Peter Billingsley Tagged Articles at Cinematical

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.

The good news for Peter Billingsley is that we should (hopefully) move past all the Ralphie/Christmas Story references once the guy makes his second film, but since Couples Retreat marks the actor-turned-producer-turned-director's debut behind the camera, he'll have to hang in there a little while longer while folks like myself use the iconic Christmas movie as a segue to his new ensemble comedy set in the unbelievably beautiful Bora Bora.

Moviefone sat down with the director in Bora Bora, where some lucky bloke was sent to interview the stars of the film (and no, it wasn't me or else you would've heard about it continually while I was soaking up the rays with Malin Akerman on one arm and Kristen Bell on the other). That said, Billingsley did talk a bit about the film, about how hard it is to actually shoot in a place as remote as Bora Bora and what it was like to star opposite Jason Bateman on an episode of Little House on the Prairie (a career highlight for Billingsley, or so he says).

You can watch the interview after the jump, and all of Moviefone's interviews with the entire cast right over here. Couples Retreat hits theaters this weekend.

The title may be generic, but the cast is not. Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, and Faizon Love accompany their significant others -- Malin Akerman, Kristen Davis, Kristen Bell, and Tasha Smith -- on a vacation to paradise in Couples Retreat. There is a catch, however: intensive sessions of relationship therapy are mandatory and counselor Jean Reno doesn't take "no" for an answer. The first trailer is up at the Fruit Factory (AKA Apple.)

While there's a degree of over-familiarity with the basic premise, the trailer is very promising, edging into the naughty side of PG-13. (According to Erik Davis' post on the movie last year, that's the rating they're aiming for.) Bateman and Bell make for a good, edgy couple of Type A-personalities on the brink on break-up who ask three other couples to come along on their retreat to save money. Old friends Vaughn and Favreau have great chemistry, of course, and have worked with Bateman before. I'm not a huge fan of Akerman or Davis -- they're both lovely and have bright personalities but not a lot of comic snap. Seeing Reno as a buff instructor makes me giggle. Favreau wrote the script, based on an idea by Vaughn, and another old pal, Peter Billingsley, makes his directorial debut.

Couples Retreat is heading for release on October 9, a crowded date on the release schedule: The Informant (drama), Night of the Demons (horror), Whip It (comedy), and Zombieland (horror comedy) are also due out that day. Does the concept or the cast -- or the trailer -- grab you?

The movie A Christmas Story turns 25 this year. I remember seeing it in a theater when it opened in 1983 -- I was a fan of Jean Shepherd's essays -- and now it's considered a holiday classic. I know people who have been watching it every year since they were old enough to remember Christmas. It's right up there in popularity with Miracle on 34th Street and It's a Wonderful Life, and has surpassed White Christmas and Holiday Inn, with the younger set at least. You now can buy a replica of the leg lamp from the film, either as an actual lamp or as a Christmas tree ornament, and there are few people who see the leg lamp and don't get the reference. Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie, is now a movie producer who appears in amusing cameos in his films, like Four Christmases and Iron Man. (He's especially funny during a "guest appearance" in Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show.)

When I spent Christmas at my parents' house in recent years, we never watched A Christmas Story completely from start to finish -- we saw bits and pieces as it aired on TV, just as we used to do with It's a Wonderful Life when it was in the public domain and every station possible aired it all through December. Both are excellent background movies to wrap presents by. I wonder how other people watch A Christmas Story ... and I'd like to offer the following seven suggestions if you're thinking about the best way to enjoy this perennial holiday favorite this year. In the comments, let us know your favorite traditions for watching the film.

The first image from the comedy Couples Retreat has popped up over at USA Today, and it shows our four happy couples posing for the camera, all excited to be working on their relationships. Peter Billingsley (aka Ralphie from A Christmas Story) makes his directorial debut here (off a script written by Jon Favreau) after working as producer on several projects -- and the film stars his friends Vince Vaughn and Favreau (who've teamed up on screen plenty of times now), as well as Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Faizon Love and Kali Hawk.

The film tells of one couple (Bateman and Bell) in need of relationship therapy who, in order to save costs, invite three other couples to join them at a couples retreat. Vaughn says this of the plot: "Jason and Kristen are Type A's struggling to have kids. Faizon and his wife (Kali Hawk) have just separated, and he is dating a young girl from Foot Locker. Me and my wife (Malin Akerman of 27 Dresses) are swamped with the kids and work. Favreau and Kristin Davis are secretly not completely faithful to each other." Vaughn also stressed that while there will be sexual gags, this won't be an R-rated foul-mouthed parade. USA Today says to expect a PG-13. No release date yet, but expect this to hit theaters sometime next year.

Last November, Warner Bros. released Fred Claus, a Christmas-set comedy pairing up lead Vince Vaughn with Rachel Weisz.

This November, New Line released Four Christmases, a Christmas-set comedy pairing up lead Vince Vaughn with Reese Witherspoon.

Mere coincidence, you might ask, despite the fact that New Line is owned by Warner Brothers, not to mention the shared initials of both the titles and the actresses playing the love interests? Perhaps, but happenstance loses my vote when the best one can say for Four Christmases is that it's a marginally better holiday romp than the likes of Fred Claus.

The comedy documentary Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show isn't all that wild, and the comedy is sporadic. When it's funny, you may nearly fall out of your seat with laughter. But the movie is about 15 minutes too long -- at least -- and by the end you would like the funny guys to get their butts home so you can do the same. If you're planning to see this movie because you're a huge Vince Vaughn fan, bear in mind that he's not the center of this film, and you'll have to watch a quartet of stand-up comedians at length just to enjoy your favorite actor.

In 2005, Vaughn organized a tour of stand-up comedians and sketch comedy, from Los Angeles through Texas and into Georgia, then veering north to Nashville and ending in Chicago. The "Wild West Comedy Show" consisted primarily of four up-and-coming comedians, plus funny sketches involving Vaughn and any fellow actors or friends he could drag along for the ride. Vaughn's scheme is to bring a raunchy-guy humor to places that he believes are lacking in that type of show, primarily in the South and Midwest.

Since I've never had IFC, I discovered Dinner for Five really late in the game, but it's a pretty cool show. The premise, loosely based on the Algonquin Round Table, is simple: Jon Favreau sits down for dinner with a few celebrity guests and they eat, drink, and talk about life on and off the set. There are a bunch of old eps, featuring names from Bruce Campbell to Saffron Burrows, John Sayles to Jennifer Beals, and that doesn't even begin to cover the people who have popped on the show.

Now IFC reports that the late show is getting on new installment (yay!), which they are calling "a last hurrah," this Friday at 10:30 PM. Jon's final (at least for now) guests are: Vince Vaughn (Reese Witherspoon's worst nightmare), Peter Billingsley (A Christmas Story, and Iron Man executive producer), Justin Long (Live Free or Die Hard), and Keir O'Donnell (Wedding Crashers). So basically, it's pretty much a group of friends getting together.

The best thing -- for a short while, they're airing the episode online, right here, so you don't have to set your digital recorders or cancel those saucy Friday night plans. (Canadian readers: this applies to you as well! Unlike sites like Showtime or MTV, which block out-of-country traffic, the IFC feed works.)