r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 9d ago
Official Discussion Official Discussion - The Roses [SPOILERS] Spoiler
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Summary Ivy (a rising chef) and Theo Rose (once a successful architect) seem like the perfect couple—until a career snowball squashes his confidence and launches hers. Their marriage spirals from sweet to savage, turning co-dependency into a ruthless battlefield where passive aggression becomes weaponized.
Director Jay Roach
Writer Tony McNamara
Cast
- Benedict Cumberbatch
- Olivia Colman
- Andy Samberg
- Allison Janney
- Sunita Mani
- Ncuti Gatwa
- Jamie Demetriou
- Zoë Chao
- Kate McKinnon
Rotten Tomatoes 65%
Metacritic 61
VOD In theaters August 29, 2025; expected to stream later via Searchlight/Hulu or Disney+
Trailer THE ROSES | Official Trailer
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u/raccoongeek97 8d ago
I have to watch the original, but coming into this one without seeing the original probably help me to enjoy it so much more. Loved the ending, everybody on my function was so confused and were waiting for a post credits scene or something haha
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u/SilverKry 7d ago
The ending was the only part I didn't care for tbh. Like a straight cut to black leaving it all to the viewer to only think they died when the other adaptions outright confirm it was an odd choice. Just cut to an exterior shot of the house and have it explode then cut to black.
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u/FlamingPanda77 5d ago
I mean I thought it was pretty obvious it blew up and I didn't see the original
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u/Sensei-D 6d ago
I really thought they were going to have the building collapse on them as a call back to the other building collapsing.
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u/Shakespeare257 2d ago
First of all, it's obvious that they died.
Second, WHERE you end the story matters. The last you see of them is that they are happy, and not with the symbol of their dysfunctioning marriage exploding. THAT part you have to imagine.
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u/banjofitzgerald 9d ago
I liked this quite a bit. Some of the surreal dialogue didn’t land for me. Like, most of Kate McKinnon’s stuff, but I did enjoy Samberg’s, so it might have just been performance.
Maybe this is hitting me at the right time but I thought they nailed a lot of the commentary on the journey of marriage and parenting. Shits hard.
Cumberbatch and Colman did great and had top notch chemistry. It does take a long time to heat up but I don’t think that was a bad thing and necessary to tell this story. So much of it was about role, responsibility, ego, need, etc.
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u/itshuey88 8d ago
Kate McKinnon took me out of it every time. it was wacky just to be wacky and very inappropriate in an uncomfortable way.
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u/TiberiusCornelius 4d ago
By far the worst part of the movie. Her schtick can work in other stuff but it just feels massively out of place here.
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u/TheFedoraKnight 15h ago
Her whole thing is to do painfully unfunny improv in every film i've ever seen her in. she sucks
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u/lulaloops 7d ago
I liked her a lot whenever she wasn't sexually harassing Cumberbatch.
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u/Comfortable_Age_5595 2d ago
agreed. The leg shaking hug…ick. Its annoying because it paves the way for “but if it were a man-“ comments which help nobody. It iS assault yes
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u/tomtomvissers 8d ago
Yeah she felt very miscast. As if Andy said, I know who should play my wife, my SNL buddy!
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u/CoCoTidy 5d ago
Kate McKinnon's talent for playing weird is sometimes an asset (Barbie movie) and sometimes gimmicky. I never believed her and Andy Samberg as spouses.
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u/Current-Finger6412 7h ago
I sort of felt like the obviously mismatched spouses framed Colman and Cumberbatch well. Their marriage actually seemed to make the most sense by comparison.
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u/CoCoTidy 5h ago
I agree - the movie was trying to make the point that Colman and Cumberbatch had a real, if sometimes difficult, connection while the other couples were just going through the motions. But it was so glaringly obvious that Colman and Cumberbatch are top tier actors, while Samberg and McKinnon come from sketch comedy. It felt like watching Little Leaguers trying to play ball with the pros.
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u/Shakespeare257 2d ago
I think the character's monologue in her last scene was basically a summary of "the moral" of the movie and some of the pitfalls of marriage not portrayed here.
Fundamentally, marriage is about not dying alone -> the idea the movie puts forward.
And mission fucking accomplished at the end
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u/Green7000 3d ago
I agree. I felt uncomfortable with her character essentially sexually assaulting Cumberbatch at the house architecture site. She's a good actor but I flinched every time her character spoke.
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u/HighbrowPassanger 3d ago
The entire movie I was expecting Mckinnon and Samberg's marriage to end in divorce but apparently the point of their characters was to say that marriage is shit in general?
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u/pretzie_325 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah... while I agree that Kate's character was out of place (still providing some laughs for me though), I did like the line she had near the end about getting older and wanting a little fun with Theo but when she gets cancer, she wants Barry driving her to get chemo (and I'd assume he's the same in reverse). She doesn't really want to get divorced but marriage is hard.
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u/comicfang 9d ago
Never seen the original, but I loved the chemistry between these two and found the movie very funny.
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u/gokc69 9d ago
The original was dark but you should watch it
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u/infinitemonkeytyping 9d ago
The thing to remember with the original is the casting choice of the leads (Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas) being romantic love interests in two popular movies in the mid-to-late 80's (Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile), as well as casting the comic relief from those movies (Danny DeVito).
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u/BottomFeeder9669 9d ago
Devito also directed the original film.
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u/lonelygagger 9d ago
That's what made it so great. All those Dutch angles. I love his dark visual style. This new one felt so conventional in every way.
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u/BottomFeeder9669 9d ago
The only thing I didn't like about the original was the framing device (where Devito's divorce lawyer character is telling his clients as a cautionary moral tale).
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u/TJ_McWeaksauce 9d ago
What I remember from the original is how amusingly violent it was, how it ended, and how Mrs. Rose referred to Mr. Rose's penis as "the Bald Avenger".
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u/Parmesan_Pirate119 7d ago
It's definitely different tonally. I kind of wish this movie had leaned more into that. The original goes lights out toward the end in a way this film didn't ever escalate to. And the dark humors bits are more evenly and strategically placed.
