David’s Download: The Roses Review
After a summer overstuffed with superheroes and dinosaurs, moviegoers were treated to a revival of the studio comedy in August. It was a welcome cinematic return for the genre that has largely been relegated to streaming platforms over the last few years. Within the first two weekends of the month, The Naked Gun and Freakier Friday brought the laughs. (Check out The Drive Home’s episodes about those two.) Over Labor Day weekend, the Jay Roach-directed remake The Roses capped off the comedy comeback, but did it deliver?
Overall, I felt The Roses was pretty funny and a poignant examination of longterm relationships, if uneven. (I should note that I have not seen the original The War of the Roses with Danny DeVito, so this new version starring Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberpatch didn’t have a bar to clear.)
Like the 1989 movie, this 2025 rendition follows a couple whose relationship gradually sours after years of marriage. On paper, it sounds like a downer, but Roach and the ensemble pepper in moments of levity to keep the proceedings light, even as Colman and Cumberpatch start going for the jugular.
Speaking of the two British stars, they have great chemistry and skillfully balance their characters’ depravity with just enough charm to make the audience root for a third act reunion. They deliver their jabs in a winking way that makes even the most brutal insults go down easy.
The rest of the cast mostly gets to be silly, especially Kate McKinnon and Andy Samberg as the central couple’s friends. While their comedic styles sometimes clash with the movie’s sardonic energy, I appreciated their zaniness.
By the time the end credits roll, you might still wonder whether The Roses wants to champion marriage or pooh-pooh it, but perhaps that is the whole point. After all, longterm relationships are a mixed bag full of high highs and low lows.
For me, the movie reads a little more on the sentimental side. Whereas last month’s indie horror Together made me think twice about getting close to Matt/Tacco, The Roses made me want to give him a hug and never say a mean thing to him again.