"Couple's Retreat" by Peter Billingsley: a review

Couples Retreat was released on October 9th 2009. It falls under the genre of comedy and the actor Vince Vaughan co-wrote and also acted in this movie. Some of the main actors are: Vince Vaughan (Dave), Malin Akerman (Ronnie), Jason Bateman (Jason Smith), Kristen Davis (Lucy), Jon Favreau (Joey) and Fazion Love (Shane).

The story is plotted around the lives and marriages of four couples who end up going to a couples retreat in a bid to save their marriage. Dave and Ronnie are married with two young boys. Dave is a dealer for Guitar Hero and Ronnie is a housewife. Theirs is a normal family life with the usual stresses of raising children and decorating their home. Joey and Lucy have been together since high school who have a teenage daughter called Lacey.

They are both unhappy and their relationship is suffering. Jason and Cynthia have been trying for a baby unsuccessfully. Shane is recently separated and is now in a relationship with Trudy, a woman who is significantly younger than him. At a birthday party held for Dave and Ronnie’s son, Jason and Cynthia announce that they are contemplating a divorce after their repeatedly failed attempts at conceiving. In a bid to save their marriage, they have come across a special resort where couples can have therapy named Eden. They found a package whereby if they find three other couples to join them, they will get a significant discount.

Dave and Ronnie like the idea but are stuck for someone to care for their children should they go. Their children overheard the conversation and thinking that their parents were about to divorce, they asked their grandfather to mind them when their parents went to Eden. Eden is divided into East and West; East is for singles and West is for couples. The four couples arrive at the resort, are shown their accommodation and then have dinner together.

They are promptly informed that couples therapy commences at 6am and that couples must attend; failure to do so would result in them having to leave the resort and discuss child adoption options. Each couple have their own therapist and all four realize that they have problems in their relationships. They undergo some obscure methods to deal with their problems such as swimming with and feeding lemon sharks. On the fourth night at the resort, Trudy goes to Eden East and the other seven go to find her. On the way, Jason and Cynthia have an argument that leads to the men and women separating.

Making their way to the resort, the men pick faults in each others’ relationships and the women bump into Salvadore with luggage, the yoga instructor and he leads them to Eden East. The men come across the staff lounge where they see the resort host playing Guitar Hero. He threatens to tell Marcel (the resort owner) because they were not permitted to leave the resort but Dave challenges him to a game and wins hands down.

He has to show them the way to Eden East where all four couples reunite with outdoor heating solutions, including Shane whose ex-wife is also there and she admits that she still loves him. Jason tells Trudy that she can stay in Eden East and all four couples return to Eden West. The next morning, Marcel meets with the couples and acknowledging that they have solved their problems, advises them to go jet skiing.