Couples Retreat, 2009. Directed by Peter Billingsley

I went to see Couples Retreat on 31st October 2009 at the Odeon Marble Arch cinema in London. The film was directed by Peter Billingsley who was also involved in films such as Iron Man (2008). Billingsley started off as a child actor and then later became a film director. Couples Retreat is a comedy film which is centred on an Island called ‘Eden’. The film is a Hollywood production that lasted over one a half hours.

The story begins with a couple named Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) who have major problems with their relationship. They both think that they need a holiday to try and rediscover the love they once had for each other. So they decide to go to an island called ‘Egan’ to in which it involves a couple therapy retreat program which they hope will save their marriage. But in the process they invited their friends to go along with the idea, which they reluctantly said yes to. The names are Dave (Vince Vaughn) and Ronnie (Malin Akerman), Joey (John Favreau) and Lucy (Kristen Davis) and Shane (Faizon Love) and his girlfriend Trudy (Kali Hawk). These couples end up having a great time but also with some tough challenges on the way. Shane gets back together with his wife as well.

I found Couples Retreat interesting in regard to showing us possible difficulties within marriages but also how they can be resolved. There were also some very funny moments in the film when for example Salvador (Carlos Ponce) gives the couples certain tasks which involve being nude and showing them sexual positions and helping them to improve on this aspect. One scene in particular which was funny when Salvador interrupted Lucy and Joey’s positions and he demonstrated to Joey how he should be moving and how to be a sexually great in bed! I found this scene the funniest. Even though there were some funny moments, the humour varied a lot but not particularly in an interesting or challenging way. Perhaps Billingsley was over thinking the humour too much. The director did a great job in showing couple problems however. Additionally the characters were a bit obscure and strange.

The location of the holiday resort itself is beautiful. The sea, the waterfall, the trees and the beach makes a great spectacle and it does capture the viewer’s eye. It looks almost like paradise.

Overall I did find the film amusing but only to an extent. Even though the film involved some visually pleasing scenes in the and it was funny, for me the humour was not frequent enough and it wasn’t humorous in its entirety. The funny bits were in scattered places in the film which meant that the funny notion was being disturbed by the emphasis on other aspects. I wouldn’t watch this film again but it’s ok if you want something light hearted. I would rate this film 3/10.




The Rikowski web site, The Flow of Ideas is at:
http://www.flowideas.co.uk




Gregory's myspace profile and his blog is at:
www.myspace.com/92945414