I'm all for a good, funny Vince Vaughan movie, especially when it's a dual project between Vince and Jon Favreau. Swingers is still one of my all time favorite movies.
So, when I saw that the movie Couples Retreat had those two and Jason Bateman, another favorite of mine, I was all ready for a little sophomoric humor and good one-liners. Well, the movie isn't that funny, but maybe because part of it strikes close to home.
If you don't want to know about this movie, stop reading here. I won't give everything away, but there is one critical detail that I need to discuss.
The whole premise of having these four couples on the retreat stems from the strained marriage of one of the couples, and the reason: they were having trouble conceiving. They rope their six friends into a relationship retreat in Tahiti in hopes that they will decide whether or not they should stay married.
It made me think about one thing that I never had to worry about while I was going through all the nutty infertility stuff: my marriage. I'm not saying things were a breeze when getting negative pregnancy test, after negative pregnancy test, but I never once had to question whether or not my marriage would make it through.
In fact, many couples separate after going through the trying times. There can be a lot of guilt, resentment and blame. (See Mad Men entry from a few weeks ago).
If anything, I think that my marriage got stronger, but I know that the dreaded beast of infertility can put holes in good relationships. Stay tough infertiles. Don't let it break you down.
Couples Retreat would definitely trigger some sensitive spots for me too. My marriage is also solid, and it would be weird to see a film where the couple needs to test whether or not they should stay together, where their issues stem from infertility. Ooh. That very idea could definitely cause a big wave of teary emotional junk to wash over me.
ReplyDeleteYea - it didn't just put holes in my marriage infertility - it absolutely annihilated it. But we also came back from the ashes and built a much better marriage. So, you take the bad and the good. Thanks for letting me know not to see this movie...
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean! And is it just me or do all the people who have crazy unstable relationships have no problems concieving? Hmmmmmmmmm. Just wondering if it was only this way in my world?
ReplyDeleteNo, it's true. Teens and crackheads seem to get pregant with no problem. Makes me crazy - hey wait a minute, shouldn't that craziness enable me to get pregger?!?!
ReplyDeleteI would never trade your smile, your laugh or your heart for a working uterus. You are perfect to me in every way.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much hated the movie. Mostly because I was also expecting mindless hilarity....and I waited...and waited...it never came! I later realized that it was PG-13, so I shouldn't have been expecting the Wedding Crashers-kind of funny. It did make me want to go on vacation though!
ReplyDeleteWanted to let you know that I nominated you for an award on my blog. I enjoy reading your blog!