Couples strip down in resort to therapy
Couples Retreat Cert 15A
Stars of the new movie Couple Retreat left to right Jason Bateman, Kirsten Bell, Malin Akerman and Vince Vaughan. Photo: Getty Images
Sunday October 18 2009
Cometh the hour... cometh the movie. At a time when the collective appetite for feel-good fare has never been greater, vacation comedy Couples Retreat provides the raw material for escapism on an epic scale. At least in terms of premise.
Directed by Peter Billingsley and starring Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau, the story centres on a scenario that sees a group of four, mostly middle-aged, American couples departing for the idyllic Eden resort in Bora Bora. The trip is designed to save the troubled marriage of Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) who can't afford the trip unless their friends tag along for a group discount on what the resort's publicity describes as a "Disneyland for adults". Big mistake.
Industrial-strength downtime might be the objective but this is a Disneyland for adults as imagined by Dr Phil. Compulsory yoga, intensive therapy sessions and early morning audiences with "couples whisperer" Marcel (Jean Reno) -- think The Love Guru with a French accent -- soon result in home truths hitting the fan.
Things eventually come to a head when a fun-starved member of the party escapes to the forbidden singles area in the resort where anything goes. Cue a scenario that involves shark attacks (Vince Vaughn comes close to jumping it), capsizing kayaks, and an abundance of babes in bikinis and hunks in trunks.
A strong cast gives a good account of themselves but they're let down by a script that doesn't seem to know whether it's inspired by Oprah or Sacha Baron Cohen. Some Borat-lite antics with a speedos-wearing yoga instructor (Carlos Ponce) suggest the latter but proceedings have taken a predictable turn for the touchy-feely by the time the credits roll and the spectacle suffers as a result. There are some laughs and undemanding types might be seduced by a backdrop that remains postcard-perfect for the duration. Comedy connoisseurs, however, will wish they weren't here.
Now showing nationwide
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Cert 12A
We meet Darren Shan at his funeral, playing Nintendo in his coffin as the earth is heaped upon it. The first portion of the film goes back to explain how this happened, namely that good boy Darren (Chris Massoglia) and his bad-boy best friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson) visit Cirque du Freak where Steve recognises one of the performers, Larten Crepsely (John C Reilly) from a vampire book, while Darren is moved to steal Crepsely's spider, Madame Octa.
In short order, Darren must trade his earthly life for that of a half-vampire in order to save Steve with the antidote to Mme Octa's bite. But Crepsely is not the only one to have taken an interest; Mr Tiny (Michael Cerveris in a very convincing fat suit) is also keen to recruit. But while Darren joins the vampires who have learned a way to co-exist with humans, Steven joins the Vampaneze, the death-inflicting ones we're more familiar with. Friends in life, the boys become enemies in half-life as the two sets of vampires head towards war. And a sequel.
Therein lies the biggest problem. The books from which it was adapted are much loved by tween boys in particular but what works in books, a slow, detailed world-creating build to a crescendo, is more difficult in a film. This first movie is based on most of a trilogy of novels, so there is too much packed into what is evidently the intended beginning of a series and it's a bit low on crescendo. Which conflict should we concentrate on? Who should we care most about? Why is it in America?
John C Reilly is always watchable and the supporting cast including Salma Hayek, Ken Watanabe and Patrick Fugit are good, although Massoglia is a bit bland, gel or no gel. The sets and effects are good. The problem lies with the way the story has been adapted. Although this is intended to be Harry Potter with, er... bite, in the end there isn't that much to get your teeth into. Sorry. Ultimately, it's one to be called by the Shan aficionados, however, and they do need to see for themselves.
AO'C
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant opens on Friday
- Padraic McKiernan, Aine O'Connor
Sunday Independent
