Couples Retreat(2009)

PG-13
1h 53m
- Comedy

Release Date: Oct 9, 2009 | Wide

A comedy centered around four couples who settle into a tropical-island resort for a vacation. While one of the couples is there to work on the marriage, the others fail to realize that participation in the resort's therapy sessions is not optional.

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(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

Peter Billingsley
Director

Vince Vaughn
Dave

Malin Akerman
Ronnie

Jon Favreau
Joey

Jason Bateman
Jason

Faizon Love
Shane

Kristen Bell

Cynthia

Kristin Davis

Lucy

Kali Hawk

Trudy

Tasha Smith

Jennifer

Carlos Ponce

Salvadore

Peter Serafinowicz

Sctanley

Jean Reno

Marcel

Temuera Morrison

Briggs

Jonna Walsh

Lacey

Gattlin Griffith

Robert

Colin Baiocchi

Kevin

Vernon Vaughn

Grandpa Jim Jim

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: DTS,Dolby Digital,SDDS

Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English,Ukrainian

Summaries

Plot Summary

Dave (Vince Vaughn), a dealer for Guitar Hero, and Ronnie (Malin Åkerman), a stay-at-home mom, are a typical couple with two young boys. They experience various stresses including redecorating their house and raising their sons. Dave is not interested in making decisions for the house with Ronnie but will criticize any choice that she makes.Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristin Davis) are high school sweethearts that have fallen apart due to their belief that they "missed out" on living after high school, having been married and becoming parents immediately after and are contemplating getting a divorce as soon as their daughter goes off to college. They have a daughter named Lacey (Jonna Walsh) who is a smart but somewhat rebellious teen.Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) are a neurotic couple who've experienced multiple failed attempts to conceive, and Shane (Faizon Love), who has recently separated from his wife Jennifer (Tasha Smith), has a much younger twenty-year-old girlfriend, Trudy (Kali Hawk). Shane gets Dave to so-sign for a new motorcycle that he buys to impress Trudy.At Dave's son's birthday party, Jason, and Cynthia, using PowerPoint, announce their troubled marriage and that they are considering divorce because they cannot have a baby. As a last-ditch effort, they have found a couple's therapy resort named Eden. A deal called the Pelican Package (which is for 6 nights and 7 days) is half the normal cost if they can get three other couples to join them. In their presentation, they show beautiful pictures of sunlit beaches and beautiful locations. They also assure the others that the couples therapy is purely optional. Cynthia says that they were on the wait-list forever, but a slot has just opened up and they all need to leave the following week.Dave and Ronnie discuss their inability to go because of childcare responsibilities & renovation of the house and decline the trip. In the middle of the night, their home security alarm is activated when Jason shows up unexpectedly to further sell the idea of the retreat. The commotion wakes the kids, who have overheard their parents' conversations of not being able to go because of them. Fearing that their parents are contemplating divorce, the kids have already arranged for Dave's father, Grandpa Jim-Jim (Vince Vaughn's real-life father, Vernon Vaughn) to babysit so their parents can go to Eden.The retreat proves to be divided into Eden West and Eden East. West is for couples and uses the tagline "Stay Together". East is for singles and uses the tagline "Come Together". East and West attendees are not allowed to intermingle. Upon arrival at Eden West, the four couples are shown their villas. At dinner, Sctanley (pronounced "Stanley"), the resort host (Peter Serafinowicz), informs them that couples therapy, which starts at 6 a.m., is actually mandatory. If any couple fails to attend, it will be taken as an indication that they want to leave, and a refund for Eden will be given, although not for their airfare. The group debates what to do. After an indulgent dinner with many delicacies, they decide to put up with "a couple of hours" of therapy in order to enjoy the other amenities of the resort.In the morning, each couple meets with an assigned therapist. All four couples learn that they have problems, even Ronnie and Dave, who thought they were fine. They endure resort owner Marcel's (Jean Reno) unusual methods, including swimming with and feeding lemon sharks and yoga sessions with amorous instructor Salvadore (Carlos Ponce). Ronnie and Dave's marriage seems fine, but both realize that Dave tends to undermine Ronnie by crossing emotional boundaries and blocking her needs due to his exhausting work. Jason & Cynthia's issues stem from a lack of communication complicated with Jason's more controlling methods and their trouble with conceiving a baby. They are a very organized couple and are the most interested in repairing their relationship.On the fourth night, Trudy escapes to Eden East. The other seven, encouraged by Joey who is unsatisfied with his marriage, leave to find her. Following an argument between Cynthia and Jason, the men and women split up. As they try to find their way to the resort, the men end up arguing and pointing out each other's marriage mistakes.The women run into Salvadore who takes them to Eden East. The men come across the staff lounge where they find Sctanley playing Guitar Hero. He threatens to report them to Marcel, but Dave challenges him to the game (without telling Sctanley that he is involved in the game's production). Sctanley, after having lost the wager, directs them to Eden East, even though he knows he was tricked by Dave.When they arrive, Dave realizes what a good thing he has with Ronnie. He goes with her to be alone at a waterfall. Joey finds Lucy with Salvadore and knocks him out, reuniting with his wife. Cynthia and Jason share drinks and end up becoming intimate. Shane runs into his ex-wife, who admits she still loves him. Shane tells Trudy to remain in Eden East and enjoy being single, then leaves with his ex-wife. All four couples return to Eden West.Marcel, seeing that the couples have worked out their problems, frees them from the therapy and allows them to go jet skiing, and with that, really enjoy the rest of their vacation. At the conclusion of their therapy, Marcel grants Dave & Ronnie the ass as their animal spirit because they are both stubborn, and they bear the burden of not only their troubles but also those of others. After reuniting in therapy, Marcel gives Joey & Lucy a wolf spirit token as they are pack animals but their hearts always lie with their destined mate. Marcel grants Jason & Cynthia a rabbit token after they reunite, due to their innate ability to overcome any obstacles that stand in their way. Shane & Jennifer are given the token of the honeybee to symbolize that while they may visit other flowers from time to time, nothing is as sweet as returning to their hive.

Storyline

Dave and Ronnie, Jason and Cynthia, and Joey and Lucy are close. The group used to include Shane and Jennifer, but they divorced and she's gone. Jason and Cynthia announce that their marriage is in trouble, and they beg their friends (and Shane's young girlfriend) to join them on a couples' retreat, at the package rate, on a tropical island. The others reluctantly agree, planning to play while Jason and Cynthia work on their marriage with an island psychologist. To everyone's surprise, the package is inflexible: each couple must participate in the couples' exercises. Soon fault lines appear in all four relationships. What's in store for each couple? — <jhailey@hotmail.com>