Director Jay Roach, gives us the 2025 Dark Comedy The Roses. This really is the remake we didn’t need. The film is, a loose remake of the superlative and achingly funny 1989 Dark Comedy The War of the Roses. That film starred Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. DeVito did double duty as the director. Writers on both films are Warren Adler and Tony McNamara who apparently lost their way from the 89′ project to this new version.
*If you have not seen the original, head on over to Amazon Prime and rent the thing for pennies. You will, I promise you, become an instant fan. If not? No refunds, thank you.*
I wanted to like/love The Roses. A Olivia Colman fan since Hot Fuzz and think that Benedict Cumberbatch is brilliant. I am also a devotee of Kate McKinnon since her start way back when on SNL. The story here, though, is nowhere near a patch on the Douglas/Turner vehicle.
The Roses Story
Per IMDb.com: “A tinderbox of competition and resentments underneath the façade of a picture-perfect couple is ignited when the husband’s professional dreams come crashing down.” Wow. What a mouthful. The 1989 film, same source, says: “A married couple tries everything to drive each other out of the house in a vicious divorce battle.”
The synopsis for the 89 film can easily apply to the new one on offer. This may well be the crux of the problem.
The Roses Cast
Olivia Colman is Ivy Rose.
Benedict Cumberbatch is Theo Rose.
Kate McKinnon is Amy.
Andy Samberg is Barry.
Ncuti Gatwa is Jeffrey.
Sunita Mani is Jane.
Zoë Chao is Sally.
The Rose Kids
Delaney Quinn is Young Hattie.
Hala Finley is Older Hattie.
Ollie Robinson is Young Rose.
Wells Rappaport is Older Roy.
Killer Cameo
Allison Janney is Eleanor.
Kudos to: The casting director in the matter of the young Roses. Also, kudos to the actors portraying the Rose children, younger and older. These guys and dolls killed it here.
Let’s Talk The Roses
Stereotypes are used unapologetically. To the film’s detriment, I might add. All Americans are gun “nuts.” English humour is rude, crude and socially unacceptable. *To American’s, yes it can seem that way, but for a country who adore Monty Python, it feels a tad, off. Just as Colman’s character calling football, soccer. No brit in the world refers to “The Beautiful Game” as soccer.*
Perhaps the greatest problem with The Roses is the move to make it more about the comedy and less about the dark, as midnight, comedic roots it comes from.
The War of the Roses, sorry I will keep harping on about this, got its comedy from the total vitriolic hatred that Turner’s character develops for her husband; Oliver. Take this scene, for example. Barbara, “Because. When I watch you eat. When I see you asleep. When I look at you lately, I just want to smash your face in.” His response? “Go ahead, smash my face.” (sic)
She does.
Vive Le Difference
This time around, there is very little hatred, and a modicum of violence. The vicious irony has been left out, although the ending of this version is a tad ironic. The biggest problem here is, among other things, making the two leads English. That said, Cumberbatch and Colman work well as a couple. Even when they are going through their tough patch, they bounce off one another brilliantly.
Sadly, despite the focus on comedy, of not the darkish sort, the film is not as funny. Douglas and Turner, with DeVito as narrator and referee, is funnier. The chandelier scene, at the film’s end just cannot be beat.
The Roses Just About Works
Jay Roach has a splendid track record for comedy films. This time around, though, the move to make this less dark, while working, leaves so much to be desired.
There are nods to the first film. The issue of sugar and eating too much of it is broached. It is just not funny. Kate McKinnon is truly funny as the odd and overly promiscuous friend who clearly has the hots for Theo. *In terms of working, the maritime museum fiasco is quite possibly the funniest bit of the entire film.
The Verdict
The Roses earns a shaky 3.75 stars out of 5. The film is funny, to a degree. However, the journey the Roses make here, unlike the vastly superior The War of the Roses, is missing. We have a snapshot of their life together before things go all Pete Tong. In the original, we follow their journey. The remake is streaming on Hulu/Disney + and can be rented/purchased for an obscene amount of dosh.
The Trailer
