KaliHawk Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Review: Couples Retreat
Filed under: Comedy », New Releases », Universal », Theatrical Reviews »
Sometimes it feels good to get your buttons pushed. Couples Retreat shamelessly trots out a stable of tired old nags and magically transforms them into shining young thoroughbreds by the time they reach the finish line. To stir more creaky metaphors into the mix, Couples Retreat reminds me of an Old World grandmother, happily offering up the same old recipe with gentle but insistent persuasion, urging you to "eat, eat!" And you end up eating far more than you ever thought you would, because old recipes taste really good when fresh ingredients are used.
With Couples Retreat, the filmmakers gently but persistently prod, saying "Laugh, laugh!" and you end up laughing far more than expected. The set-up feels familiar: four couples, all at different stages of their relationships, go on an island retreat intending to have fun in the sun, but instead are forced to undergo counseling. In the process, they discover new truths about themselves, everyone laughs, everyone has "a moment." The End. Roll credits. Except that this time, the premise doesn't give away the major pleasures of the movie.
That's because longtime friends Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau collaborated on the sly, brutally frank, and funny script with Dana Fox, creating a solid framework that allows the performers breathing space to do their thing. Vaughn, Favreau, Jason Bateman, and Faizon Love play the men; Malin Akerman (in her best performance to date), Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, and Kali Hawk are their romantic partners. Jean Reno is a mystical "couples whisperer." Old Vaughn / Favreau accomplice Peter Billingsley makes his feature directorial debut. What really ties everything together is crack comic timing, and a willingness to embrace warmly some of the colder, less pleasant truths about relationships.
Casting Bites: Chris Rock, Lauren Hutton, and More
Filed under: Comedy », Casting »
If you've seen Death at a Funeral, I'm sure you were thinking: Forget Ewen Bremner, Alan Tudyk, and the rest of them! I want an urbanized remake of Chris Rock! If you did, you should be overjoyed to learn that The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Rock is producing, starring, and co-writing (with Aeysha Carr) an "urban reworking" of the comedy. It's supposed to be "a hysterical, completely new reimagining" of the original, but while words like "hysterical" and "urban" are perfectly good for a film, I'm getting Guess Who twitches. But man, I'd love to be wrong.Meanwhile, after taking an almost decade-long hiatus from the big screen, Variety reports that Lauren Hutton has signed on for David Duchovny's The Joneses, along with Glenne Headly and Gary Cole. The movie is just like you'd assume it to be -- what life is really like for "The Joneses" -- that infamous family we all have to keep up with. They look all perfect with their trend-setting, but behind the surface ... hopefully the skeletons aren't of the sexual dysfunction theme.
And Kali Hawk, who last appeared in Lovers & Haters, has picked up a spot on the Couples Retreat.
And Brianne Davis, fresh off of Prom Night, has nabbed a lead in an indie called American Virgin, alongside Rob Schneider and Jenna Dewan.
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