Couples Retreat

First Hit: There are some out loud laughs but overall this film's gags soon run out of energy and the film loses its way.

Vince Vaughn is always Vince Vaughn regardless of the film he is in. He doesn’t really play another character; he plays Vince Vaughn in a particular situation. 

In this film he suppose to be Dave a successful video game maker who doesn’t like picking tiles or door handles for his wife’s remodeling scheme. He’s a loyal friend and supports his friends in whatever they need to move their life forward. He is selfless in this way.

Dave and his wife Ronnie (played by Malin Akerman) get convinced to support another couple Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) on a trip to a paradise island for fun, leisure and couples therapy.

Jason and Cynthia think this trip will help them resolve their problems. With Dave and Ronnie's influence two other couples join them on this trip thereby getting a discount on their trip. The other couples are Joey (Jon Favreau) and his wife Lucy (Kristin Davis) and Shane (Faizon Love) with his girlfriend Trudy (Kali Hawk).

Each morning they meet up with the island's relationship guru for some bonding and exploratory couples exercise which include yoga, snorkeling and fish feeding. Each couple also meets with a therapist. 

Each scene creates situations which are played for a laugh. However, the scenes don’t make a cohesive film and we know how it’s going to end.

Vaughn is great as Vaughn but as Dave a family man who creates video games? I don’t think so. Davis was probably the best of the actors in creating a character of interest. Love and Hawk were amusing and fun to watch as a couple. It doesn’t surprise me that Vaughn and Favreau wrote this film as they were the center of male focus of this film. They were also the most egotistical and least interesting of the characters.

Overall: At best this is a video on a Sunday evening where nodding off wouldn't matter.

Sex and the City

First Hit: I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it and I loved one the themes of this film - forgiveness.

Because I haven’t had a television for over 15 years, I’d never seen the HBO television series of the same name. I didn’t know what to expect but I do know not many television series have converted well to the film medium (Think - Brady Bunch).

If the television series was as fun as this film was, then I might have enjoyed watching it the series. Four women, very different from each other yet connected through their femininity, love of the city (New York), and interest in men; share their differing life experiences together. Through all the ups and downs they, no matter what, are there for each other.

The major plot of this film is that Carrie (Played by Sarah Jessica Parker) is going to marry Mr. Big (Played by Chris Noth). Mr. Big, having been married twice before, just wants something simple and Sarah lets the wedding get away from her and it becomes the "talk of the town wedding". He just wants to be reassured that it is “just the two of us”.

The sub-plots are Samantha Jones (Played by Kim Cattrall) is living in LA as a manager for her much younger actor stud boyfriend. His work schedule is keeping him away from being home and giving Samantha what she likes, lots of sex. This is causing Samantha to wonder about her life and her hunky neighbor.

Charlotte York (Played by Kristin Davis) is the more straight and princess-like wife who couldn’t have a child and therefore adopts one. But then she becomes pregnant. She is in a happy marriage and is “happy most of the time” which is different from the other three girls.

Then there is Miranda Hobbes (Played by Cynthia Nixon) a tight lipped lawyer who thrives on her schedule but has a husband who is more open, kind, and flexible. These differences are starting to show and causing breaks their family unit and the scenes with the child in the restaurant and them together making love are especially telling.

With these 4 plots set in place this film unfolds in a clear, fun and thoughtful way.

Michael Patrick King is the film’s director and does a wonderful job of setting up the film for those of us who didn’t know the characters from television and then briskly moves the film along. Even though it is 145 minutes long, I was never bored and felt like each piece fit and brought something to the overall experience. What I liked most about the film is that there was this strong message throughout, which was forgiveness. It was about the forgiveness of friends, spouses, boyfriends, and fiancés.

Overall: Although there were some parts (1 crucial part) that didn’t work for me, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and the characters.