The Roses
When Theo Rose (Benedict Cumberbatch) dashes into a restaurant kitchen to regain his bearings during a business dinner, he makes such an instant connection with one of the chefs, Ivy (Olivia Colman), her food and their spicy banter lead them right into sex in the restaurant's walk-in. Some dozen years later, a marriage counselor will conclude there is no hope for "The Roses."
Laura's Review: B-
Director Jay Roach ("Meet the Parents," "Bombshell") delivers a glossy reimagining of "The War of the Roses" with an adaptation of Tony McNamar's novel by Warren Adler that weakens it strong central theme with some subplots which just don't work and marketing which has revealed all the film's biggest laughs in its trailer. It is no surprise that Cumberbatch and Colman click comedically, as do Ncuti Gatwa (the current 'Doctor Who') and Sunita Mani ("Death of a Unicorn") as Ivy's We've Got Crabs' head waiter and sous chef, but ex-SNLers Andy Samberg and especially Kate McKinnon fizzle as Theo's real estate attorney Barry and his overly flirtatious wife Amy, as do Zoë Chao ("Nightbitch") and Jamie Demetriou as his architect colleagues Sally and her husband Rory, none particularly likable. The deck's already stacked on Ivy's side, her friends loyal, his awful, but production designer Mark Ricker helps even the score with the couples' gifts to each other - Ivy's seaside crab shack and Theo's dramatic dream house.
Ten years after that meet cute, the Roses are married and have relocated from London to Mendocino where Theo is on the verge of a career milestone with his innovative design for the East Bay Maritime Museum while Ivy mostly raises their two kids Hattie (Delaney Quinn, Hala Finley) and Roy (Ollie Robinson, Wells Rappaport), whipping up delectable meals for the whole family when she's not relaxing with a joint. Theo surprises his wife by buying a run down seaside shack which, with her puckish sense of humor, she calls We've Got Crabs and manages a few days a week in a laid back style. Then one fateful day, everything changes when an unpredictable storm blows in, destroying Theo's lauded building just as its about to open while driving commuters, including San Francisco's premier food critic, down the secondary road to Ivy's restaurant. When responsibilities and ambitions flip, Ivy's star taking off while Theo turns house husband, the Rose marriage begins to wobble.
Adler begins to splash acid into the Roses' delightfully witty banter so that it slowly begins to curdle, resentments beginning to bubble to the surface, but some of his character shifts, like Ivy's sudden insensitivity in the glare of the spotlight or Theo's boot camp parenting style don't feel organic (it is notable, too, that everything is fine while she maintains a more conservatively traditional role within the family). A scene where Theo is invited to a gun club at first seems a glancing blow at Americans' love of firearms, but Chekov's gun theory never goes out of style. There are a number of satisfying parallels to the story, like Ivy's reaction to a repetition of her and Theo's meet cute with two of her employees or the fact that Theo and Ivy both try to lift their spouses with generous real estate gifts, but the obvious martial strife between Barry and Amy doesn't work as a bellwether for the Roses nor is Sally's attempt to replicate their wit funny in the least. The Rose children aren't given much to do other than to be used as screenwriting pawns.
Thankfully, we're in the hands of pros in the leads and Coleman and Cumberbatch elevate everything. Gatwa and Mani may not figure much into the plot, but their presence adds humor and warmth. Allison Janney does her usual, effective hard-nosed schtick as Ivy's divorce lawyer. Although most of the film is set in California, Mark Ricker actually used locations in England like Salcombe's The Winking Prawn for Ivy's restaurant, a racecourse for three other locations while a home on the Devon coast stands in for Theo's masterpiece, its interiors built on a Pinewood soundstage with art direction reflecting the traits of the couple who reside there (Julia Childs' stove!). Costume designer PC Williams subtly shifts Theo and Ivy's wardrobes to reflect their changing circumstance without changing their personal style. Cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister ("Tár") ensures the Roses' lifestyle has a Nancy Meyers sheen.
If "The Roses" fails to completely satisfy, Adler has found a perfectly puckish, very dark way to wrap this war of the Roses up, one which Roach caps with a cut to black. It is both similar to and more hopeful than the 1989 original's ending, a movie that keeps wanting to have it both ways.
Searchlight releases "The Roses" in theaters on 8/29/25.
