr. Buckman, I felt that she was trying to be nice rather than she was coming off as nice.

I know rom-com’s are supposed to be taken with a grain of salt, but that to me sort of felt out of character for Reynolds’ Andrew. We’re told he wanted to run away to New York with high school love Gertrude (played by Malin Akerman, who sadly doesn’t break out the Silk Spectre outfit) which told me the character had this type of devil may care attitude and wouldn’t think twice about telling his boss where to go and stick it. Maybe it’s just my view on him, but I didn’t think he’d sit there and take it from her particularly when we see his rage in a few scenes with his father.

BUCKMAN: The film could have gone in different directions with further development of the Andrew/Gertrude and Andrew/Family storylines. Those stories, if made larger, would take away from the main focus which is Andrew and Margaret. Just having those mere tidbits of back-story was fine.

"I'd rather be here than Wolverine."

Nobody plays Ryan Reynolds better than Ryan Reynolds. Charming, witty and entertaining without making his characters a vexing experience, Reynolds easily makes this film a fun time for both parties of your date. Sandra Bullock is everything you’ve come to expect from her performances in this genre and does not disappoint, that is, if you are a fan of this genre. But for all the romanticism and predictability of this movie, the most memorable performance is that of Betty White as the slightly bizarre grandmother. She is hilarious and most of the film’s funniest moments are the result of her stealing scenes. Though, that’s what grandmas in comedies are supposed to do.

PBAR: Agreed on White as well, she’s always a delight to see. Even scenes that had me scratching my head like the scene in the woods where she’s chanting she makes work. The woman gracefully doesn’t come off as a stereotype, even though the script calls for her to do so at every turn.

At the end of the day, you could do a lot worse than The Proposal. It’s likable enough and will play well to it’s audience. It’s nowhere near as terrible as the ads will make you believe but that still doesn’t mean it’s any good. The script is problematic and only one half of it’s leads brings it to the table. It’s just another summer rom-com that will be forgotten as the years wear on. Outside of White and Reynolds, it does nothing too different than what’s already been seen and is completely predictable. However, this movie wasn’t catered for people like Buckman and I and should be something of a success.

BUCKMAN: Oh, I’d say the movie was catered to Buckman.

It’s no surprise that The Proposal has not only read the holy book of Rom-Com, but has put its teachings into practice. As it reads in Sandra 6:2, “…and Hugh Grant said to thee, ‘The mirth of feel-goodery and wacky setups shall bring the audience together, united in laughter with guffaws for even the most ardent cynic.’ ”

Amen.

Buckman’s Grade –

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

(NOTE – I reserve the right to change my final grade or anything in this review. I want to have time for this film to settle in and I’m taking this film very personally as I have a huge love for the graphic novel. Consider this review a work in progress.)

Watchmen Movie Review

The date is July 25, 2009. A brown-haired, medium-build punk stands in front of a microphone at the San Diego Comic Con 2009. He tells Zack Snyder he’s sorry for saying “Snyder couldn’t do it” or that “he wasn’t the right guy.” I apologize for saying he wasn’t going to be able to adapt Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ pitch perfect comic book. He then jumps at me in slow motion and beats my face in.

The comic and film take place in an alternative 1985 where Nixon is in his fifth term as president, and superheroes are as common as celebrities to the point they’re phased out of comic books. Unfortunately, due to the Keene Act of 1977, superheroes are outlawed and illegal, sans Edward Blake/The Comedian (Jeffery Dean Morgan). Poor Edward receives a visit from a hooded man who beats him to a pulp and tosses him out of a window. An ex-vigilante (and former Watchmen/Crimebuster) Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) decides to investigate the murder of Edward Blake, suspecting someone is picking off costumed heroes. What follows is a tale of deception, rape, violence, and saving the world.

Watchmen, where do I begin? First let’s get the big thing out of the way: Zack Snyder gets it and is as faithful as anyone has ever been to the source material. He understands that everything translates well and that even the appendices need to be integrated into the film, somehow. Sure, there are times when he takes liberties with the material (i.e. – Janey waltzes in while Manhattan is interviewed on the show, instead of complaining to the newspaper) and almost all of it works. To those who fear that Watchmen’s themes weren’t carried over, fret not. Take it from someone who’s read it over and over again for eight years, understands it well and is one of the world’s biggest fans… Snyder does it.

As has been obvious since the first trailer appeared, the film perfectly captures the visual look of the comic. This is a living, breathing alternative New York that feels like it existed. Major credit has to be given to Alex McDowell and his team for crafting such a desolate, beautiful version of reality. If I’m not mistaken, they only had one set for this New York that they so perfectly recreate. Every detail from the comic is treated with care and no stone is left askew. It’s truly a marvel to look it over and feel that everything is right. Larry Fong overlays these detailed sets with the stylized art of Dave Gibbons. Some shots literally look as if Fong took tracing paper and copied right from the novel.