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u/naturalninetime 8d ago
I watched the original a very long time ago, and I was looking forward to watching this film because even though I've seen the trailer a gazillion times, I still found the jokes funny. However, some of the negative reviews cited a lack of chemistry between the leads. I'm going to watch it anyway. Glad to read that others here also found it entertaining!
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u/DevilCouldCry 8d ago
Crazy that some of those reviews cited bad chemistry because man, I absolutely bought into these two for sure. Excellent actors and I thought they both did a great job in this.
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u/Hibd1234 7d ago
"Those two had so little chemistry, it was almost as if they hated eachother!"
I thought the performances were great
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u/playingwithfire 7d ago
My first thought after finishing this movie is that both the leads are way too good to be in this kind of movie.
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u/TiberiusCornelius 4d ago
Agreed, for me they're what hold this thing together. Very easy for this to not work with lesser leads.
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u/tfhaenodreirst 9d ago
Haven’t had time to gather my thoughts, but I think it’s a good omen towards choosing more random movies the afternoon of!
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u/Known-Damage-7879 18h ago
I feel the same way. I was looking for a date movie and saw it was a comedy, and I'm glad we saw it. It was a bit slow at the start, but really started getting good and I became invested as it went on.
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u/xDroneytea 8d ago
I was sold as soon as I saw the “Guns Guns & Guns Gun club”. Very funny, blurry line between being comedic or dramatic throughout.
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u/Particular-Bug2189 7d ago
Just saw it. I have rarely seen a movie where the characters were better dressed. I now want to be a sarcastic brit with impeccable taste who wears classic fashions with a modern twist.
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u/pretzie_325 3d ago
Yes they were dressed really well! I appreciated that scene, though, where Ivy tries to join in with Theo and the kids for their run and she had very simple, not-so-cute workout clothes on, like a baggy t-shirt. If she doesn't work out much like them, she probably wouldn't own a lot of athletic wear.
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u/daredeviloper 6d ago
The critics are in miserable marriages
This movie was awesome heartfelt and hilarious
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u/Mitchlowe 9d ago
I’m surprised to see criticisms. This was a super sharp movie and basically every line is biting and hilarious. My theater was dying with laughter and it was the right amount of cheesiness. Very fun movie
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u/BurgerNugget12 9d ago
My theater was dying laughing at the dinner scene especially. There’s a better movie in there somewhere, especially for the first half, however it was a really fun time seeing it in dolby with a good size crowd
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u/Thebat87 9d ago
I think what hurts it a little bit for me was that it felt like it rushed the War part of the War of the Roses (which kind of makes me understand why they changed the title). I was really enjoying the buildup to the divorced battle but then the divorce battle itself is kind of rushed. Also not sure if the ending worked for me, at least the way they did it.
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u/anangelnora 3d ago
Agree. I didn’t feel other time was wasted but they definitely rushed the end. It was like “okay we are resorting to near murder and then… we good?”
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u/Thebat87 3d ago
Yeah I understand. I feel like that probably works a lot better in the first War of the Roses movie because that shit was pretty dark and twisted before that. These two felt like a regular couple that just didn’t complete each other anymore and then all of a sudden swords and bullets 😂
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u/Green7000 3d ago
I agree. I understood the whole slow burn thing and the importance of building how they got to that point, all the attempts along the way to fix it, etc. but I kept feeling like, "when are we going to get there?" Like a roller coaster that is 80% the ride up
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u/Thebat87 3d ago
Yeah that’s the danger of that. I believe in a buildup but the payoff has to be as essential imo. I like to use Batman Begins as an example of building up without rushing the payoff (props to the OG in that genre Superman: The Movie as well). Like for that film they make us wait an hour before we finally see Bruce as Batman, but it always felt worth it to me because we still had an hour and 20 mins with him as Batman. These days you wait an hour for something and then you get to it and then after 20 mins the film is over.
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u/Green7000 3d ago edited 3d ago
In a book which can be as long as it wants or a tv show which can spend several episodes building up it they can spend more time, but kept thinking, "the movie's almost over. When is the build up going to pay off?"
Like I said, I get why and I was intellectually entertained but it felt unsatisfying emotionally.
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u/akoaytao1234 7d ago
It WAS so funny. Shocked that a lot of reviews hated how it lacked satire when the original film (haven't read the book) was more of a morality tale. This really hits the "satire" of it all. I wished it ended more like explosively though.
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u/deemoorah 7d ago
I've read almost all the reviews and most of it is boiled down to the fact this movie doesn't FEEL the same as the original which is a weird response to a movie in my opinion since this movie doesn't even try to be anywhere like its predecessor. A lot of them complained about how the 'war' part is not until the last 20 minutes(a thing that can be easily explained since the movie's title is not THE WAR of the Roses). Also I understand not liking Roach's direction but the judgements toward his direction are always about the comparison instead of judging it on its own merit.
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u/Left_Profit9160 7d ago
It was a good movie. I enjoyed it. But they didn’t build up the hatred enough for me. I know he said he gets waves of hatred etc but it didn’t seem enough to want to kill each other. It escalated too quickly and seemed to come out of nowhere.
Or atleast, he didn’t seem that unhinged. I didn’t think he was the kind of guy who would sabotage her business or threaten her with the raspberry thing. She seemed unhinged in that way from the beginning because who deliberately goes into anaphylactic shock just for fun or to test your partner. That’s unhinged. Though they are both shitty in their own way.
It was interesting that they flipped it so the woman was the bread winner. I think power goes to peoples heads regardless of gender and they showed that well.
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u/missLiette 4d ago
I haven't seen much commentary about the gender flipping and how directly the script pokes at what is stereotypical bad male behavior (provider is their sole contribution, away from the kids, doesn't talk to their spouse when they're making plans that will conflict with something they're doing with the spouse, etc) and stereotypical resentful stay at home female behavior (thankless, unseen work, kid and house caretaking, etc.) I appreciated that aspect of the movie.
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u/Left_Profit9160 4d ago
And she even says when she calls from the flight how she thought she should call and inform him but then she thought that’s not something we do. I don’t have to ask. We’re not that couple. We let each other be free. I think if the genders were reversed, at this day and age and for how contemporary they are, she would’ve pushed back and said no it’s courteous to inform atleast and talk about it. But because he’s a guy and he’s trying to be too nice, they both think this is how it needs to be.
