The Roses

Less a scabrous 'my parents in the eighties' affair like the original "War of The Roses" than a continuous mild volley of P. G. Wodehouse-level insults and backhands, Coleman and Cumberbatch are a delight as marrieds (though looking more like elder sister and flummoxed younger brother) whose equanimity topples when Benedict's architectural career goes the way of Gotham Hospital in "The Dark Knight." Andy Samberg, Alison Janney and Kate McKinnon sit back and provide relaxed support when necessary but mostly let these old pros stretch out and do their stuff. What a great throwback pairing and bouquet of talent! Hope they work together again!

LIKES: The Dialogue The Humor The Tactics The Messages The Cinematography The Acting Summary: A remake of a classic requires either precision to the material with a new artistic style, or a meaningful twist worthy of making the new movie. The Roses does a bit of both, but leans heavily into the second part to try and give something fresh to the classic tale of a lover's spat gone horribly wrong. Roach's vision is very articulate and comedy-heavy, focusing on integrating British dialogue delivery with two very distinct comedy styles. The dialogue is smart, blending British colloquialisms with American aggression into a sizzling sandwich of stylish humor. It offers varying degrees of mature comedy, doing their best to get a laugh as each member brings their own brand of laughs into the film. And to have deeper moments that feel authentic and not just a simple SNL sketch fest, which I was worried it could be. But the movie is very tactful with the humor and writing, always keeping this classic tale alive despite the new directions it chose. Those tactics further show up as the story progresses to the "peak" of tension, a new set of cunning tactics to evolve the disdain that injects more humor into this exaggerated argument turned very morose. I won't say much to avoid spoilers, but the modernization works well to poke fun at the new-age attitudes that you see fill up social media platforms, and I had fun with some of the new twists they chose to include. And yet, within all this chaotic comedy, the film holds onto the underlying message of marriage and what can tax a relationship with all the pressures of high success it brings. It might be buried under a lot of things, but this installment, I think, accomplishes a lot in demonstrating just what emotions, thoughts, attitudes, and reactions to such a relationship can bring, as well as the complicated concepts of hard work that love brings with it through the difficult times, especially with these key moments where everything comes together.

Speaking of coming together, the actual craft of the movie gains points in regard to how the movie comes together for me. The Roses may not be fully state-of-the-art, nor design some of the most unique worlds capable of high-fantasy royalty. However, the movie is shot well, with beautiful camera work helping get all the right shots to give you the full majesty of the scene in terms of emotion and comedic prowess. I loved those moments where you get this facial profile that holds so much beneath the skin as they convey the feelings boiling within. Or when you get this exchange of characters around a table, where tensions start to mount, and the actions that come with it are just as ludicrous as the behavior in public. The Roses' camera teams get it all on film, with editing that helps pull it all together in a well-crafted film. But the acting is the biggest benefit for this reviewer, holding much of the heart of this film and conveying what the War of the Roses' plot is all about. Every actor does their part, a certain character qualm that is often a single-toned character that exists for a comedic opening and little more. McKinnon and Andy Samberg have a bit more layering to them, primarily comedic with their SNL style of aggressive one-liners, awkward banter, and over-the-top emphasis to make many chuckle if you like such stressed and zany lines. However, they do have those nuggets of emotional treasure I mentioned earlier, elements I wish I had gotten just a bit more of to give me a better balance and more meaningful drive to the end. It's the leads who have the most complexity for me, both having this complex mixture of dramatic flair, authentic anger, and wit, with an expert level of artistry that I absolutely feel into. They have such great chemistry, somehow managing to step into every facet of this complex comedy, always keeping in time with the scene, but still giving it their all. It's a wonderful display of balance, doing their best with the spectrum of comedic styles this movie required of them. This relationship is the key to enjoying this movie, and it is a blessing to have these leads do the impossible.

DISLIKES: Very Somber Material Vicious Too Dry For Some Imbalance Of Characters Crosses Lines The Language Is Very Aggressive Niche Comedy Summary Where the movie is going to be a turn off for some is going to come in the very cynical nature of the material. The Roses movie deals with a lot of hard material, the relationship itself holding lots of triggering moments that may be hard for an audience member to watch. Such somber material may be hard to handle, and the negative emotions do sort of slow things down and might not be entertaining when you are getting subjected to how much is layered in this couple's love. It's vicious, with some actions and words perhaps being too much to bear with what is said. Sensitive viewers need to be warned that some awful things might be said without a sincere apology to make it better, and if that enrages you, this movie again is a trigger. And as things heat up, the viciousness crosses into levels that only dark humor appreciates or those who love a really good Soap Opera Diva. If that isn't enough to dissuade you, I also didn't enjoy the saturation of coarse language, the choices of insults, yelling, and other words that check a lot of boxes on my list that I don't like. Such aggressive language is often paired with actions that cross a lot of lines, and I warn sensitive viewers that sometimes they take it a tad too far with this rendition, which I found myself wondering if I would stay.