All of this would be moot if the themes and characters weren’t retained well, which thankfully they are. Let me talk about a man who deserves an Oscar nomination as much as Heath Ledger did, maybe more. Jackie Earle Haley is Rorschach. Every line he utters and every action he performs embodies Walter Kovacs. As was the case in the comic, his most powerful scene is his origin and Haley hits every chord with precision. His “partner,” if you will, Nite Owl II/Dan Dreiberg, is played by a man who seems born for this role. Patrick Wilson already looked the part and seeing him on screen lives up to the expectations I had for him. Dan is probably the only “true” hero in the entire story. He’s Bruce Wayne mixed in with a boy scout and Wilson captures his pathetic nature perfectly. It’s unfortunate though that some of Dan’s back story was cut for time (we get it in the director’s cut) because I would have loved to see how Wilson would have handled said scenes with Hollis Mason (Stephen McHattie).

Jeffery Dean Morgan needs to be made a film star after this. Hopefully, unlike Gerard Butler, he’ll pick better roles. Like Butler did with Leonidas, Morgan shows his star power as The Comedian. It’s funny considering The Comedian is probably the most cynical and psychotic of the group, but Morgan delivers it and sends it back only to deliver it again. He’s the wise-cracking asshole he was in the book, but it never feels over-the-top or excessive. The scene where he spills his guts to Moloch came off as a man beaten, broken, and talking to who the only friend he thinks he has. In any other hands, it could have been a crazy man walking around muttering gibberish, something it wasn’t in the book.

Billy Crudup has made Dr. Manhattan his own, and by that I mean he has probably created the definitive version of the character. It’s going to be hard to imagine anyone else’s voice when picking up the book again (in fact, when reading it the other day, I could only hear his voice in my head when Manhattan came up.) A lot will be made of Haley’s Rorschach but Crudup is right there with him as far as performances go. Most readers imagine Manhattan to have an echoing, all-powerful voice and yet Crudup (and Snyder) does the opposite. We get a monotone voice that, really breaking it down, fits the character to a “T”. Dr. Manhattan doesn’t give a flying flip about anyone, which is why for the most part his facial expressions are limited to boredom. Crudup understands the difference between Jon Osterman and Dr. Manhattan – which is why we generally do feel for the guy when he’s about to be zapped to bits and become larger than life.

This leads us to the final two characters: Matthew Goode (Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias) and Malin Akerman (Laurie Juspeczyk/Silk Spectre II). Veidt was the least publicized of all the characters which made me worry that he wasn’t handled as well as he should have been or perhaps that Goode gave a lackluster performance. Adrian is the character most changed (but not different) from his comic counterpart. Goode made the decision to give him a German accent when he’s out of public and it will take some getting used to, but it works once it hits full swing. There are two added scenes that actually build upon Adrian’s character rather than tarnish it. It’s not a performance that’s as instantly likable as the four mentioned already but once it settles (and I really insist you take some time to absorb this film) it’s on a par with the others. As Adrian is my favorite character of the entire story, I was proud to see him brought to life so expertly.

Malin Akerman is a different animal altogether. Firstly: in her defense, the character of Laurie was written to be a whiny, confused brat who hates the idea of being a superhero because it was forced on her, and is defined by her relationships with Manhattan and Nite Owl II. Secondly, she’s easily the weakest of the bunch. She’s not bad, but she’s sort of the equivalent of Katie Holmes in Batman Begins. Akerman does look the part and gets better as the film goes on, but before we get there she shows trouble displaying the type of emotions she should. Carla Gugino plays her mother, Sally Jupiter, and does a tremendous job at conveying that character’s sexuality and pin-up lifestyle. It’s just a shame it takes Akerman a while to get acclimated to the role of her daughter.

The biggest fear of the novel’s fans was that the themes would suffer if Snyder opted to focus on ‘cool’ and ‘awesome’. Well, I can say that the themes are in fact translated and played out perfectly on screen. These are flawed people and every idiosyncrasy is on board for the ride. The themes of “peace through sacrifice” and the moral ambiguity of right and wrong is completely left intact even with the slight tweak that more or less works better for the “free energy” subplot that’s in there. Watchmen takes its time to develop everything and yet moves along briskly. This might be the best-paced film since Seven Samurai, where the time breezes by and no scene feels like it drags or needed to be slimmed.

In fact, that’s my main complaint with the film. As well as this version works, it still feels a little incomplete. The credits were rolling and aside from being in awe of what I had just watched, I wanted more. This may be due to the fact we’re promised a director’s cut already, but I still wanted to see some scenes extended. My biggest gripe is that Hollis Mason’s scenes are trimmed down, save for one scene at the beginning. For a character who is so integral to the plot and to why Dan is who he is, it was a shame to see him so reduced. The other scene I missed in there was Rorschach’s interaction with the psychiatrist Malcom Long who digs more deeply into who Rorschach is. The scene is still there and works, but for the uninitiated the book tells it from Malcon’s point of view and how it takes its toll on his marriage. It’s a wonderful, powerful exchange that will hopefully find its way into the directors cut.

Truthfully, I’m going to need more time to digest this film. Not enough time has passed for Watchmen to be declared the greatest film anyone’s seen in their life or that AFI needs to redo their 100 Best Films list. It’s ironic this is released after The Dark Knight because it’s been said that Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns were a new kind of comic book, and Watchmen followed Batman’s release in 1986. The same compliment could be paid to both films. Watchmen furthers the notion, in some ways better than The Dark Knight did, that comic book films can hold their own. Zack Snyder already was getting some major praise just for getting the film made so closely to the novel. For him to also retain the meat that made the Watchmen book what it is has to be one of the biggest achievements in the history of the medium.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