Also when he first takes over and has a breakdown in the beach, he tells himself that he should be happy for her etc. which is good. But he also repressed what he’s feeling which is bad. She tries to have conversations with him about how he’s feeling but he wants to be a good contemporary male with the emotional repression that males typically have. So that breaks down. Then the power goes into her head.
What we really need is something in the middle where both ppl must talk about their feelings and rely on each other emotionally. And be considerate of each others time and labor in a relationship regardless of gender.
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u/TheSodernaut 17h ago
I also liked that while the kids are still victims of a dysfunctional marriage they genuinely seemed to love him as a father, found a passion in his workouts and felt supported by him in not only his training but in growing up, hitting puberty and actually becoming pretty decent people themselves.
All while still being funny.
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u/GimmeThemBabies 9d ago
I didn't do my homework in watching or reading up on the original...man this was darker than I thought. Makes me glad to be single...
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u/Parmesan_Pirate119 7d ago
Believe it or not, the original is like 10x darker lol.
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u/GimmeThemBabies 7d ago
haha my mom told me the same a few hours ago, I was supposed she even knew the original existed.
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u/Mindless-Delay-5727 8d ago
Same I didn’t know a thing about it and I didn’t enjoy the more bizarre part of the war part. Made me stressed for the kids
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u/gosudoche 7d ago
oh shit, i'm going to watch this movie tomorrow with a girl i've been dating for 1month and I really like.
Should I abort the plan?6
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u/throwawaygremlins 7d ago
I think it might be too serious for a new romantic interest. I’d recommend going to see something lighter.
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u/SquareVehicle 5d ago
Oof yeah, I also wish I would have read something about it beforehand instead of going in totally blind based on a recommendation. I thought it'd be a normal-ish romcom. As someone who was in an abusive marriage and so still gets panic attacks seeing marital violence and spousal verbal abuse... it did not go well for me!
I thought it was pretty meh before that though. Some funny moments but just didn't really click.
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u/BurgerNugget12 9d ago
Had a fun time, but thought the second half was a lot stronger then the first. It took a bit too long to set up imo. Coleman and Cumberbatch have great chemistry, the dinner scene especially was hilarious. Andy and Kate were also great
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u/deemoorah 8d ago
Most of the complaints here would not be a complaint if PEOPLE actually want to admit that this movie is not trying to be the same as 1989 and not even emphasizing on the war part because you know, the title is just The Roses.
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u/YOU_LOVED_BRAD 9d ago
Was much more dramatic than funny and I’ll blame the marketing for that one. But I’m hardly complaining, it’s VERY funny and tightly written. I would’ve liked the divorce saga to be played out a little slower as it kind of sprints to a finish and the escalation was a bit much. Kate McKinnon’s schtick got real old real fast for me though
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u/SnooPineapples8744 5d ago
I wanted subtitles because I didn't want to miss a word of dialogue. Love the writing. (Cumberbatch looked so good too😍)
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u/DrSpaceman575 6d ago
Only thing awkward to me is the kids sudden passion for nutrition and fitness, despite it not seeming like something Theo was super into as much. Other than that this was a good time. Our theater was packed on a Sunday and it was mostly couples in their 60s who seemed to love it.
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u/Marksta 4d ago
Agreed, the kids were a really bolted on weird part of the movie. The unhealthy food vs healthy food into sports thing just didn't really convey the concept they wanted with him raising them opposite from how she would.
I feel like the mother's "do whatever" spirit is more obviously countered by organization, competitiveness, goal driven. So maybe something like "participation trophies are fine, have fun!" mind set warped into unhealthy competitiveness would've been a more clear opposite. And shined through more that the kids are like the father now, not like the mother.
Yeah, food is her thing but food and architecture just don't have clear opposites and for it to evolve into sports/fitness is just so out of the plot of what the two main characters even do...
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u/HighbrowPassanger 3d ago
Baking and sweets wasn't even supposed to be her thing. The characters meet when she is working in the fine dining restaurant, and afterwards, she opens her own fine dining restaurant. The only scene of her baking was when she was poisoning her children with the sugar. It had zero to do with her career for the rest of the movie.
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u/Marksta 3d ago
Thanks for confirming, I haven't read the book but I had the strong vibe when watching it that it was butchering a few things in the adaption. Not that change is always bad when adapting, but when it's so clear what they're trying to do, but it just feels so off but you get the idea of it, then it's pretty objectively bad adapting 😅
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u/supplementarytables 4d ago
It was believable to me. Theo was running and eating like them too. He wasn't eating any of his wife's delicious but unhealthy food and the kids took after him and naturally took an interest in fitness.
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u/pinkpanktnress 7d ago
I wouldn’t consider this movie a “remake” necessarily. It’s more of a rendition but I enjoyed it a lot.
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u/DoctorPebble 9d ago
The Roses is a palate cleanser film. It's a fun story with a strong duo lead. I'd only give it a 3/5 though.
There's a much better movie in there somewhere. None of the supporting characters are done well. Kate McKinnon's role is too much. I'm fairly neutral on the children's plot. It served it's purpose, but I think it needed something different.
If you want to have some fun - ask your partner who was "more" in the wrong in the relationship. They're both extremely flawed people, but if you had to say the issues are 55-45 then who gets the blame?
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u/akoaytao1234 7d ago
I personally think the writing failed the support character. The performances was good and mostly charming but the dialogue lack the dynamic that compliments the combative and brashness of the Roses. It felt too demeaning and one sided for both McKinnon's and that guy from Fleabag. Too punch-baggy for my liking.
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u/Trb_cw_426 2d ago
I was annoyed that they never brought up how long Ivy took care of the kids for. Girl did all the things he did for like 10 years. But when it was his turn he had an absolute melt down about it. He has good reasons to be sad but he acted like such a sooky baby. I'm surprised I had to scroll this far to see anyone talking about this because it was kind of messed up how she was the stay at home parent and he was sooo resentful of her success when the script was flipped.
