The Roses Review: War, What Is It Good For?
Theatrical Movie Review - Comedy/Drama
While The Roses from director Jay Roach is a remake of the 1989 Danny DeVito film The War of the Roses, do not expect it to be a beat-for-beat remake. Even though this new film isn’t exactly kind or gentle, it is certainly a kinder, gentler version of that movie. Whether or not that works will likely depend on how much the viewer needs this to be the previous movie.
When Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) meet, they are at the beginning of their careers. They move to the United States from Britain, where Theo becomes a successful architect, while Ivy stays at home raising their children, eventually opening a small restaurant a few days a week to have an outlet for her cooking. One night, a major storm changes the fortunes of the two, leaving Theo at home with the kids and Ivy running a thriving restaurant. As the years pass, resentments build up until the two are unsure if they can find their way back to each other ever again.
The Roses follows a fairly conventional rom-com formula through most of the movie, only really delivering on the bonkers premise promised by the trailer in the last fifteen minutes or so of the film. The verbal barbs tossed about throughout are brutal and a lot of fun. But there are a few aspects that don’t quite come together. There is a significant reversal with the kids that doesn’t entirely work, and the movie takes too long to build up to the hostility, making it a little bit difficult to stomach because we want this couple to work it out. Even with some issues, the movie offers plenty of laughs, making it a fun time at the cinema.
Most of the reason why this movie works is that Colman and Cumberbatch are so good that they cover over some of the most egregious problems in the script. They have great chemistry, and when things start to heat up, they really sell it. It doesn’t hurt that they are surrounded by a really solid cast of comedians. Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon play their best friends and are a lot of fun, but I found myself wanting more of Ncuti Gatwa and Sunita Mani as Ivy’s coworkers.
Because the movie is about a chef and an architect, there are plenty of opportunities for some great shots, and Roach takes advantage of that, making aspects of The Roses just beautiful to watch. And when the final act kicks into high gear, the destruction of some of the beauty that we have seen throughout the movie is equally well done. The ending will likely be divisive, but I thought it worked if you ignore the kids; fortunately, the movie has already done that for you.
The biggest problem this movie faces is with pacing. Not necessarily with feeling too long, but with the way the movie unfolds. It’s hard to root for mutual destruction when you’ve spent most of the film rooting for the family to make it. To be fair, The Roses doesn’t promise a war like the original, but a little more war would have been more fun.
Rating 3/5
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on August 30, 2025.