Get naked in front of the people you like. That’s one of the philosophies shared early on by Eden Resort’s relationships guru Monsieur Marcel, in Couples Retreat.
“Be naked inside your mind, not only physically. Don’t hide and don’t lie. Even if it hurts, it is always better to say the truth to people that you love,” laughs Jean Reno in reference to his character Marcel.
And so it is that the cast’s comfort level with each other was put to the test soon after they arrived on the island when Marcel lines up each member of the couple to face his or her partner and asks them to strip down to their underwear.
“For Marcel, the exercise is a metaphor about getting to know your own body in front of people, as only then can you start a good relationship … because you’re not hiding behind something,” explains Reno.
“You do not have expensive clothes, cars or houses to hide behind.”
Jason Bateman, whose character Jason heads to the island with wife of eight years Cynthia (Kristen Bell) to try to save their eight-year marriage, says it’s a very funny, as well as disarming, scene.
“It’s one of the first exercises we have to do as a group, and it’s very uncomfortable for not only our characters, but also for the actors. Vince (Vaughn), Jon (Favreau), Faizon (Love) and myself included, none of us fell off the cover of a magazine."
“But it’s a comedy, and we’ll do anything for a laugh. I guess the writers must have been upset with Faizon the week they wrote it, because Faizon’s character has to take off his pants…knowing he is rolling commando underneath them.”
In the film, four Midwestern couples embark on the trip of lifetime to a luxury island paradise. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to jet ski, enjoy the spa and have some fun in the sun.
However, they soon discover that participation in the resort’s unconventional couples therapy is anything but optional. Suddenly, their group-rate vacation comes at a price.
Another hands-on scene that is brilliantly awkward revolves around the couples taking a yoga class from Salvadore, played by Puerto Rican-born Carlos Ponce.
With his chiseled physique and flowing locks, Salvadore’s “hands-on” teaching method pushes the personal boundaries of the couples he teaches.
The idea was taken from Vaughn’s experience at a Los Angeles yoga studio.
“I had a girlfriend who took me to a yoga class, and during the class I was saying to myself, ‘Is this really happening?’ Everyone is making it seem like they didn’t have a problem with the gentleman who was teaching…even though he was dry humping the girls.
“It was just bizarre. I felt like I was in The Twilight Zone, and I thought this would be a fun scene to put in a movie. Anyone who has ventured into this realm of spiritual tranquility has experienced the creepy yoga guy.
“But the fun of this movie is that we took regular situations that everyone deals with and we found a fun environment, with exceptional circumstances, to play those things out in a comedic way,” adds Vaughn.
“The movie has some real hope and optimism, but it’s not precious with it. It gets its hands dirty, has fun and isn’t always polite.”
5 of the BEST starring Vince Vaughn
1.The Break-up (2006)
2.Wedding Crashes (2005)
3.Dodgeball (2004)
4.Starsky & Hutch (2004)
5.Swingers (1996)
DID YOU KNOW…
Filming took place in the French Polynesian island of Bora Bora, and was the first movie made in this part of the South Pacific since Jan Troell shot the epic adventure Hurricane in 1979. |