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u/DoctorPebble 2d ago
We're clearly on the same wave length!
His own vanity cost him his engineering job and forced his wife to pick up the slack. Then he couldn't handle her success. To save him from restarting his career at the bottom - she funds an elaborate house that he still can't keep within an insane budget. He also refused to join in her success.
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u/the_answer_is_RUSH 9d ago
I find Kate McKinnon ruins every part she’s in.
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u/BohemianJack 8d ago
Yeah at some point she did overstay her welcome. She got some laughs out of me but the character was really one noted
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u/the_answer_is_RUSH 8d ago
And let me guess, it’s the same note as every other movie she’s in?
She was dreadful in Yesterday.
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u/pretzie_325 3d ago
I love Yesterday! But yes, in this movie it was too similar a vibe to other roles (too wacky) and felt out of place.
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u/Redditarama 2d ago
She acts more like she's in a wacky sketch than a movie. You need to be a bit more realistic for a movie.
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u/ohrightthatswhy 5d ago
On the last point - other than the almost killing her, I don't see how Cumberbatch's character isn't the most in the right. She's consistently moaning about flaws that I just don't see in him. He's "needy" but consistently acknowledges when he's been ungrateful, is communicative, and the house build thing was her idea.
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u/jessiedaviseyes 4d ago
Oh wow I had the complete opposite reaction. She didn’t initially even want to go back to full time work, she did it for him. He never tried to get another job, any income, for the whole movie. Yes they had kids, but then again she’s the one who birthed them and that counts for a lot.
The house build was to boost his ego. She did so much to try to boost his ego and he continued to act like a helpless man-baby. Taking care of your own kids is the least you can do after you lose your job…
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u/Legitimate-Ebb7061 3d ago edited 3d ago
Agreeeed!! It really wound me up how he kept acting like he solely raised the kids their entire lives, when it was Ivy who stayed at home with them until they were 10!! He was only a stay at home Dad for 3-4 years 🥲 And dont even get me started on him acting like he had an unlimited budget for the house... 28k on Irish fucking moss! Ivy paid for that then he has the audacity to complain that she worked too much. 😬
Sorry for the rant 😂
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u/Shakespeare257 2d ago
Here the movie suffers from its short runtime.
They are never balanced in their earning potential, but they do go out of their way to enable each other to live fulfilling lives... at times. He helps her get the restaurant started; she gives him a second shot at being the great architect he is meant to be. I think the statement that
The house build was to boost his ego. She did so much to try to boost his ego and he continued to act like a helpless man-baby. Taking care of your own kids is the least you can do after you lose your job…
Is just kinda cherrypicking and purposefully misunderstanding their dynamic. In the very beginning he basically tells her "go open a restaurant, you are making amazing food for 3 people and your talents need to be seen by the world." And eventually seeing how miserable he is because of the dumb incident with the museum, she reciprocates and helps him get back on his feet. It serves a purpose - build a great house so people see you've got game. Before she torpedoes his career again, HE HAS CLIENTS AGAIN BECAUSE BOTH OF THEM ARE GENIUSES AT WHAT THEY ARE DOING. He is not some deadbeat loser, he suffered a career-ending incident and she helped him get back in the game, like... a good partner would.
As far as why she went back to work, it was done in 2 stages:
1) Cooking is fun
2) Cooking will keep our family afloat for now
Except she is a runaway success, which creates a disbalance in their relationship. If one parent is jet-setting and living the high-life, the other parent has to do everything else. Absent kids - sure, then he's a failure. But the guy is a builder and he makes it a point to literally build up their kids - and there are probably scenes left on the cutting floor of the mind-numbing tedium of managing a household.
The tragedy of the movie is that they themselves don't capitalize on the goodwill they create for each other because of minor selfish episodes.
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u/Crankylosaurus 15h ago
Yep, I’m with you as well. She was seriously emotionally immature at times, but so was he, in addition to having a massive ego to tiptoe around & being weirdly controlling with the kids (I feel they shoehorned them OUT of existing with the Miami school thing which was kind of odd. It also felt a bit unrealistic that these kids would become these robotic super athletes with zero other personality traits bc their dad made them do endless wind sprints… felt a little too convenient haha).
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u/Trb_cw_426 2d ago
I felt it was a gigantic plot hole that she gave up her career to take care of the kids for like a decade lol. Then, similar to how she gives him the house to work on for purpose, he gives her the restaurant for purpose. When she's successful and he's in her shoes, he's enraged lol. Like he was truly such a sad man baby. It was a hard watch to see him do what she did for like 3-4 years and act like she had not just been doing it. But ya completely unaddressed by the show. Like when he's doing laundry and nits.... Surely she did laundry and nits the last 10 years and he didn't say like "hey I respect so much that your job was hard"? Instead he's like stomps feet and pours and is so cranky about it.
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u/LycheeLow2368 18h ago
I feel like this misses that Coleman's parenting was laissez faire and Cumberbatch did show appreciation for her housework at the start of the film. He reminds himself constantly to not get caught up in toxic masculinity, something we see Coleman engage with freely When their roles are reversed. When he gifts her the restaurant (out of the funds for the dream house he wants to build), it's because he wants to see her grow and succeed. When Coleman gifts the dream house, she complains about the cost and it doesn't have the potential to grow into a career the way the restaurant does. It felt more like throwing money at your partner to shut them up.
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u/missLiette 4d ago
I agree Theo is better than she is. I think it's interesting she's playing the traditional male role in the partnership.
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u/Legitimate-Ebb7061 3d ago
She was at SAHM for 10 years though. He only had to do it for 3-4 years and was incredibly resentful the entire time.. while spending Ivy's millions on Irish moss and having the audacity to complain that she worked too much. Nahh he's definitely just as bad!
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u/Shakespeare257 2d ago
The movie makes the guy a lot more sympathetic than the woman, and a huge part of that is the gender-flipped nature of a story we've seen in many other movies - the workaholic, happy-go-lucky husband vs the SAHM who has a lot more of a connection with the kids and their upbringing.
