The Roses is a remake of the 1989 film The War of the Roses, directed by and co-starring Danny DeVito. In the lead roles were Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, and it was a movie that took the phrase “domestic dispute” to another level. Devito got the gist of Warren Adler’s novel and made it something everyone enjoyed. It was crazy that the film was getting a remake with Jay Roach (Bombshell) directing this, but with a script by Tony McNamara (Poor Things) and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman, it’s a worthy shot and largely succeeds by having the bones of the original film while also taking its own line in the storytelling.

Theodore “Theo” Rose (Cumberbatch) and his wife Ivy (Colman) are in couples therapy trying to get through a hard time with their marriage. This is just part of a framing sequence, and the film flashes back to how these two got to this point. They first met at a restaurant in England, moved to California, and then started a family there. Two things happen that cause their happy lives to change, which I won’t spoil here, but because of these two key elements, the pair start to hate each other. A culminating scene at a dinner party is the breaking point for them both, which is certainly relatable for couples who have divorced, as it’s quite the moment.

Roach, using his skills in mixing comedy and drama, creates a strong dynamic between Cumberbatch and Colman, with their witty banter brilliantly executed during the film. It’s the first time I’ve seen Cumberbatch play a character who isn’t smarter or better than everyone else around him, even though Theo is an architect. It’s a character that certainly has it all until he realizes that he doesn’t. He is perfect for Colman’s Ivy, bringing that perfectly timed charm in his mannerisms, while Colman is such a delight as a chef and mother with her own strong-willed ideas. Again, this shows Colman’s versatility from Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown to her Oscar-winning performance in The Favorite. They had incredible chemistry on screen and used a bit of low blows against each other, but that was part of the fun.

Benedict Cumberbatch is an actor who’s done a lot of different kinds of roles, but he has done a dramedy before. This is the first time where he wasn’t playing a character where he was smarter or better than everyone else around him. Even though he was quite smart as architects usually are. He’s played doctors, detectives, spies, and mathematicians, just to name a handful. These roles helped him be this rich architect who has it all. Until he doesn’t. He genuinely seemed like his character was perfect for the Colman character. Their on-screen chemistry was incredible. The dialogue throughout the film was brilliantly written. I laughed quite a bit during the scenes between the pair. I’d be interested in seeing him in this type of film again. Or if he worked with Colman.

Olivia Colman has made her name doing British dramas like Broadchurch on BBC 1 and The Crown on Netflix and Fleabag on Prime Video.  She’s used to having witty conversations with her co-stars. She won an Oscar, though, for playing a Queen of England. That was a zany performance, though. Here, she works with one of the best British actors walking the planet in Cumberbatch. It seemed like the pair had been working together their whole lives. They had incredible chemistry on screen. They both used a bit of low blows against each other, but that was part of the fun. I laughed at so much of what she was doing. I definitely would like to see her do more roles of this nature. The dynamic nature of her opposite Cumberbatch is something I’d see over and over again.

Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon, Zoe Chao, Jamie Demetriou, and Allison Janney also co-star and have a slice of the antics with their own barbs against each other. Looking at the trailer, it actually doesn’t give itself away too much with lines and sequences, which allows us not to expect certain things to happen. The entire dinner party sequence was filled with the craziness that this movie was full of. McNamara’s script is filled with wacky adlibs and hilarious banter from everybody at the table. It was pretty crazy that both Cumberbatch and Colman stood toe to toe with these professional comedians when you’d think the two major SNL veterans would steal the scene themselves.

As someone who has never married, I can’t say what it’s like to be married to someone or in an intimate relationship like the Roses are. I’ve been around my share of married couples, though, and their children. Whether they be my friends, siblings, or parents, I have seen a lot in these unions, and the whole thing of marriage isn’t my thing. I am not reliable in knowing what it takes to be in such a long-term commitment. The fighting seemed a bit over the top, but that’s the point of the story, of how far they’re willing to go to get the other into submission. The difficulties of married life here show the rich never have it perfect. Nobody owns marriage, and the film portrays this relationship very differently from what most would say theirs is like.

The Roses is a solid remake that takes a different spin on the original with a modern-day context. Even with its far-fetched moments, these characters are irresistible and smug at the same time, giving us something to giddy about another couple’s tumultuous marriage. Roach captured the essence of the original film but made it his own, being able to not copycat DeVito’s version of events. This was a domestic dispute that I’m glad I have never been involved in real life, but I had the pleasure of watching it unfold.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen