Contents.Plot Dave, a dealer for, and Ronnie, a stay-at-home mom, are a typical couple raising two young children in the suburbs of Chicago. They experience various stresses including redecorating their house and raising their kids.
Joey and Lucy are high school sweethearts with a smart but naive teenage daughter named Lacey. Their relationship is on the rocks and they are even considering a divorce once Lacey goes off to college. Jason and Cynthia are a neurotic couple who've experienced multiple failed attempts to conceive, and Shane, recently divorced from his wife, has a much younger twenty-year-old girlfriend, Trudy.At Dave's son's birthday party, Jason and Cynthia, using a PowerPoint presentation, announce their troubled marriage and they are considering divorce because they cannot have a baby. As a last-ditch effort, they have found a couples therapy resort named Eden. A deal called the Pelican Package is half the normal cost if they can get three other couples to join them.
In their presentation, they show beautiful pictures of sunlit beaches and beautiful locations. They also assure the others that the couples therapy is purely optional.Dave and Ronnie discuss their inability to go because of childcare responsibilities and decline the trip. In the middle of the night, their home security alarm is activated when Jason shows up unexpectedly to further sell the idea of the retreat.
Oct 7, 2009 - 'Couples Retreat' tells the story of four troubled couples and how they're healed by sitcom formulas. Why are they troubled? Because the script.
The commotion wakes the kids, who have overheard their parents' conversations of not being able to go because of them. Fearing that their parents are contemplating divorce, the kids have already arranged for Dave's father, Grandpa Jim-Jim to babysit so their parents can go to Eden.The retreat proves to be divided into Eden West and Eden East. West is for couples and uses the tagline 'Stay Together'. East is for singles and uses the tagline 'Come Together'. East and West attendees are not allowed to intermingle.Upon arrival at Eden West, the four couples are shown their villas.
At dinner, resort host Stanley informs them that couples therapy, which starts at 6 a.m., is actually mandatory. If any couple fails to attend, it will be taken as an indication that they want to leave, and a refund for Eden will be given, although not for their airfare. The group debates what to do. After an indulgent dinner with many delicacies, they decide to put up with 'a couple of hours' of therapy in order to enjoy the other amenities of the resort.In the morning, each couple meets with an assigned therapist.
All four couples learn that they have problems, even Ronnie and Dave, who thought they were fine. They endure resort owner Marcel's unusual methods, including swimming with and feeding and yoga sessions with amorous instructor Salvadore.On the fourth night, Trudy escapes to Eden East. The other seven, encouraged by Joey who is unsatisfied with his marriage, leave to find her. Following an argument between Cynthia and Jason, the men and women split up. As they try to find their way to the resort, the men end up arguing and pointing out each other's marriage mistakes.The women run into Salvadore who takes them to Eden East. The men come across the staff lounge where they find Stanley playing Guitar Hero. He threatens to report them to Marcel, but Dave challenges him to the game (without telling Stanley that he is involved in the game's production).
Stanley, after having lost the wager, directs them to Eden East, even though he knows he was tricked by Dave.When they arrive, Dave realizes what a good thing he has with Ronnie. He goes with her to be alone at a waterfall. Joey finds Lucy with Salvadore and knocks him out, reuniting with his wife.
Cynthia and Jason share drinks and end up becoming intimate. Shane runs into his ex-wife, who admits she still loves him. Shane tells Trudy to remain in Eden East and enjoy being single, then leaves with his ex-wife. All four couples return to Eden West.Marcel, seeing that the couples have worked out their problems, frees them from the therapy and allows them to go jet skiing, and with that, really enjoy the rest of their vacation.Cast. and as Dave and Ronnie (last name not revealed), a typical suburban couple with two children. Their marriage seems fine, but each of them realize that Dave tends to undermine Ronnie by crossing emotional boundaries and blocking her needs due to his exhausting work. At the conclusion of their therapy, Marcel grants them the as their animal spirit because they are both stubborn, and they bear the burden of not only their troubles but also those of others.
and as Joey and Lucy Tanzini, high school sweethearts that have fallen apart due to their belief that they 'missed out' on living after high school, having been married and becoming parents immediately after and are contemplating getting a divorce as soon as their daughter goes off to college. They have a daughter named Lacey who is a smart but somewhat rebellious teen. After reuniting in therapy, Marcel gives them a spirit token as they are pack animals but their hearts always lie with their destined mate.
and as Jason and Cynthia Smith, a troubled couple whose idea it was to go to Eden with their friends. Their issues stem from a lack of communication complicated with Jason's more controlling methods and their trouble with conceiving a baby. They are a very organized couple and are the most interested in repairing their relationship. Marcel grants them a token after they reunite, due to their innate ability to overcome any obstacles that stand in their way. and as Shane and Trudy, a completely polar opposite couple. Trudy and Shane soon tire of each other due to their differences in age and interests.
