No retreat from laughs with ‘Couples’

When a comedy has as much promotion as “Couples Retreat,” most of the time the movie fails miserably to live up to the hype.

Fortunately for “Couples Retreat,” that was not the case.

The movie has plenty of old television star-power – Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Jason Bateman – backing up the movie’s sole A-lister, Vince Vaughn. Every character plays a part of the movie and they play it well.

For each couple, there is a very believable story that accompanies them, and this really aids viewers’ understanding of how a guy like Jon Favreau could get with Kristen Davis. They all are easy to relate to because they all have their own problems.

Obviously there are some typical far-fetched comedy sequences, but for the most part, the film flows seamlessly from scene to scene, and the plot stays on track the entire time.

It was worthwhile to watch, a good comedy and a good story, both of which were a pleasant surprises.