Couples Retreat – Blu-ray Disc Review
February 6, 2010 – 4:02 AM - Posted by: Brendan SurplessTags: BD-Live, Digital Copy, Faizon Love, Jason Bateman, Jean Reno, Jon Favreau, Kali Hawk, Kristen Bell, Kristin Davis, Malin Akerman, Peter Billingsley, Pocket Blu, Universal, Vince Vaughn
has an average rating of 5.6 on IMDb
1080p in AVC MPEG-4 on a 50gb disc
DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
include exclusives & Digital Copy
– 
– 2009
– 114 minutes
– Universal
– 
This uses 35.2GB for the movie out of 43.3GB total.
Overall Verdict – Worth A Look
Buy it for $19.99 @ Amazon.com
— Review written by: Brendan Surpless
The Movie Itself is directed by Peter Billingsley and written by Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn and Dana Fox. When Cythnia (Kristen Bell) and Jason (Jason Bateman) realize that their marriage is on the rocks, they look to a Couples Retreat program at a resort called Eden West. Clearly not wanting anything to fall apart, they decide to go only money seems to be the issue. If they can get other couples to attend as well, that will cut some of the costs. Bingo! Enter 3 other lucky couples in Dave (Vince Vaughn) and Ronnie (Malin Akerman), Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristen Davis) and Shane (Faizon Love) and Trudy (Kali Hawk). Promised only a few minimal sessions of couple therapy and the rest of the time being relaxation and parties, all agree to attend. Imagine the shock that awaits when all these couples realize that a resort built around couple therapy may not be as simple as it sounds. What results is a pretty funny film that works if only because of the solid cast.
It seems lately that comedies are coming out with not just the olden days of one main star leading the pack, but rather many big names all joining together. I first noticed this with “Funny People“, which successfully mixed humor and story. “Couples Retreat“, while on the different side of the spectrum story wise, brings in the guns here trying to see if this will work. The end result is that the movie is quite funny at points (mostly when Vaughn is on screen), but tends to lose steam at moments. Clearly Vaughn is the highlight here (with the Yoga instructor coming in second… ah yes! Encouragement!). I’ve mentioned before that it seems that a majority of Vaughn’s humor comes from his ability to deliver his dialogue at a fast pace. It’s this delivery that simply makes us laugh and the little comments he has about random things occurring on screen. Even though Vaughn does carry his scenes, the other do provide a bit of humor but nothing on the level he does, which results is the film losing steam toward the end (mostly at the final 30 minutes or so).
In closing, “Couples Retreat” is a fairly funny film with a few jokes here and there. The situations are comical and the cast is quite stellar lining up a lot of those familiar faces we’ve seen in recent comedies. Fans of the film will definitely want to purchase this one but those on the fence are best to give this “Retreat” a rental first.
Video Quality on this release is in full 1080p using the AVC MPEG-4 codec on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc) in the 1:85:1 aspect ratio. With this film taking place on a beautiful island, it should come as no surprise that the presented transfer is quite excellent. According to IMDb, “Couples Retreat” was filmed with a variety of Arriflex Cameras. The 35mm print makes its way to hi-definition boasting numerous instances of excellent detail. Take a look at some of the wider shots of the island as our group arrives. It’s not a joke when Joey mentions that this looks like a screensaver. Detail is breathtaking at times, giving us a true sense of ‘I’m there’ as well as boasting a good amount of “3-D” pop. The film’s color palette tends to focus on the brighter side of the spectrum, using colors that compliment and bring out the island locale. Darker locales (like that toward the end of the movie) do come off fine as well, although there was a bit of loss detail in some of the sequences. The film’s print is in immaculate condition with no instance of damage, noise or any grain. Minus a few loss detail scenes, this is quite the fine image. All in all this earns a near-perfect “4.5 Star Rating“.
Audio Quality on this release is presented in DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio. With this being a comedic affair, the film’s sound design tends to focus on more of a front-heavy mix. Dialogue is well-reproduced with no instance of drop out. LFE is present but mostly kept on the reserved side only occasionally showing presence during the musical moments. Rear activity mostly occurs via background dialogue or a few discrete effects that have been added in (like lighting in the canoe sequence). Pans are excellent with no drop out. While this isn’t a disc you’ll grab for demo worthy purposes, the provided DTS-HD track more than suits the material at hand. All in all this earns a solid “4 Star Rating“.
Bonus materials are presented in High Definition (HD AVC MPEG-4) video with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound @192kbps unless otherwise noted below in the descriptions.
- BD-Live: As per all Universal titles, BD-Live is included giving us the ability to connect to Universal’s BD-Live center for bonus content and trailers. Also included is their My Scenes Sharing, which allows users to share their favorite scenes on BD-Live. As always, this requires that you be on a “Profile 2.0” capable Blu-ray Disc Player with Internet connectivity.
- U-Control: Here we get optional video commentary with Director Peter Billingsley and Writer/Producer/Actor Vince Vaughn.
- Alternate Ending: Here we get an alternate ending that runs 2min56sec. This ending shows our 4 couples landing back in Chicago. The ending also has optional commentary from Director Billingsley and Vaughn.
- Extended Scenes: Here we get 3 Extended Scenes running a total of 4min22sec. The scenes in question are “Dinner at Eden“, “Lucy’s Massage” and “Jennifer’s Journey“. The provided scenes are more dialogue extensions, with the exception of the last scene, which shows Jennifer’s point even further than the PG-13 cut allowed.
- Deleted Scenes: Here we get 10min6sec of deleted scenes that are exclusive to this Blu-ray release. The provided scenes are worth a glance but don’t really add up to too much as they’re just slight deleted scenes.
- Gag Reel: Here’s your standard gag reel running 3min22sec.
- Therapy’s Greatest Hits: Here we get a few therapy scenes that weren’t included in the film. They run a total of 5min31sec. Some of these are downright hilarious (the sessions with Jason/Cythnia) while some are disturbing (Joey/Lucy).
- Paradise Found: This runs 6min18sec and shows the island Bora Bora that the cast and crew filmed on.
- Behind the Yoga: Running 4min26sec, this shows the preparation, rehearsals and antics of the yoga scene. Ah yes! Encouragement!
- Pocket BLU: This gives users the ability to access exclusive bonus features on their iPhone or iPod Touch.
- Digital Copy: Here a Digital Copy of the film is included. This is compatible with both Mac and PC, iTunes and Windows Media portable devices.
Blu-ray Disc packaging:
Screenshots:
NOTE: The full-sized 1920×1080 files are in a .PNG file format and uncompressed. Bare with the slow loading times, keep in mind these files are at least 1MB (1 megabyte) in size each.