Trudy goes off to the local single scene, and while attempting to find her and bring her back, Shane and his wife Jennifer reconcile instead. They are given the token of the to symbolize that while they may visit other flowers from time to time, nothing is as sweet as returning to their hive. as Marcel, the lead therapist, founder and operator of the resort. plays Sctanley (pronounced Stanley, from a silent 'c'), the English manager of the resort who oversees the couples' stay and was the original scoring champion of Guitar Hero on the island. (Vaughan's DVD commentary explains the silent 'c' as simple fun). as Jennifer, ex-wife of Shane. Jonna Walsh as Lacey Tanzini.
as the therapist of Jason and Cynthia. as the therapist of Shane and Trudy.
as the therapist of Dave and Ronnie. as Salvadore, the yoga instructor. as Briggs, the native assistant to Marcel - his name is misspelt as Temeura in the opening credits. as Spa AttendantVince Vaughn's real-life father, Vernon Vaughn, plays his on-screen father.Soundtrack. Main article: Production Filming locations The primary location for filming was at the St.
Regis Bora Bora Resort, in. Other filming locations include Los Angeles, Universal Studios and O'Hare International Airport.Marketing Universal Pictures was criticized for removing actors Faizon Love and Kali Hawk from the international posters for the film, showing only six rather than the eight cast members used for the U.S. Promotional materials. The studio said it regretted causing offense and has abandoned plans to use the revised poster in other countries.Universal Pictures partnered with various groups for financial support to help market the film. Sponsors include the Tourism Board of Tahiti where the film was made, the manufacturers of and Rum, department store, and Crunch Gyms. The video game is also prominently featured in the film.Reception Box office The film was a box office success, ranking first for its opening weekend grossing $34,286,740 and becoming Vince Vaughn's highest box office success since 2006's. The film has grossed $109.2 million domestically and $58.8 million in other markets for a worldwide total of $171 million.
Critical reviews Couples Retreat received generally negative reviews from critics. On the film has an approval rating of 11% based on 159 reviews with an average rating of 3.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, 'Despite a talented cast and some reliably pleasant interplay between Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, Couples Retreat leaves viewers stranded in an arid, mirthless comedy.' On, the film has a score of 23 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating 'generally unfavorable reviews'. Audiences polled by gave the film an average grade of 'B' on an A+ to F scale.gave the film 2 out of 4 stars. He criticized the formulaic story and lack of character specifics, but says 'Vaughn's well-timed and smart dialogue' is one of the better parts of the film.wrote: 'Despite being mediocre and largely forgettable, Couples Retreat is not unpleasant, although it's easier to recommend it for home viewing than for a trip to a theater.' Dennis Harvey of wrote: 'Film has some bright ideas and an appealing cast that only fly so high due to pedestrian execution.'
Claudia Puig of described it as 'Tedious, unromantic, sophomoric and only sporadically funny.' Litigation A former model Irina Krupnik, filed a $10 million misappropriation-of-likeness, naming several including the producers of Couples Retreat arising from a purported scene in which actor Jon Favreau uses a photo of her. Manhattan Supreme Court Judge O. Peter Sherwood ruled against Krupnik, and she received nothing.
References. 2009-10-08. ^. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
^. Retrieved 2011-09-06. Can be seen from film credits and the official St.
Regis Bora Bora website. Miles Goslett (2009-11-15). Retrieved 2009-11-15. The Los Angeles Times. Rotten Tomatoes.
Retrieved June 9, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
From the original on 2018-12-20. (October 7, 2009). Www.rogerebert.com. (October 8, 2009). Reelviews Movie Reviews. Harvey, Dennis (7 October 2009). (October 8, 2009).
Retrieved 2010-10-30. Jonathan Turley. Retrieved 2013-04-11.External links. on. at AMCtv.com.
Dave and Ronnie, Jason and Cynthia, and Joey and Lucy are close. The group used to include Shane and Jennifer, but they divorced and she's gone.
Jason and Cynthia announce that their marriage is in trouble, and they beg their friends (and Shane's young girlfriend) to join them on a couples' retreat, at the package rate, on a tropical island. The others reluctantly agree, planning to play while Jason and Cynthia work on their marriage with an island psychologist. To everyone's surprise, the package is inflexible: each couple must participate in the couples' exercises. Soon fault lines appear in all four relationships. What's in store for each couple? I'm not a fan of this genre of film - but Couples Retreat never fails to bore me!
It is a much higher standard of a romantic comedy, and has deeper levels than all the wash and reused story lines of most terrible films within this genre that often get high reviews undeservedly. The characters all have their share of screen time and the chemistry between the whole group works hilariously!! No one tries to steal camera time, and the cast doesn't trip over each other in an attempt to try and be the funniest, they give each other space and the interaction works so organically to the situations within the film. The length of the movie is longer than most romantic comedies as well which is not a problem, but is instead a fantastic opportunity for such a genre to actually explore the individual relationships more personally, instead of using the same old relationship issues that we usually see. I usually pick and choose which actors/actresses I preferred in this movie, but all of the cast just clicked so well for me and kept the movie interesting.
A really fun movie, great to watch and watch again and again. A fantastic escape with hilarious results and down-to-earth relationship conflicts. A fresh approach to romantic comedies and a brave leap into new waters (no pun intended), and most of all - a success!