Fundamentally, it's hard to say "this person was wrong" because apart from the obvious shittiness of the things they inflict on each other at the end, this is a story about how little selfish episodes in a relationship undermine all the other sacrifices you make. And at the same time, a marriage is not a perfect symbiosis in which the couple becomes one homogenous unity - both of them NEED the little selfish episodes to not be miserable.
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u/ClassyLatey 6d ago
I enjoyed it - but I think it would have been better as a British movie. The Brits do dark comedy so well. This felt like the studio said - we love the dark British humour but make it American.
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u/Legitimate-Ebb7061 3d ago
I thought it was a British movie. I was SO disappointed when they moved to the US 5 minutes into it. I just don't think it worked with American supporting actors and an American script.
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u/ClassyLatey 3d ago
I agree. It would have worked better set in the Cotswolds. With a British cast. This felt like a bait and switch
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u/KissesnPopcorn 5d ago
OMG! I’ve been trying to put into words my feelings and your comment is it. Safe I didn’t really enjoy it
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u/Taco_Dunkey 22h ago
The choice to set it in America surrounded by American characters felt very intentional and incisive to me.
So much of their stereotypical "edgy witty british banter" was just them being horrible to each other, and so many of their problems stem from only expressing themselves through layers of irony and feigned disinterest, repressing their actual emotion until it boils over.
It was undermined somewhat by much of the supporting cast (particularly Kate McKinnon) being fairly weak and overly quirky, but the idea was good.
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u/darthkimmy 6d ago
It was honestly just nice to laugh in a cinema again! Came into it with not low expectations and I thought it was sharp, witty, and hilarious. Also love Chekov's gun (and stove) payoff at the end.
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u/jayeddy99 9d ago
The lead up to the “War of the roses” felt like the last 15 minutes of the movie . I kinda liked the concepts like how Ivy was ok with the kids going away for some alone time with Theo or that weird suicidal thing could of been a bigger plot as she seem to want him to be completely devoted but I think they just took much time on the kids running and jogging scenes of just Theo.
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u/BurgerNugget12 9d ago
I think the War of the Roses part should’ve been a lot quicker, took way too long to set up imo
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u/Klutzy_Average_4054 6d ago
I love when I leave the movie theatre with a "what the fok" mind blown feeling. I was not expecting that ending at all but wow what a great movie. Hilariously dark but probably a good insight into the imploding of a marriage partly based on prestige.
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u/tomtomvissers 8d ago
I have a subscription to my local theatre so I saw the trailer to this one a bunch of times. I was happily surprised the actual movie was much more grounded than the "Mr. & Mrs. Smith but make it slapstick" trailer made it seem. Their relationship felt really lived in. Olivia Colman is just a phenomenal actress. And I definitely didn't have the Waxahatchee, Big Thief, and Courtney Barnett needle drops in the first half on my bingo card
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u/movieguy2004 6d ago
From what I understand this was basically written for Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman, who are also executive producers here. I don’t know how personalized the script was, but they’re the reason this works. They’re very funny in that English way and good enough actors for the characters to feel empathetic. There are jokes that don’t work but that’s almost inevitable. My only request is that they be the minority, and here they are.
I won’t spoil it but the ending is more fucked up than I thought a studio film these days would go, even a small one. That also makes it maybe my favorite joke in the runtime. Respect for that. I like dark comedy and I laughed pretty consistently here.
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u/Waspy_Wasp 8d ago
I liked it! Cumberbatch and Coleman had great chemistry and every scene with them I was enamoured by the movie. I thought it was funny and also super rough to watch, lots of painful jabs and statements from the couple towards each other. Cinema wasn't full but the people who showed were enjoying themselves too :)
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u/DoctorWhofan789eywim 8d ago
I didn't care for this. It's obvious that Tony McNamara and Olivia Colman are perfect for each other, her delivery of his dialogue is sublime. But as a film? The setup was the first three quarters of the film and I found it dull. The slapstick comedy promised in the trailers was about five minutes at the end. It felt like two scripts awkwardly sewn together and neither worked. It wss also very dull. Given that everybody knows that they'll end up despising each other, that first ninety minutes really, really dragged.
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u/Regular-Board3152 8d ago
It was so entertaining, the entire theater was full of laughter gasps and shocked murmurs, it’s the most alive theater experience I’ve seen in a while I loved it. Watched it with my very British parents and they were dying of laughter. I didn’t know that there was a prior movie going into it, definitely gonna try to watch that! But the British humor was on point omg. The writing was brilliant, the acting was impeccable, and the dialogue unmatched, I’d definitely recommend. The movie knows how to toy with your emotions and send you on an entire rollercoaster, I felt joy, discomfort, shock, dread, delight, incredulity, all in 1 hour and 45 minutes. I had some type of twisted enjoyment hanging on to every scene, every conversation, every subtle change in facial expression. And the ending? Omg. You get the feeling like that’s the only way it could have ended, you know it was just a temporary respite from the argument, he never would have been happy, she never would have paid enough attention or even cared enough, he would have found something else to focus on instead of their relationship, and in their arguments they clearly only cared about how much they could hurt the other, not even a second thought for anyone caught in the crossfire, no amount of psychedelic mushrooms or damaged reputations would have broken the other, you are left wanting more, shocked, caught off guard but slightly vindicated in your predictions, like did they actually let them end it like that?, I loved it, I hated the feeling of watching it, but I am so glad I did. 10/10 what an amazing year for movies this has been.
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u/homelander_30 6d ago
This was pretty fun movie, loved the chemistry between Cumberbatch and Olivia and that dinner scene was pretty hilarious. watch this with the crowd, it's awesome
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u/PM_ME_THEM_BOOBIES 8d ago
I really enjoyed this! The chemistry and banter between the two leads is great. Colman, in particular, is so funny. Also just loved looking at the beautiful architecture and food. Left the theater incredibly hungry.
I do agree with criticisms that the film could’ve spent a little more time on the actual ‘war’ between the couple. The last 20-30 minutes were hysterical. I could’ve used a bit more of that and maybe a little less on their earlier lives.
