Written by “The Film Nest” writer Rob R. (Raging Rob in the Comments section)
If I were an actor, where would I want to go to film a movie? A beautiful tropical island would probably be right near the top of my list (right behind outer space). It seems that a lot of people in Hollywood share my thoughts, as many romantic comedies of late have filmed in great tropical settings. Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Heartbreak Kid both had the gorgeous backdrops of Cabo San Lucas and Hawaii to soak in. The people behind Couples Retreat must have had the same great idea, as this movie was filmed mostly in Tahiti, and as a backdrop, it looks stunning (the location, not the actual film).
That's funny, I was just fiending for a drink housed in a coconut when I came across this.
Couples Retreat is the story of four couples, who all travel to a tropical island for a little R&R, or so they think. The first couple, played by Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman, are the happy couple who have it all, including a great seven year marriage and kids. Jon Favreau and Kristin Davis are the couple who have begun looking outside of their marriage for companionship. Faizon Love and Kali Hawk are the new couple with a big age difference. Finally, Jason Bateman and Kirsten Bell are the couple desperate to save their relationship, so they invite the others to go along with them to the Eden resort for a week of fun in the sun. When the couples arrive on site, they soon find that the couples therapy that Bateman and Bell’s characters are there to receive is also mandatory for them.
Couples Retreat was directed by Peter Billingsley, who most will remember as Ralphie Parker from the 1983 Christmas classic A Christmas Story (“You’ll shoot your eye out kid”). It was written by Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn. This film is yet another collaboration between Favreau and Vaughn, who have starred in many comedies together, most notably Swingers and Made (which Favreau also wrote). Also costarring in the film is Jason Bateman, who I’m a fan of, as he makes everything he’s in instantly more watchable, even Juno, and he had the best scene in all of Smokin’ Aces (“Gimme the padlock and put the chain on it”).
Escaped convicts also go to couples couseling.
Couples Retreat looks like a decent, if not too funny comedy. In the trailer, Faverau has most of the best lines and Vaughn displays his usual sarcastic line delivery. My only problem with this movie from what I can tell, besides the generic comedy aspect, is that all the couples save for Favreau and Kirsten Davis, are at least ten years apart in age and don’t look realistic together. Average looking 40-year old guys always get gorgeous twenty-something chicks that look like models. I guess that’s Hollywood for ya. Oh well. I was hoping the film would be given an R rating and will have more adult humor than it showcases in the preview and my prayers were answered. Hopefully that boosts the quality just a little bit.
You too can take a vacation with Couples Retreat on October 9th.
Today is the very definition of a slow news day. It’s been brutal trying to hunt down anything worthy of sharing with you. This might not normally be very newsworthy on a busy day, but I think it’s cool just the same.
The man who scored Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman, a mega-star in India, is set to score his first U.S. film, Couples Retreat. The film is about four couples who go vacationing together on a tropical island. It’s the first film Jon Favreau has written since The First $20 Million Is Always The Hardest, which if you’ve seen, kudos to you. If not, it’s his first since 2001′s Made. It stars Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Faizon Love, Kristen Bell, Malin Ackerman, Kristen Davis and Kali Hawk as the couples.
I had a chance to see a test screening of the film a couple of weeks ago and missed out. I’m pretty upset about it, as I have a feeling it’ll be good. Obviously it would’ve been a temporary score, though and not Rahman’s music.
Rahman won the Oscar for Best Score and Best Song (“Jai Ho”) for Slumdog and I have to imagine his sound will be very different for a relationship-based comedy, but I’m eager to see what he has in store.
Which Oscar-nominated song did you like better: “Jai Ho” or “O Saya?”
Ashton Kutcher made his name by punking others but this time it feels different. I guess, in the end, we would be the one’s getting punked by the news of Ashton’s possibly starring in the upcoming movie Traded. The clinging husband of Demi Moore would headline a film where a youth meets a pro football player. They would not be trading teams but rather positions in life. Variety says:
Story centers on a superstar NFL quarterback and a 12-year-old middle school geek who magically trade bodies, then quickly learn valuable lessons about humility and courage.
My only question is who plays the 12-year old geek, Kutcher? Dude’s body is that of a young, taut Swedish boy. He still has the look of someone who might be able to stretch to 12 years old, like Vince Vaughn’s character was asked to audition for in Swingers. Do I sound like an Ashton fan? I mean, good deal with TV’s “Punk’d” and all, but as an actor he is as believable as an ice sculpture masquerading as a statue in the desert. Not bloody likely. I don’t suspect he can pull off the superstar NFL quarterback as well as Jamie Foxx did as Willie Beamen. He keeps the ladies “screamin’.” Or was it “creamin’.” I think the latter. Either way, that was some funny isht, peep it below!!
Word has come across the casting couch that a triumvirate of stars are looking to take part in the latest James L. Brooks romantic comedy which hopes to begin shooting this summer. Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd are attempting to join Reese Witherspoon in the aforementioned untitled project. From Variety comes:
Brooks, who is directing and producing, wrote the screenplay, which involves a love triangle. Rudd would play a white-collar executive vying for Witherspoon’s affections, while Wilson would portray a professional baseball pitcher who is also a love interest.
As is customary with Brooks’ projects, logline is being kept vague for the film, which has the working title “How Do You Know?”
Rudd is fast becoming a hot name after his turn in Role Models last year has raised his stock considerably. His dead pan is becoming one of comedy’s hottest commodities. Pairing him with a known quantity in Witherspoon (Legally Blonde) and the rebounding from the brink Wilson (Marley & Me) would only further raise his stock quotient and could place him in the same arena of talent like Wilson and his frequent collaborator, Vince Vaughn. While rom-coms certainly aren’y my thing, the casting of Rudd in my mind has some potential. What do you think, a pic to see or wait and see what happens?
