Couples Retreat

Film Data

Title: Couples Retreat

Director: Peter Billingsley

Date of release: October 9,2009

Nationality: United States

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Production details:

·      Budget: $60,000,000 (estimated)

·      Revenue: $109,176,215 (USA) (29 January 2010)

Technical Equipment

·      Runtime 1 hr 53 min (113 min)

·      Sound Mix, DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

·      Cinematographic Process: Digital Intermediate (2K) (master format), Super 35 (source format)

Synopsis

The movie focuses on the lives of four couples. The married with two young kids Dave & Ronnie (Vince Vaughn & Malin Akerman). * The hyper-organized couple who cannot conceive Jason & Cynthia (Jason Bateman & Kristen Bell). * The married since they were in high school couple Joey & Lucy (Jon Favreau & Kristin Davis). * The recently divorced Shane (Faizon Love) and his new 20 year old girl friend, Trudy (Kali Hawk).

Jason and Cynthia are experiencing marriage problems and the propose a couples retreat to save their marriage. They set up their presentation at Ronnie & Daves house during one of the kids birthday party. The friends (minus Trudy, shes downstairs watching the magician with the kids) are all afraid they’re going to see another video about ball cancer but instead they see an island getaway. This paradise offers marital problem-solving, which the others are less keen on, but Jason and Cynthia drop the bomb and ask their friends to please take the trip with them, because if four couples sign up, they can get the discounted group rate. Shane, Joey and Lucy seem to like the idea, but Dave and Ronnie argue that they simply cannot drop out of their lives right now, with all they’ve got going on. Later on, Jason sneaks into Dave and Ronnies house, waking up everyone to plead with him to help him save his marriage. The kids say they overheard and they don’t want their parents to get divorced, so they called Grandpa and he will come watch them. The couples are off.

They arrive in Bora Bora, French Polynesia to a resort called Eden. What seems like a picture perfect resort, becomes a trap for the couples to hash out their marriage problems. Eden West is for married couples and Eden East is for singles.

The couples join at dinner and are told by Sctanley (with-a-c) that they can either have all the activities of the island (including the couples therapy) or none of it at all. After eating a delicious dinner, they decide it cant hurt to talk to a therapist for a little bit and then get on some jet-skis.

They wake up at 6 am to meet Monsieur Marcel who forces them to strip to their underwear and admire each others bodies. Each of the couples go off to their therapy sessions where Cinthia and Jason provide their therapist with an informational packet about their relationship. Jason later pulls a hypothetical gun on their therapist when he refuses to state what their odds are as a couple. Ronnie and Dave go in confident about their relationship but their therapist leaves them feeling not so sure about their relationship anymore.

The next day starts with Yoga, with an instructor (Carlos Ponce) who is very touchy feely, and all about encouragement by patting on the rear (men and women). Lucy obviously finds him attractive, asking him to help her go into a deep stretch that involves a sexual looking position.

Marcel tells the group that they must gather at the beach before sunrise the next morning, and not to eat or drink anything too late. Back at the cabins, Shane discovers that Trudy is missing. They decide she must have gone to Eden East to have some fun. The group takes canoes to get across during a storm and Jason and Cinthias get into an argument over her rowing and she jumps in the water and swims the rest of the way. She storms off into the woods after she tells Jason she is tired of being blamed for everything. The girls follow her and they come across the waterfall where they swim and have a couple drinks with the hot yoga instructor. Meanwhile, the guys discover the staff quarters where Sctanley is playing guitar hero. Sctanley threatens to call Marcel but Dave wagers a game of guitar hero for his help. Dave wins and Sctanley gives them directions to Eden East where a huge party is taking place.

At this party, Shanes ex wife arrives and she vows to win him back. Shane breaks up with Trudy and she understands. Dave and Ronnie reunite, Cinthia and Jason rekindle their marriage as well as Joey and Lucy, after Joey finds her dancing seductively with another man he becomes jealous and claims her. They all return to Eden West where Marcel is angry they are late. Dave tells him they all worked out their problems and wont be needing couples therapy anymore. Marcel agrees and presents them with their spirit animals. They all go jets king and roll credits!

Commentary

Even though this seems like a cookie cutter romantic comedy, the theme of divorce is very real especially where the U.S has a very high divorce rate. Amongst the backdrop of the most sought after honeymoon destination Bora Bora, these couples marriages are anything but paradise. Given that this is a very expensive honeymoon destination, shooting a movie at The Saint Regis Bora Bora must have cost a pretty penny. So it’s very evident that the needless guitar hero scene helped pay for the costs involved in shooting.