"COUPLES RETREAT" Review

It's nice to see Ralphie is still around. Although since I didn't see him, I'm not altogether sure if he ever shot his eye out with that Red Ryder BB Gun or not. Ralphie is better known by his stage name of Peter Billingsley, and his name pops up as the director in the movie Couples Retreat. It wasn't the last pleasant surprise of the film either. The other was the great writing by Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, and Dana Fox. The comic delivery of Vaughn, Favreau, and others was not a surprise. I expected them to do the comedy justice, and they did, along with their costars.

Vaughn, Favreau, Jason Bateman, and Faizon Love, are all goin through difficult points in their marriages to Malin Akerman, Kristen Davis, and Kristen Bell. Love has recently divorced, so has taken up with a 20 year old he just met who calls him "Daddy." Vaughn suggests he buy her a Hello Kitty book.

Vaughn and Akerman don't think they're troubled, but have their hands full with two little boys and the remodel of their house. (Wow, do I understand the last part of that one!) They drag the boys with them to the home store, and the little one mistakes the toilet model for a working toilet in the middle of the store. Favreau and Davis got pregnant at their prom, and are now counting down the days for their teenage daughter to leave for college so that they can leave each other. They can only think of being with other people, yet when their daughter tries to leave the house scantily clad, Favreau tells her her skirt looks like a maxi pad.

Bateman and Bell are having troubles conceiving, and it's put way too much strain on their marriage. They invite the other three couples to watch a Power Point Presentation, but the others are afraid to after having to sit through the last one which was all about Bateman's testicular cancerr scare. They don't want to sit through something again that is advising them to "check your scrotum for hardened nodules."

However, the presentation the couples are asked to sit through is one of a getaway for all of them. Bateman and Bell want to go to Eden, a couple's retreat, to see if their marriage is worth saving. They got in with a discounted rate, so need the other couples to go with thm. They convince them that it will be time spent relaxing and partying in the sun. Reluctantly, the other couples agree.

Once they get to Eden, though, they find it quite different. The couples are met by the host, Sctanley (with a C!) who gives them their itinerary for their time there. It's not all fun in the sun, as they are being forced to endure "couples skillbuilding" for several hours a day starting at 6 AM, and including strange group exercises, as well as private counseling sessions. The other couples think of leaving, but decide to stay in this beautiful tropical resort that "looks like a screensaver."

Anyone who has been married for awhile understands what these couples are going through, both good and bad. I was even able to pinpoint who was who among my family of friends, such as who was the woe-is-me Jason Bateman character. The best part was that when I wasn't laughing, I was smiling.