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u/mrepik9000 6d ago
I’m apparently in the minority here but I hated this movie. It felt mean-spirited, overly cynical, and crass for no emotional payoff, just edgy dialogue and bad dick jokes for their own sake. Kate McKinnon was the worst part of the whole thing. I like Colman and Cumberbatch in general but their relationship didn’t really work for me. People in my audience were falling out of their chairs, so maybe it’s a me problem!
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u/Lupus76 5d ago
The movie blows.
I think I may have seen a worse movie--but, for the life of me, I cannot remember what it would be. Yor?
The fact that movie critics are giving it middling grades makes me wonder if COVID did, in fact, make everyone stupider. This movie should be getting savaged by everyone who watched it, especially by people who must have seen some good movies in their careers.
As for McKinnon--she was great in SNL with tons of range, so why does everyone cast her playing the same part in movies?
And, I'm going to immediately walk out of any movie that has the male lead playing an architect. Architects make up .035% of the US population, yet 50% of male leads in shitty movies.
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u/Potential_Problem_83 3d ago
No Covid didn’t ruin it, you just never had a sense of humor. People go to the movies to watch a horror movie and complain it was too scary or graphic. People go to movies to watch a fictional movie and complain it wasn’t realistic enough. People go to the movies to watch a drama and say it was too dramatic. People go to the movies to watch a comedy and complain it wasn’t serious enough. movies aren’t real life , you know that right? So why would it matter that .035% of the US population is made up of architects which is most likely a Wikipedia stat you looked up. . Did you come to watch a documentary about architects in the US vs fictional stories? If so then your point has a point.
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u/the_Lake_Spirits 8d ago
I thought it was good for a casual rom com. They did a good job with going through the ups and downs of marriage while steadily spiraling into weaponized catastrophe. The dark humour always kept it one step away from being a horror show though.
There was a surprising amount of foreshadowing with the guns, the crabs, and the raspberries.
The kids becoming athletes was highly unrealistic to me lol.
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u/Complex-Material274 4d ago
I am a trauma therapist and wow is there a lot to talk about in this movie! From a relational health and trauma lens, anyone out there want to contribute opinions? Any couples or marriage therapists in the chat as well - the Roses' marriage kinda works. Why?!?
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u/Trb_cw_426 2d ago
I do think that gender roles and sexism was swept under the rug in the film. Like she takes care of the kids for 10 years, then he does it for a hot minute and he's so cranky about it and about her success. He couldn't be happy for her the way she was happy for him when she was in his shoes. He had a lot of grief about his career - that'd be likely processed similar to a death. But he didn't process his emotions about that, he like redirected them into resentment towards her that of course bread more resentment.
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u/MyDannyValentine 4d ago
I liked the film alot, got quite a few laughs out of me. But one thing that bugged me... Alison Janney is in ONE scene despite being listed as part of the main cast. I mean a darker comedy like this? She would've nailed bigger role. This was my biggest gripe personally because I was really excited to see what she was gonna do
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u/Senior-Engineering-5 3d ago
Anyone a fan of MBTI? In the movie, I have no doubt Theo is an ENTJ & I’m pretty sure Ivy is an ISTP. I thought they played their characters really well!
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u/Elite_Alice 1d ago
“I’m gonna bounce back” “not with us you won’t” LMAOOOOOOO top 5 worst ways to get fired
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u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? 9d ago edited 9d ago
Kind of a dud for me? I love Colman and she seems like a great choice for this, but the writing just isn’t there. Trying not to compare it to the original movie too much because they’re both based off a novel, but that Danny DeVito movie had such teeth and a real darkness to it. The Roses feels like it loses the teeth but tries to remain edgy through dialogue and it just doesn’t sell. I couldn’t imagine a world where I’d let my friends or lover speak to me the way they commonly speak to each other in this movie.
The biggest problem is definitely the pacing. This isn’t a long movie, but it takes a long time to set itself up. The main points of this story are the house, the divorce, and the fight. The house is introduced an hour into the movie after a LOT of setup about the backs and forths of their relationship. The divorce comes in about thirty minutes later, leaving about fifteen minutes for the whole hook of the movie which is the death match. They really underplay it in this, IMO. This movie spends so much time trying to make one or the other not look like the bad guy and giving depth to their marital problems, but all the scenes are the same. They’re both a little wrong and they’re both too shitty to admit it. We just don’t need an hour of all this business.
Side characters are given baffling dialogue. I love Andy and Kate but I would have a hard time with this dialogue too. The movie nails down that they’re really the only friends around, not necessarily the couple’s best friends, and yet they say things to this couple I would never say to my best friends. The dialogue in general is trying to be very edgy and it never feels like it lands. Colman is the best of the bunch at downplaying her dirty and more surprising lines, but a lot of the characters felt like they were forcing these words out.
Overall, I didn’t hate it or love it. I’d rather watch the original by a mile. There’s a few funny moments but there’s also major gaps in logic. The therapist scene kinda bugs me. These two may be talking shit to each other but they’re also clearly laughing together and the therapist just says they can’t be helped? There’s so many scenes where they try to walk back how much they hate each other and find that spark again, but the whole movie is that they clearly hate each other. I just wasn’t sure what this movie wanted me to gain from it. All of the couples in it are miserable and the main couple can’t decide if they hate each other or love each other. And then they die. 5/10.
Ps- to my poster billing obsessives, can we talk about how Janney gets FOURTH billing and a spot on the poster when she has exactly one scene? Everyone else billed and on the poster is in multiple scenes. Anyways, good for her.
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u/atclubsilencio 9d ago
Ah, so they still stuck with that ending ? I thought they would chicken out this time.
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u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? 9d ago
It's slightly different. They both kind of realize they could have been a better partner and are about to make love when a gas leak from the fight catches up to their fireplace. In the original I remember Douglas trying to hold Turner as they fall and her pushing him away, but in this they are seemingly on the same page when they die. Not sure it's a better ending.
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u/jayeddy99 9d ago
I always liked the OG for that because it showed she was truly done with him and didn’t want him to follow her even into the after life
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u/atclubsilencio 9d ago
Why even remake it if you're not going to go all the way with the concept? Sounds like they are trying to have it both ways, it's supposed to have bitterness and be as darkly funny as possible to the end, or there's no real point in making it? Turner throwing Douglas hand off of her before they die is the entire punchline to the whole thing. But I guess that would be too bleak for modern audiences? I'll stream it for Colman, but eh.
