Remember how Michael Caine once said he would pick his movies based on where the scripts took place? I have to imagine this "Caine Method" had more than a little to do with the making of "Couples Retreat", a loosely stitched together comedy that places a bunch of likable actors in a tropical setting for some cheap laughs. The film looks like it must have been a lot of fun to make. Watching it? Not so much.
The premise of the film is that Jason and Cynthia (Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell) have been having trouble conceiving a child, and the process has put a strain on their relationship. As a last ditch effort to rekindle their romance, they arrange a vacation in a tropical paradise. In order to make it affordable, however, they pressure their closest friends (three couples) to join them so they can all get a group rate. It's a strained idea, and it shows in the first twenty minutes when the script contorts itself to get everyone to the island. Jason and Cynthia are Type-A to the point of caricature; they impose on their friends with a Powerpoint presentation, charting their relationship. It's played for laughs but it comes off as awkward and forced - particularly for Mr. Bateman and Ms. Bell, who attempt to give life to these plot catalysts.
Once on the island, Jean Reno shows up as some kind of mystical couples counselor. There's some fun had with the island itself - the west side is for couples, the east is for singles. Peter Serafinowicz plays Sctanley (yes, with a 'c'), a kind of Mr. Rourke-esque tour guide for the gang. It soon becomes clear that each couple will have to go through therapy and come out the other end of the film better and stronger (sadly, not faster).
It's all a bit ill-conceived, and it doesn't help that none of these people appear to be friends, let alone such a tight knit group that they'd pull together to go on an expensive vacation at a moment's notice. The actors aren't given characters to play, but you may identify with some of them - mostly because you've seen them in these roles before. Vince Vaughn, as always, is the wisecracking fast-talker, and as close as this group has to a moral compass. Jon Favreau (who co-wrote the script with Mr. Vaughn and Dana Fox) continues his odd on-camera career trajectory. Again, as he did in the far-superior "I Love You, Man", Mr. Favreau plays the bruiser. As much as he tries to play it for laughs, it's just not funny.
Also on board is Faizon Love in a role that reeks of desperate counter-programming. Try though he might, nothing about his character connects with the others on-screen, especially during a painful reconciliation scene at the end. But he's not alone; it's never made clear how any of the characters interrelate.
As for the women, they're given nothing to work with. Kristin Davis effectively riffs on Charlotte from "Sex and the City" but fares no better than Ms. Bell. Malin Akerman ("Watchmen"), at the very least, comes off much better on this vacation than she did in 2007's painful remake of "The Heartbreak Kid".
The film is directed by Mr. Vaughn's longtime pal (and "A Christmas Story" star) Peter Billingsley. In his feature debut, Mr. Billingsley tentatively finds his way around, struggling to link together the four paper-thin relationships. It's likely some good stuff ended up on the cutting room floor. With such likable actors and such a beautiful setting, there were probably as many good moments off screen as there are on. It's hard not to crack a smile during "Couples Retreat", but you'd be better served putting your ticket money towards a sunny vacation of your own.
