The Roses (2025) * *

 

Directed by:  Jay Roach

Starring:  Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Kate McKinnon, Andy Samberg, Wells Rappaport, Hala Finley

It's impossible not to compare The Roses to its 1989 counterpart The War of the Roses (1989), which starred Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito, and Kathleen Turner and was a merciless dark comedy that didn't play nice.  We believed it when the Roses of that movie met, fell in love, and years later were at each other's throats over their divorce and custody of their house.   In this current incarnation, we're unconvinced that the married pair truly despises one another and thus, the humor and intrigue are lost.  The Roses tries to play catch up by throwing in a montage of nasty things Theo (Cumberbatch) and Ivy (Colman) do to each other in a game of one-upmanship, but by then we are long past caring. 

Cumberbatch and Colman are, of course, likable down to their cores.  Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner had edges and elbows when dealing with each other, even when they were happily married.  It is difficult to these Roses to transition into full-blown hatred when you are never convinced it's real.  This is not the fault of the actors, but of a screenplay that doesn't want them to seem mean.  Their arguments are forced; sounding like new age psychobabble wrapped in British accents.  Theo, an architect and Ivy, a chef, meet and quickly fall in love one night in a London restaurant where Ivy works and Theo is trying to muddle through a business dinner.  Ten years later, they've moved to Los Angeles where Theo is a successful architect and Ivy opens a restaurant which quickly gains popularity.  However, one of Theo's buildings is destroyed in a storm and finds himself out of a job when the destruction goes viral.  He is now relegated to house-husband while Ivy's business expands and she becomes the primary breadwinner.

There is room for satire and exploration of the roles of the sexes in a marriage, but that is not done in The Roses.  Instead we have a needless remake "based on the novel", but let's be honest:  Who knew The War of the Roses was ever a novel?  This is a remake of the 1989 movie for my money, and it pales in comparison.