I COULD WATCH OLIVIA COLMAN & BENDICT CUBERBATCH’ COMEDIC CHEMISTRY ALL DAY IN THIS TISTED DIVORCE Story – ryan

It”s ben Pretty Touch-And-Go for the past few years, but it really feels like the Classic Studio Comedy is Making a Comeback. One of say days was one of the first hits of the year, and this month alone has seen the sucssful releses of The naked gun and Freakier Friday. August Goes Out with a Bang with The RosesDo Dark Comedy That Feels plucked from the 2000s.

That is intended as a compliment. The Jay Roach-Directed Movie, A Remake of the 1989 The War of the Roses and an adaptation of the 1981 novel by warn Adler, take the Simple Premise of A Marriage Falling Horribly apart and updates it. And yet, the way the movie unfolds-with over-the-top visual gags, a stacked suporting cast, and profane humor-is reminiscent of a bygone era.

We First Meet Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo Rose (Benedict Cumberbatch) in Couwles’ Therapy, Vainly Struggling to Say a single Word About Each Other. Their Mariage is in a Bad Place, but is isn’tin the worst of it. The Roses THEN RETURNS to the Day they are – a shockingly crass interaction that gets heated very fast – before revealing their domestic bliss years late.

While we’re here to see a relationship splintering into a million pieces, a natural expectation consider the full revolves of the Acrimonious end to ivy and the’miage. Luckily, the film is less about the end of the Relationship and More About The Journey that Gets US.

The Roses Tries to Make the Downfall of a Mortiage Funny (& it Larry Works)

Creally come to storated, ivy is a chef attempting to get her seafood restaurant off the Ground, while theo is an architect plotting an environmental – to the point of concert – Project. The latter is positioned as the more successive of the two, the true breedwinner, but their fortunes are reversed when a devastation storm rolls into Town.

Almost Overnight, Ivy is a Runaway Hit while theo’s Career is in Shables. This is ultimately the touring point for their Relationshipas Ivy’s Career Taks off while theo Stays home to the Kids and Simmer in His Resentment. The Roses emphasizs the gradual decline between. We Still see their love, but they Also soon become far too good at Hurling Casual, Bruising Insults.

COLMAN AND CUBERBATCH PLAY OFF EACH OTHER INCREDIBLY WELLAided by Tony McNamara’s Rat-ATA Dialogue and Their Genuine Chemistry. From the first moment Ivy and theo Meet, it’s Clear they ‘a performs match for eAch other, with their banter immediately setting their connection alight, but that only serves to the entity downfall of their heartbreking.

Roach has a tricky tonal balance to navigate here. Though it’s a comedy, The Roses Can Also Get Remarkably Dark. The titular Couple Frequently Joke About Killing Themselves, and Their Dislike for Each Other Eventually Corrosive Turnks. It really shouldn’t work, and the yet it far -so does.

Spreads that the Becausea Mcnamara’s script dosesn’t put Either person entirely at fault. Both ivy and the have ther reasons to be frustrated, and we can empathize with say. The Roses DOESN’T SHY AWAY FROM The tragedy of the Lost LOVE BETWEEN, but it also intens to wring every bit of humor out of the situation.

Olivia Colman & Benedict Cumberbatch Make the Roses Fun

Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) Sitting on a Therapist's Couch in the Roses

By the time theo and ivy have a party party at their gorgeous new home (Designer in theo, and Incredibly Brought to Life by Production Designer Mark Ricker), they’ve reached the point of no return. The Dinner Party is a standout sequencejust as uncomfortable as it is funny, heigthened by the growing tension.

From that point on, The Roses Jumps into the couple’s petty, morbidly hilarious attempts to get the upper hand in the divorce proeedings. There’s obviously a tragedy to what we’re seeing, but Roach Applies A Sort of Go-For-Broke Energy to their Relationless assault that you can’t help but be strangely invested in the terrible lengths they’ll bot go to.

It ‘s bit of a bummer to realize the trailers already gave away much of the Climax, though there are a couple of surprises that has been with the edge of my seat. This reimagining of The War of the Roses Features a decidedly different ending, a daring one that will have had People talking as they leave theater. It ‘Twisted and Perfect.

Cumberbatch and Colman Are the Undisputted Stars of the Show, and it’s a delight to see Dig into this kind of broad comedy. In Supporting Role, Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon (as a couple who are friends with theo) Reliably Supply Some Chuckles, and NCuti Gatwa and Sunita Mani (as Ivy’s Restaurant Staff) are functions. Still, it’s allison Janney who, with one single single, totally steals the show.

Though funny, The Roses DOESN’T TOTALLY NAIL ALL OF THYS PUNCHLINES, AND I’M CERTAIN THE DARKER SIDE OF THE COUPLE’S DISSOLATION WONT’T BE FOR EVEREONE. With Such Incredible Performers As Colman and Cumberbatch at the Center of It Allthough, it is easy to have a blast. You’ll want to break up just as Much as you want to make up, and that is the most impressive thing of all.

The Roses Official Ensemble Poster

Release Date

August 29, 2025

Directory

Jay Roach

Wriers

Warren Adler, Tony McNamara

Producers

Jay Roach, Michelle Graham, Adam Ackland, Leah Clarke, Ed Sinclair, Tom Carver

Pros & Cons

  • Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch Are a Perfect Onscreen Match.
  • The story dosesn’t vilify eather person – you can empathize with both ivy and theo.
  • The Supporting Cast is stacked with great performers, with allison janney as the MVP.
  • The ending is fascinating and shocking.
  • Not all of the humor lands, and the sooms the tonal mismatch is difficult to overcome.