The idea of four couples taking their marital troubles to a tropical paradise might sound like a no-brainer concept for the directorial debut of former child actor Peter Billingsley (a.k.a. Ralphie from A Christmas Story), but, in Couples Retreat, the comedy buckles under the weight of its own morality.

Unsurprisingly, this Jon Favreau-Vince Vaughan joint offers the predictable buddy humour that should make for the sort of antic-filled and riff-heavy script that redeem such a lame premise. And though there are plenty of cheap jokes, some genuinely hilarious homoerotic sight gags (two-word spoiler: downward dog) and at least one public urination, these moments come as much-needed breaks from an otherwise tedious amount of unnecessarily long discussions and weak attempts at therapy-based scenario humour. (It’s not often you find yourself yearning for the snappy awkwardness of Meet the Fockers.)

Which is not to say that Couples Retreat is a total write off; I mean, what better way to spend a recession than watching lame dudes (Favreau and Vaughan) with hot ladies (actually, pretty much everyone in the film) on an island getaway, and all the sculpted-flesh scenery that comes with? It’s far cheaper than an actual vacation, and you might even learn something about communicating with your partner — that is, if you can stay awake through the seemingly endless reconciliation speeches in the film’s dénouement. There could even be a decent film here, but at least 15 of the flow-killing 113 minutes have got to go in order to sustain this clunky ensemble piece — and you can probably start with the five-minute Guitar Hero ad that’s posing as a subplot climax.

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