Once you get past the darker material, the other thing to remember is that this is a very dry movie, with comedy that sometimes is aggressive, silly, and inappropriate, with a more direct approach, but a lot of it has that touch of British approach that may be too stiff. If you don't enjoy such antics, I won't say this movie isn't for you, but you might not want to have a film where you have to think a bit about the banter or wrap your head around how far they are willing to go. And if you are going for a particular star, this also felt like a limitation to me, primarily because of how imbalanced the character usage was. The leads are the stars for much of the movie, with Samberg and McKinnon having the next greatest time level. However, other stars are going to kind of get the shaft, again, primarily as comedic relief or an opening with only a few jokes to get the ball rolling. The story feels a bit chopped up as well, and perhaps a bit more character integration and focus on the tale could have helped mitigate some of these issues. Finally, the movie feels very niche; the combination of all these comedic styles with the very morose plot narrows the audience who might enjoy this down to a much smaller audience.

The VERDICT: The Roses is an interesting twist to the classic material, with a heavy comedy focus to help make the movie relevant in the modern world. A fantastic acting duo is the star of this movie, helping to deliver complex comedy, authentic relationships, animosity to no avail, and still drop the witty dialogue that is written in this movie. The solid writing, decent pacing, and multiple styles keep things moving, helping find those small moments of relief in this intense film, and all with a great cinematic atmosphere that movies do well. However, the wit of this film, the intelligent comedy, and direction may only cater to a limited audience. The Roses film is a dryer piece to enjoy, requiring strong fortitude for the material, handling the very unhealthy elements our "heroes" choose to pursue, and being desensitized to the aggressive language that this film was not afraid to run into. All of these aggressive elements are potential triggers, and I encourage everyone to be very cautious before choosing to handle this film. Is it worth a trip to the theater? While there is a lot of good, most are going to want to keep to home viewing for this film. Upon factoring that element in, I give The Roses:

Tragedy/Comedy/Satire: 8.0 Movie Overall: 7.0.

The Roses was an engaging and enjoyable watch. While the story did give me pause, making me wonder whether my partner and I might one day mirror the couple on screen, it was delivered with remarkable performances. Olivia Colman in particular stands out as always, bringing depth and nuance to her role.

On the technical side, aside from a few weak CGI shots, the visuals were impressive. The color grading was especially striking and added richness to the overall tone of the film.

Although the ending felt somewhat overdone, the film as a whole was satisfying and well worth the watch.

Olivia Colman & Benedict Cumberbatch were sublime as usual. No notes.

Andy Samberg also did the best he could and somehow managed to not make his character seem annoying given the writing.

The movie needed a lot more Allison Janney who was great for the few minutes she was in and a lot less Kate McKinnon whose character was just absurd and over the top for no reason. Did not find her remotely funny.

None of the other characters were fully formed and you couldn't care less about them. Wasted some really talented actors like Ncuti Gatwa in throw away roles.

I don't know that I've ever seen a genuinely funny, adult movie with comedy that felt equally British and American.

I laughed. Out loud. In the theater.

It was a little raunchy at times but it didn't rely on raunchiness, which was refreshing. There were real heartbreaking, award-caliber moments between a couple that had lost their way, but it was still CLEARLY a comedy.

I was expecting more of a climax after all the buildup but I appreciate the ending.

I also wish Allison Janney had a bigger part, just because I really like her.

Kate McKinnon did everything right and she needs to be in more movies like this that can accommodate her style of comedy.

But the drivers were 2 brilliant actors, Colman and Cumberbatch, whose supporting cast members had just the right amount of screen time so that we had other interests, but the story remained on them. Both did a very good job of portraying how 2 deeply flawed people over 40 navigate a rocky marriage...actually "rocky" may be underselling it a bit based solely on the last 20ish minutes. You decide.

Imagine this movie as the next step for Olivia Colman's character after The Bear and it becomes even more entertaining.