Sometimes a movie comes around that just looks like a ton of fun, the kind of movie you can suggest to pretty much anyone and be confident they'll have a good time. If there's one of those for the end of the summer movie season, I'd say it's The Roses.
Written by Tony McNamara, common collaborator of Yorgos Lanthimos, this is a loose retelling of the 1981 novel The War of the Roses. The film follows the crashing of the marriage of Theo and Ivy Rose, a British couple who met at a restaurant and moved to America. All is good and dandy until Theo's big architectural project goes south right as Ivy's restaurant takes off, switching their parental roles and ultimately causing strife in the relationship. What starts as the seeds of resentment between them turns into an ever increasing wave of combativeness between the two.
The two leads are played hilariously by Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman. Both are obviously terrific actors and both have great comedic sensibilities, a comedic sense that is only heightened by some great chemistry. The two of them being British in an American setting also makes every British quirk a bit more entertaining, whether that be just cultural differences or language that is a bit less common over here nowadays. McNamara's dialogue is sharp and fun, and the Colman/Cumberbatch combo nails all of it. They are the main players of the cast, but the supporting gang is also pretty great. Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon play friends of theirs who offer a fun outside perspective to their complicated relationship, and Ncuti Gatwa and Sunita Mani play a pair of workers at Ivy's restaurant, each delivering some hilarious moments.
The pacing of the film doesn't always work. I was expecting more of the mind games between Theo and Ivy but a lot of the film is really the disintegration of their relationship. That is at times really fun to watch, but it can feel somewhat choppy and repetitive as it keeps going on. It feels like the battle between them should be the meat of the story so while fun, a lot of the time leading up to that just doesn't flow as well as I wish it did. The pacing is really the only issue I had with the screenplay though, and the dialogue is so much fun it more than makes up for that.
Being a studio comedy there isn't too much to write home about on the production front, but the film as a whole is pretty cleanly put together. Theo's job as an architect also makes for some really nice set design which was a very welcome treat. The sets are also very purposeful, with a lot of small details that wind up having significant narrative purpose.
I was treated to seeing this on a Sunday right around noon, so the whole theatre was pretty much old women. I'm not saying that's the only way you should watch this movie, if you have to go on an evening it's still worth a watch, but those old gals were hooting and hollering that whole time, and this is simply one of the most fun times you can have at the movies. 4/5
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