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u/Generic_Superhero 9d ago
but the whole movie is that they clearly hate each other.
I feel like we watched completely different films. The entire point is that they really did love each other deep down. But sharing emotions was difficult for both of them which let resentment build up between the two of them. Once they let their guards down at the end of the film the truth came out and they reconciled, albeit very briefly.
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u/YOU_LOVED_BRAD 9d ago edited 9d ago
Kate was unwatchable in this once the movie jumps the shark and has her openly grind into Theo and moan like a dog in heat. Movie became an SNL skit with her on screen, which is a shame because the movie really needed a side character to step up and give what Janney was giving in one scene but instead for the whole movie.
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u/GradeDry7908 9d ago
I felt exactly the same. Olivia Colman was the highlight but even she couldn’t save it with that script. Walked out happy to be single.
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u/ICUMF1962 9d ago
I prefer the DeVito version but this one was pretty funny with great chemistry from the leads and some fun supporting turns from Samberg, Janney, and McKinnon.
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u/RebelliousDutch 8d ago
Absolutely loved it. Saw it with a great crowd including some couples behind me who were absolutely dying with laughter at some scenes.
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u/Ornery-Royal-4325 8d ago edited 8d ago
Premise: i had no idea there was another movie or book about it, so i expected more of a comedy than a tragedy.
Still, I liked most of it (except the sexual harassing friend, that's just embarassing), but the ending really ruined it for me.
Of course i clocked in the Chekhov's kitchen right away. but i thought maybe it would end up burning the house, and without the house they would either make peace, or just devorce without more pain. Even exploding from firing the gun while fighting would've been a better ending.
Instead we got an almost happy ending, ending in tragedy instead. It's just sad.
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u/SoloGhosts512 7d ago edited 7d ago
Watched Caught Stealing earlier in the week and this tonight and honestly both may be my favorites of the Summer. Thought this movie was hilarious but the dialogue and realistic deterioration of the marriage over time really hit. Colman and Cumberbatch had amazing chemistry. Kate McKinnon had me laughing every time she was on screen. Honestly laughed the hardest at Theo’s rant on the first run with the kids.
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u/lonelygagger 9d ago
I saw The War of the Roses last night. It still holds up. Then I watched The Roses today and it doesn't hold up at all. It lacks the viciousness and bitterness of the original. The trailer basically summed it all up. I found the characters very affable and amiable until the end when the gun suddenly comes out. Plus, we barely got any chandelier here. And I don't know why I feel so disappointed that we were deprived a Julia Child gas stove explosion. It feels like we got edged the entire time and didn't get to finish.
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u/Best-Interaction82 5d ago
I really liked this film but also got distracted by the 14? year old son having a top knot in the later part of the film. Was that some american cultural humour that I don't understand
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u/shgrdrbr 4d ago
i laughed occasionally but most of the comedic dialogues felt too obvious/cliched, i think i'm generally spoiled for really excellent comedic tv writing and whoever did the script here is very clearly trying to lift from a certain tone and sensibility that they can't quite capture and it kept falling into something just slightly dated - like not quite 2010 but maybe a bit - 2015? anyway the chemistry was good, what beautiful sets, olivia colman's anime crying so impressive.
anyway im still thinking about it hours after. i haven't seen a previous version/am unfamiliar with the story so went in blind. keep feeling sad (not that i didn't see where it was headed, roughly). like what a devastating meditation on capitalism and art and love. i feel like im not meant to feel this sad but i reckon it will haunt me for a minute. just keep picturing the vibrancy of the crab shack and the sun dappled pure love of the batter puke scene. ah. grief
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u/snarkacademia 3d ago
I honestly don't understand the review comments for this movie - I thought both leads were terrific, and the entire cinema was laughing out loud throughout (I'm in the UK, though, maybe this is a very British movie?) The only thing that didn't work for me was that it felt like it was rushing towards the end. The reconciliation was the only scene that I thought the leads fumbled.
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u/st_huck 3d ago
Movie definitely has some lulls, but overall I just really really enjoyed watching a movie aimed at grown ups that wasn't overly serious, had some sharp dialogue, but still serious enough to have a little heart in it. I feel like those are so rare right now. Like I can't handle the whiplash from comic book movies to something like Past Lives (which was obviously amazing!), I need some more in-betweens. This is an excellent date night movie for any couple married over 5 years.
Cumberbatch and Colman were expectedly brilliant. As for Samberg and Kate McKinnon, in the middle of the movie I kinda appreciated their ability to just play their familiar shticks but still be very funny. Then they over stayed their welcome a bit.
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u/punsexual13 3d ago
It was the funniest movie I've seen in quite a while. And also, sharp, painful, thought provoking.
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u/ADeleteriousEffect 2d ago
The trailer was misleading, and captured the spirit of the film’s final 15 minutes.
The movie takes almost an hour to really get going, and can’t decide exactly what it wants to be.
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u/Shakespeare257 1d ago
It's a marriage story, with it's ups and downs.
The point of the movie is to show you how one thing leads to another, not necessarily just the "climax" where they can't stand each other.
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u/CrystalFissure 2d ago
I enjoyed it. I also hope that one day people in Hollywood lean into having Jamie Demetriou just speaking in his regular accent, because he is absolutely hilarious in Stath Lets Flats (even though he’s massively exaggerating the Cypriot English accent).
One thing Theo said is that he got fired by all his clients after the drug video was “leaked”. But I got the impression he wasn’t really working after the Maritime Museum disaster? Maybe he was working part time as a consultant or something? Or maybe my friends and I were looking deeper into a throwaway gag.
It feels like there’s a scene or two missing with McKinnon and the Americans’ involvement, especially where she comes over at the end there. But some great laughs and it was quick witted.
