The Roses

I was genuinely excited to see The Roses, especially with two acting giants like Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman sharing the screen in a comedy. I'm a big fan of both, and their performances are, unsurprisingly, excellent. But sadly, the film itself left me disappointed.

The core message-that a successful marriage requires moving beyond ego and embracing the "we" instead of the "me"-is clear and perhaps one of the few valuable takeaways. But as a comedy, the film just doesn't land. I went in ready to laugh, and aside from a few exceptions, the humor fell flat.

The inclusion of the surrounding friend group, meant to serve as comic relief (with Kate McKinnon and Andy Samberg), only made things worse. Their roles feel forced and unfunny, adding little to the film and often taking away from the central story.

In the end, The Roses feels like a drama disguised as a comedy-and it doesn't quite succeed at either. Maybe the real problem was walking in with high expectations. Unfortunately, they were never met.

I was a bit undecided about the rating this film deserves. While it has quite a few impressive aspects, it also suffers from a number of flaws and inconsistencies. The film is actually the second adaptation of Warren Adler's novel The War of the Roses. The first one was released in 1989, directed by Danny DeVito, with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in the lead roles. Now we have a new version, directed by Jay Roach, written by Tony McNamara, and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman.

As always, both Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman deliver undeniably outstanding performances. Watching them is a great pleasure. However, the two simply don't fit the story. You don't really see them as a couple. One reason is that both actors have distinctive acting styles that tend to overshadow their partners rather than harmonize with them. Secondly, they aren't physically compatible either. Cumberbatch looks more attractive here, and although I don't mean to say Colman looks like his older sister, that's sort of how it comes across. If they were playing siblings, it would actually be more convincing.

Cumberbatch's acting is always captivating - it's like the sound of a magnificent violin. But does he always have to play the smart, extraordinary, charismatic upper-class man? Perhaps such roles fit his personality better, but at this point, Cumberbatch should ask himself whether he's just "playing himself." The real power of an actor lies in portraying what he is not. To be honest, it's Colman's performance that saves the film, not Cumberbatch's. Colman is incredibly disciplined and persistent - she crafts every scene with meticulous care.

The other actors in the film are fine, but the roles written for them - or the performances expected from them - are really poor. The two American couples in the story, for example, are totally unconvincing. Their performances are so off-putting that they weaken the film's comedic tone. (Let me repeat: the actors themselves aren't bad - it's the way their roles are positioned that's problematic.)

Yes, the story is about a British couple living in America. But the cultural contrast is so exaggerated that it goes beyond satire - Americans are practically portrayed as idiots. Even though I personally find British culture more appealing than American culture, the Americans don't deserve to be dragged down this much.

Through the children's roles, the film also tries to inject elements of comedy, but honestly, I found all of these attempts very clumsy. Again, it's not the actors' fault - the director simply fails in these parts. The film is supposed to be a dark comedy, but the comedic side is extremely weak. I can count on one hand the moments that actually made me laugh.

Now, about the LGBTQ+ part. The film includes a gay waiter character as a nod to its liberal perspective. However, instead of supporting representation, it ends up reinforcing the cliché that gay men can only exist as "feminine waiters." The actor playing the waiter is quite good, but the role feels like a conspicuous accessory.

Meanwhile, Cumberbatch's character, Theo, is portrayed as an "environmentalist." Another liberal accessory of the film. But strangely enough, this environmentalist drives a BMW 5 - which, as a hybrid, can only go about 30 miles on electric power.

I wish the director had brought a genuinely fresh perspective to Warren Adler's novel and had chosen to make this film a dramedy rather than a dark comedy. Both Cumberbatch and Colman's performances would have fit much better into that tone.

Writing this review actually helped - I finally figured out what rating the film deserves.

The Roses is a remake of the 1989's movie and book, The War of the Roses. I never read the book or watched the movie so I had no expectations walking into this movie. The Roses is about the slow descent of a marriage between a successful architect and a successful cook. This movie is really held together because of the lead couple played by Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman. They have great chemistry and snark so I enjoyed every scene they are in together. The story is also good where you can see how their marriage slowly crumbles and it is slow. It is not like a lot of romantic comedies where it happens fast, there is a lot of small pieces that pile up for the eventual blow out. The actual divorce blow up doesn't happen until the third act so some viewers may be disappointed if they saw the trailers. For me, I like the slow progression. That being said probably the weakest elements are the supporting cast. Andy Samberg & Kate McKinnon are two of the more well known actors that play friends of the Roses and a lot of their jokes miss. All the friends are not funny or just rude and you never understood why they were friends with any of them in the first place. The children also are pretty forgettable. I did enjoy the movie overall but that is only because of how strong the leads are. You can definitely wait to see this at home.

It's a dark comedy about marriage set from 2011 to 2025, briefly in London, England, but mainly in Mendocino, California. Theo Rose (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a frustrated, idealistic architect who wants his designs to reflect their environment. He meets Ivy (Olivia Colman), who dabbles at gourmet cooking and hankers to move to America. They impulsively marry and move to California, where in ten years Theo starts a flourishing career while Ivy raises their twin children, Hattie (Hala Finney/Delaney Quinn) and Roy (Wells Rappaport/Ollie Robinson). We also meet some friends, such as Barry (Andy Samberg) and Amy (Kate McKinnon). As things are going well, Ivy starts a small seafood restaurant with Theo's support.

Suddenly, in 2021, a major disaster turns their lives upside down--Theo loses his position and takes over raising the kids, while Ivy's restaurant suddenly becomes a major success. Their relationship deteriorates amid acerbic dialogue and conflict avoidance, culminating in an explosive climax.

I like both Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman as actors, and believe they deliver excellent performances in "The Roses," as the script features clever, edgy repartee between their characters, and their chemistry is outstanding. However, the secondary characters don't work as well. The Barry and Amy characters are memorable, but most others are not. The Allison Janney character has her best lines in the trailer.

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.