Couples Retreat Blu-ray Review

"Couples Retreat" arrives on Blu-ray with a robust 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that delivers a visually stunning experience, particularly when depicting the panoramic beaches of Bora Bora. This vivid and accurately saturated presentation features bold primaries, rich seascape greens, and lifelike skin tones. The colors are impeccably rendered, with specific highlights on the bright red garments of the character Marcel and the brilliant blues that bring the ocean to life. Despite a few negligible soft scenes, the overall image is razor-sharp, demonstrating extraordinary definition in various objects, resort architecture, and the lush island foliage. Contrast remains slightly warm but purposeful, enhancing the sun-soaked ambiance of the setting.

The clarity of the transfer is particularly notable in daylight sequences, where fine textures are crisp and refined, and closeups exhibit exceptional detail. Black levels are deep and inky, enhancing shadow detail in dark scenes, though there are occasional issues with murky shadows in dimly lit cabana scenes and midnight jungle excursions, which sometimes suffer from poor delineation. However, these moments do not detract significantly from the overall experience. Crucially, the image maintains its integrity without artifacting, unintended noise, aliasing, or other digital artifacts. Although some heavy ringing is apparent in outdoor daylight scenes, this seems to be an artifact of the high-contrast photography rather than a flaw in the encode. Overall, Universal's outstanding transfer is both visually appealing and technically proficient, making "Couples Retreat" a rewarding visual spectacle.

Universal’s DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track for "Couples Retreat" effectively enhances the film's soundscape, despite its more dialogue-heavy nature. Vocals are consistently clear and well-prioritized, ensuring that lines remain distinct even amidst chaotic scenes like the island nightlife or the energetic Guitar Hero matches. The low-frequency effects (LFE) are generally restrained but come into play at key moments, adding weight to some of the film's more bizarre escapades. While the rear speakers primarily support oceanic ambience and resort acoustics, they do get their moments to shine, creating a decent and convincing soundfield. Pans are seamless and dynamics are adequately responsive, ensuring a balanced audio experience.

The surround track largely keeps activity in the front speakers, with strong vocal presence centered and smooth channel separation. The dynamic range is commendably sharp and wide, delivering excellent clarity and definition through the lossless mix. While low-frequency effects are sparse, they provide appreciable heft when scenes demand it. Rear speaker activity is minimal, primarily limited to subtle bleeds from musical tracks, which adds to the tropical island setting but falls short of a fully immersive experience. Moments of heightened background action, such as thunderstorms and resort scenes, offer increased engagement, yet never reach an enveloping level. Overall, this is a solid and enjoyable audio mix that satisfactorily supports the comedic elements of the film without standing out as spectacular.

The Blu-ray edition of "Couples Retreat" offers a mixed bag of special features that often lack engagement and depth, though all video content is presented in high definition. The U-Control Commentary by Vaughn and Billingsley is particularly uninspiring, featuring disjointed technical discussions and banal tangents. The alternate ending, however, provides a more fitting conclusion to the film, while "Therapy's Greatest Hits" stands out for its humor. Other features like the "Gag Reel" and "Paradise Found" offer standard behind-the-scenes glimpses but lack compelling content. Overall, the extras are underwhelming, save for a few bright spots.

Extras included in this disc:

• U-Control Commentary: Technical insights and tangents by Vaughn and Billingsley.
• Alternate Ending: A sentimental ending option with optional commentary.
• Deleted Scenes: Nine scenes with optional commentary, including some wisely cut content.
• Therapy's Greatest Hits: Humorous deleted therapy scenes.
• Extended Scenes: Three unnecessary scene extensions.
• Paradise Found: Filming in Bora Bora: EPK segment on filming in Bora Bora.
• Gag Reel: Standard actor bloopers.
• Behind the Yoga: Insight into the yoga sequence and instructor.
• BD-Live Functionality and News Ticker
• My Scenes Bookmarking

With an ensemble cast rich in comedic talent and a script penned by Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau, "Couples Retreat" had all the ingredients for a hit. The film kicks off with a labored first act, spending undue time setting up Vaughn and Favreau's strained couples—Dave and Ronnie (Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman), Joey and Lucy (Jon Favreau and Kristin Davis), Jason and Cynthia (Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell), and Shane and Trudy (Faizon Love and Kali Hawk). The lengthy setup drains much of the potential energy and humor, leaving the first act to drag at just a few metaphorical miles per hour. When they finally reach the resort designed to mend their fracturing relationships, the therapy sessions offer brief glimpses of genuine comedy but the rest of the plot flounders through disconnected sketches and thinly developed antagonists.

Performance-wise, the film is inconsistent. While Vaughn, Favreau, and Bateman manage to extract some humor from their underwhelming roles, Akerman, Davis, and Bell are left with poorly developed characters that do little more than react to the men. Notably, Akerman's role could have benefitted greatly from an actress with a more distinct comedic style, such as Kristen Wiig or Jennifer Aniston. The misused potential extends to Jean Reno, whose portrayal of the resort's love guru fails to elevate or even fully engage in the overarching narrative. The film sporadically springs to life in scenes involving the supporting cast, particularly brief but shining performances by John Michael Higgins and Ken Jeong. Yet, these moments are fleeting, with many gags such as Vaughn's own son urinating in a showroom toilet falling flat, seemingly asking for audience forgiveness in real-time.

Despite scattered one-liners and rare chuckles, the film’s disjointed plot and shallow depiction of marital woes make for a less-than-stellar comedic experience. Peter Billingsley’s directorial debut does little to mitigate an already uninspired script. Though bright spots include charming performances by Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell, and Kristin Davis, they are outweighed by a script that seems more content with situational absurdities than substantive humor. "Couples Retreat" may suffice as a one-time diversion but fails to deliver meaningful or consistent laughter—a disappointing reality given its talented lineup. Renting comes recommended over purchasing, as this film is unlikely to merit multiple viewings.

Peter Billingsley's directorial debut, "Couples Retreat," presents a unique exploration into the comedic genre, bringing together Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau as both writers and leads. Despite their background in creating boundary-pushing humor in 'Swingers,' this film fails to deliver its comedic promise. The movie largely comprises formulaic tropes and predictable plotlines, making it feel lackluster and uninspired. However, the Blu-ray presentation showcases an excellent video transfer, crisp and vibrant, highlighting the beautiful island scenery with striking clarity. The DTS-HD Master Audio track is equally commendable, providing an immersive sound experience that complements the visual splendor.

The Blu-ray's supplementary package, though earnest in its efforts, is largely underwhelming. The additional content struggles with awkward execution and fails to add meaningful context or depth to the film. Despite this, fans of Vaughn and Billingsley's previous works may find these extras mildly entertaining. The technical strengths of the Blu-ray edition are noteworthy, with both the video and audio aspects surpassing typical expectations for a standard comedy release. Those considering a purchase purely for the Blu-ray quality will not be disappointed by the AV presentation.

Yet another mediocre comedy earns yet another above average AV presentation. To Universal's credit, the Blu-ray edition of 'Couples Retreat' offers an excellent video transfer and a fit and faithful DTS-HD Master Audio track. Unfortunately, the film itself is a hit-or-miss tour of every conceivable genre convention, and Vaughn and Billingsley's awkward supplemental package teeters on the edge of awful before plummeting into the abyss. If you enjoyed Four Christmases, 'Couples Retreat' will probably appeal to your sensibilities. If not, save your money for a smarter, sharper comedy.