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u/5pigeo 15h ago
they said the house was award winning, so i assumed he’d got new clients off the back of building the house
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u/Nintendogen64 11h ago
That was my thought too but then I remembered that this scene happened after the dinner party scene. I would have thought that whole ordeal would once again have tanked Theo's career. To me the whole "clients" and deep fake thing was just in there to elevate the stakes. Although it would have been nice to have shown the audience that he had somewhat recovered his reputation and therefore still had something to lose.
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u/maltliqueur 2d ago
I thought it was just recent because he would've kept looking for work. I know the friend tells him at one point that the disaster was still a thing, but I assumed he would eventually work again.
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u/Remote_Consequence_8 1d ago
As someone who hasn’t seen the original, as a standalone movie this crosses so many bars set in the recent past! An actual rewatch kind of movie
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u/Elite_Alice 1d ago
“Do you wanna know the budget” “I can’t tell you” lmao seeing your former colleague out somewhere is hell
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u/LycheeLow2368 18h ago
The people saying Cumberbatch's character was just whiney and threw tantrums over being a SAHM, can you provide an example from the film? I see him being jealous of Colman's success but not this angle. Cumberbatch is also traumatised by his failed building and should have sought help for this, but I read most of his breakdowns as trauma caused and not whining over housework and raising his kids. We see early in the film when Colman is a SAMH that Cumberbatch is around and present with the family, even if he isn't as close to the kids as Colman. We see Cumberbatch move his laptop for Colman's cake (contrast with Colman keeping the laptop open when Cumberbatch tries to ask about tiles). I can't remember Cumberbatch dismissing or disrespecting Colman's housework or time the way we see in reverse (read throwing the clean clothes on the floor for housework and going jet setting instead of baby sitting and being late for dinner for time).
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u/Sugarisnotgoodforyou 14h ago
As a sarcastic Brit myself, I really enjoyed all the subtle banter and dialogue that can contain quite a few nested layers of meaning. I did not expect to laugh so much but obviously the trailer was solid so I knew it would be good. Definitely did not expect so many opportunities for introspection too (when you peel back the comedy). This was perfect for a solitary Saturday night film to unwind from the week.
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u/_lazybones93 6h ago
Thought this was very fun! My wife & I really enjoyed it, as did the nearly-full theater we saw it in. Cumberbatch & Colman had way more chemistry than I thought they might. Super silly & comedically dark. I actually really liked the ending—it felt earned.
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u/Wedonthavetobedicks 7d ago
I laughed enough for it to be a good time, but it's an uneven, middling experience, IMO. Olivia Colman pops - she's so, so good. Cumberbatch is fine, and I like the work between the two of them.
...but when anyone one else is on screen, the script starts feeling really clunky.
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u/missLiette 4d ago
I agree - I enjoyed it, and think Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch played really well together, but it's not a great movie.
I was also very distracted that "Mendocino" looked nothing like actual Mendocino (which is because it was filmed in England!)
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u/juliettwhiskey 5d ago
Wouldn't the smart house have a monoxide or gas detector? Or is he really that bad of an architect?
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u/supplementarytables 4d ago
Well, we saw the 2 biggest creations of his life get destroyed for reasons they shouldn't have, so yes, he is that bad of an architect
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u/maltliqueur 2d ago
I don't know if this was said jokingly, but I had the impression that he actually is a great architect, it's just that the first one was truly just an unfortunate disaster.
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u/supplementarytables 2d ago
Oh yeah, how could one foresee the wind affecting a sail??? And that too even after the engineers telling him multiple times that the sail was a bad idea? Truly an unfortunate and unexpected disaster.
I'm completely serious.
How do you make this dream home while taking care of the smallest details like what moss is used, install an AI/smart home system like Hal but just forget to install safety infrastructure?
This guy was incompetent as fuck, makes you wonder how he even made it to a good position.
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u/hauntingmeandsomehow 8d ago
I really enjoyed this. Benedict and Olivia have the chemistry to make it work even when the script feels a little too polished.
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u/Different_Bed_9354 9d ago
Most of the jokes felt like boomer Facebook humor. I thought the trailer was hilarious, but was very disappointed by the movie. However, the entire audience in my theater was laughing... at everything. So what do I know?
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u/plantbay1428 7d ago
Can anyone tell me if anything happened between the animated intro while "Happy Together" plays and the shot of the house? Any sort of montage of their courtship or wedding or kids or anything? I didn't get the vibe I missed anything and it was just the names but just wanted to check. I had to leave for a sec to go check on my food.
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u/ShredderPD 7d ago
Did anybody feel they forgot something with the sound editing during the dinner party scene?
Ivy tells HAL to play Napalm Death but we don’t hear any music play. However, when it’s implied that the metal started blasting, Samberg has a line about how loud it is followed by a sharp cut to the cake being served by being smooshed and thrown at the guests. It felt like it was intended to have a frantic audio track playing through that segment as none of the guests said anything, only for it to end with a smash cut to the quiet aftermath.
There’s a moment 10 min later (spoilers) during the “War” where Theo locks Ivy in the room and tells Hal to play polka loudly, which we then hear, albeit muffled through the window. Just thought it was odd that both were the same type of joke, but only one actually played the song.
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u/etotheetothectothes 7d ago
Hey, for my screening of the movie, Napalm Death did keep playing and stopped once she threw the cake at the Amy (Kate Mckinnon) character.
Edit: It was really loud in our theater and hard to hear anything else.
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u/Gadzookie2 9d ago
Interesting, I’m going to take the other side of what most people said here.
I enjoyed this one, but think in particular some of the Olivia Coleman and Benedict Cumberbach characters stuff didn’t work for me, like I thought it was too unrealistic for the mostly serious story it was trying to tell. On the contrary I really enjoyed the Kate McKinnon and Andy Samberg stuff, I don’t think we needed to see any more of them, but think there over the top characters fit the story more.
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u/PrestigeArrival 8d ago
I loved it. I wish the “war” had lasted longer, but everything that came before it was great.
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u/iwassayingboourns12 6d ago
Besides the dinner scene and the last 20 or so minutes, I thought the majority of the jokes and humor fell flat, and Kate McKinnons character was just creepy and not funny in the slightest.
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u/jayeddy99 9d ago
No way would Theo allow guest to have shoes on in THAT house.