Review: 'Couples Retreat'
Plot: Four couples on an island resort discover that the counseling sessions are mandatory.
Bottom line: Predictable but occasionally amusing, with some tender moments from the fine cast.
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis
Director: Peter Billingsley
Length: 1:45
Vince Vaughn grows up in 'Couples Retreat'
Photo credit: Universal Pictures | From left to right, Joey (JON FAVREAU), Ronnie (MALIN AKERMAN), Dave (VINCE VAUGHN), Shane (FAIZON LOVE) and Lucy (KRISTIN DAVIS) co-star in "Couples Retreat," in which four Midwestern couples travel to a tropical island resort for a vacation -- with a twist. The comedy, directed by "A Christmas Story" star PETER BILLINGSLEY, opens Oct. 9, 2009.
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Trailer: Couples Retreat
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Scenes from the movie 'Couples Retreat'
As actor-writer Vince Vaughn ages along with his fans, he dependably finds the right material to connect with them. In his 20s he played a young buck in "Swingers" (1996), then became the overgrown party animal in "Old School" (2003) and "Wedding Crashers" (2005). In last year's "Four Christmases," he played opposite Reese Witherspoon as her committed boyfriend - not yet a husband, mind you.
In the comedy "Couples Retreat," the 39-year-old Vaughn has co-written himself the role of Dave, who is quite happily married to Ronnie (Malin Akerman). They're one of four couples who do everything together, even vacationing on an island resort where their friends Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) will undergo therapy to save their marriage. Unbeknownst to the others, the counseling is mandatory. Under the tutelage of "couples whisperer" Marcel (Jean Reno in a Speedo), the four twosomes end up facing problems they didn't know they had.
Anyone who's ever been herded around by overearnest resort staffers will appreciate at least a few moments in "Couples Retreat." Director Peter Billingsley (yes, Ralphie from "A Christmas Story") keeps the humor broad and corny: Jon Favreau and Kristin Davis play a couple obsessed with infidelity; overweight divorcee Shane (Faizon Love) tries to keep up with 20-year-old Trudy (newcomer Kali Hawk); and everyone must assume at least one weirdly sexual yoga position.
Vaughn, Favreau and Dana Fox ("What Happens in Vegas") wrote the script, though it won't take three of you to guess how it ends. Some of the best moments come at the very beginning, as Dave tries to wrangle his two young boys in a home-furnishing shop. Vaughn seems wonderfully natural with them, a sign, perhaps, of roles to come.
