A movie about a dysfunctional marriage may seem cliched, but The Roses, headlining Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman is anything but run-of-the-mill. At times bizarre and at times extremely relatable, this movie shows how a modern marriage can be a bed of roses all while being a thorny hedge.

Most movie buffs will agree that marriages on screen usually swing between two extremes, sugary sweet happily-ever-afters or unstable meltdowns that make you wonder why the couple even exchanged numbers, let alone vows. Few films captured the latter with as much authenticity as Danny DeVito’s The War of the Roses (1989). Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas went from lovebirds to sworn household enemies in no time. They began as the kind of couple who couldn’t keep their hands off each other and ended as proof that sometimes, you really need to sit back and think it through. Especially, if it’s about spending the rest of your life with an individual you don’t quite know.

Enter the millennial upgrade: Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Ivy Rose (Olivia Colman). Their love story kicks off like a Pinterest board come alive. What is that, you ask? A destined meeting, instant sparks, romantic glances and a blissful wedding. They pack their bags for the American dream, raise kids and smoothly adjust into their designated roles. Ivy is the homemaker, always in kitchen and at the playground with the kids. Theo, on the other hand, is the ambitious architect building his career brick by brick. On paper, it is a picture-perfect marriage. But picture-perfect, as we know, is just another way of saying temporary. Even the strongest of sandcastles are just waiting for the tides to rejig them.

The tides do make an entry, in the form of career lows, bruised egos and competitive one-upmanship. When Theo’s maritime museum literally sinks his reputation, Ivy’s restaurant We’ve Got Crabs sails into success. Suddenly, Ivy is the star chef on glossy magazine covers. Theo is chauffeuring the kids and reading them bedtime stories on repeat. The power balance flips and so does the marriage.

Does this end well? Naturally not. Theo overworks the kids to forget his failed career as an architect. But in the process, their innocence is stripped away. What begins as ‘perfect parenting’ becomes performance driven.

Soon, the Roses turn into sworn enemies. They plot against each other without hesitation. But their desperation peaks when a sleek, modern mansion, designed by Theo but bankrolled by Ivy, is the focal point of discussion in their divorce settlement. He refuses to let go. She refuses to hand it over. Cue warfare. Theo weaponises Ivy’s raspberry allergy and Ivy responds with a literal gunpoint negotiation. Forget couples’ therapy, this is duelling pistols at dawn, just like the American forefathers. Modern problems, ancient solutions.

And yet, beneath the madness, there’s a mirror. The Roses skewers the cracks in ‘perfect’ marriages. It shows how unchecked egos and impulsive love stories curdle into toxicity. Theo and Ivy may look flawless on paper, but in practice, they’re about as stable as X (formerly Twitter) under Elon Musk’s regime.

The supporting players add a delicious touch. Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon as Barry and Amy serve up jokes left and right. They are the supposed stable couple until Amy confesses her lusty intentions for Theo. But that’s about it. They leave it unaddressed. The dinner-table scene is a riot. It’s a verbal bloodbath that comedy lovers will replay just to catch every zing time and again.

For all its glossy packaging, The Roses leans too hard into over-dramatising marital woes. It stretches them until they feel less relatable and more desi soap opera. The comedy works and when it does, it really works. But the film falters when it tries to dig deep into serious territory. Benedict and Olivia’s chemistry never quite sizzles. Their duels feel more staged than passionate. For most part, their casting seems like a misfit, with neither Benedict nor Olivia looking like they belong together. But it could be intentional, to draw out the off-kilter dynamic between their characters Theo and Ivy. They’re literally poles apart. The real spark in The Roses then comes from Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon. Their sharp timings steal every scene they’re in. By the end, you’re less invested in whether Theo and Ivy destroy each other and more eager for Barry and Amy to host the sequel.

The movie works as a one-time watch. And strictly so. It offers enough laughs to entertain but leaves little impact. By the end credits, you have enjoyed the chaos, chuckled and moved on. Theo and Ivy’s marriage, though entertainingly toxic, never fully engages the audience on a heartfelt level. It is safe to say that it is more caricatured than relatable. The punchlines will keep coming till the end. But every time, you’ll be more amused than moved.

ALSO READ: Benedict Cumberbatch & Olivia Colman on Their Bond in The Roses

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