Another week, another remake/reimagining of a classic. Now, the appeal of this new interpretation of Warren Adler’s novel is the two leads: Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch as Ivy and Theo Rose. I vaguely remember seeing the 1989 movie The War of the Roses with Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas, which started with a war of words that turned physical when the couple covets their opulent home more than each other. The Roses take the war a few notches thanks to Tony McNamara’s acerbic wit. The Australian screenwriter had earned two Oscar nominations for The Favourite (where Colman won her first Oscar) and Poor Things, both directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

There’s a famous saying, ’every rose has its thorn, but it always smells sweet.’ This can relate to many relationships, even though the thorns of the Roses often seem to overshadow their lovely fragrance. It starts out with a meet-cute in a posh London restaurant kitchen where Ivy works as the chef, when architect Theo takes a brief respite from his co-workers. Soon, they’re fooling around in the cold room before moving to America to pursue her culinary career. But fast forward a decade or so later, and they now live in an affluent neighborhood in Northern California, where Ivy is a stay-at-home mom of two adorable but rambunctious kids, Hattie and Roy (Delaney Quinn and Ollie Robinson). Theo is thriving in a profitable career and is currently involved in a significant museum project.

Everything comes crashing down for him, literally, when the boat sculpture on top of the brand-new museum collapses and destroys the entire building due to a fierce storm. That moment is captured in such a vivid way that Theo’s confident quip, ‘it’s not going to fall,’ goes viral, which leads to Theo losing his lucrative job. The situation with Ivy gets flipped when her seaside restaurant, hilariously named ‘We’ve Got Crabs’, gets noticed by a famous food critic who launches her career to new heights. So now it’s Theo who becomes a stay-at-home dad; thus, a storm is brewing that threatens their seemingly picture-perfect marriage.

Plenty of couples indeed have the male spouse staying home to look after the kids, but it really takes a special kind of person to set aside their ego and ambition to make it work without too much fuss. For the Roses, though, it brings out a fierce rivalry and uncovers some deep-seated resentment that quickly gets out of hand.

I read that Colman and Cumberbatch had been friends for a long time and had wanted to collaborate. They seem well-matched here as both are such likable, talented actors with great comedic chops. They relish being really nasty to one another, with McNamara’s fiery, funny, and nasty wordplay firing on all cylinders. The ensemble cast portraying the couple’s friends is filled with comic actors, two SNL alums, Kate McKinnon and Andy Samberg, Zoë Chao, and Jamie Demetriou. McKinnon’s is a riot as Amy with her unsubtle flirtation with Theo; she even humps him in public in front of her husband, Barry (Samberg). Allison Janney shows up later as a hotshot lawyer, but her appearance is more of a cameo.

Director Jay Roach is known for his comedic movies like the Austin Powers franchise and Meet The Fockers, but he’s also tackled real-life dramas (Trumbo, Bombshell). This marks his first feature in six years since Bombshell, and he lets the actors have fun with the material. You can see that Colman and Cumberbatch seem to be having a blast at times as they engage in an R-rated, foul-mouthed exchange with each other. The scene with the therapist is absolutely hilarious without coming off like an SNL sketch. The scene at a gun club, poking fun at Americans’ obsession with guns, comes across as a bit like one, but at least it’s pretty funny.

Now, this movie wouldn’t work without a jaw-dropping house that leaves you speechless; I’d even say it’s to die for. Thanks to Ivy’s flourishing career, she even has the chance to work with American celebrity chef David Chang; she commissions Theo to create their ideal home on a cliff. Theo spares no expense, even going so far as to order moss from Ireland and a centuries-old wooden table from a monastery, which features a dagger set into the middle. A strange encounter with a whale on the beach seems a bit random; perhaps Roach is poking fun at Californians leaning into New Age beliefs. All the resentments and loathing build to a crescendo during dinner with their friends, and ultimately the ‘war of the Roses’ that becomes a violent action movie that reminds me of Mr & Mrs Smith movie.

Despite some absurd scenes, I think The Roses is quite thought-provoking, especially for those contemplating marriage. Movies are often exaggerations of real-life situations, but themes like ambition, repressed competition, and resentment aren’t at all far-fetched. This dark comedy might serve more as an anxiety-inducing cautionary tale for some, but could also lead to difficult but important conversations.

Have you seen THE ROSES? I’d love to hear what you think!

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