Fellman's Movie Reviews

Couples Retreat is a 2009 comedy about four married couples that take a trip to an exotic island resort to work on their marriages. I’d like to say there’s more to it than that, but there really isn’t. It’s a pretty straightforward and simplistic plot. The movie stars Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Faizon Love, Kristin Davis, Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell, Jean Reno, and Peter Serafinowicz. Aside from starring in the movie, Vaughn and Favreau also co-wrote the movie with Dana Fox.  

I think this movie is the product of Vaughn and Favreau coming into middle age and wanting to write a script about it and try to make a movie for couples that might appeal to that particular demographic. Because this isn’t the kind of comedy that you normally would see either of these actors in. It’s kind of a left turn for both of them. It has a little bit of the kind of dialogue that you would normally see coming from Vince Vaughn, but not really. Even for a movie that he wrote, it’s a real limited amount.  

The plot itself isn’t all that complicated, either. It’s not like they end up on the island somehow, or there’s some other reason that they’re all on the island. They literally decide to go to the island and partake in the couple’s therapy. Like, I’ve seen children’s shows with more spontaneity than this movie.  

And the writing is not only predictable, it’s also kind of boring in how they get there. Everybody ends up with a happy ending. It’s a feel-good story. Romantic and whatnot. I get it. I get the premise. If that’s what they were going for when they wrote it, congratulations. Your basic cookie-cutter, forgettable, non-offensive, one-and-done movie.  

Because I know that while I was watching it, I don’t think there was a single scene where I was laughing. There isn’t any dialogue in this movie that I’m going to remember a year from now when I look back and see the poster for this movie and go “I saw that a long time ago”. There’s nothing that stands out. I watched it. It was a movie. Then it was over. That’s how I can describe “Couples Retreat”. 

So, no. Don’t go and see Couples Retreat. You’ll probably spend most of your time looking at your watch and going “is this almost over?” Because it just seems to drag on for most of the movie. And it’s not an action movie. It’s all dialogue. It’s just talking the entire time. So, it takes a while. But there’s better movies out there. We’ll get to them soon enough. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…