Couples Retreat

There's a worrisome trend appearing in Vince Vaughn's CV. Not that it's keeping the gargantuan writer/producer/star of "Couples Retreat" awake at nights - his films routinely top the charts and this paradise-set lark is no different having broken the Box Office stateside. However, starting with 2006's "The Break-Up", and taking in "Fred Claus" and "Four Christmases", Vaughn has headlined a string of middling and, I dare say, 'safe' comedies.

And we're certainly on safe ground here. "Couples Retreat", based on an 'original' idea of Vaughn's, sees four couples head off to Eden - an uber resort designed to mend marriages. They were promised paradise and instead got Jean Reno's loony love guru putting them through their relationship paces with a series of chucklesome set pieces (ones you've already seen though courtesy of the trailer).

It's an unabashed, low concept ensemble comedy whose strength is exactly that - the cast. The material, at times, simply doesn't deserve to be spewing forth from the talented heads of Jon Favreau (here co-writing too), Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Malin Ackerman, Kristin Davis and Faizon Love. All have been eminently better but somehow manage to enliven proceedings through sheer presence alone. If Vaughn had not called in so many favours then "Couples Retreat" really would have been one comedy worth running from.

As it stands though this one stays just the right side of watchable with the aforementioned team building exercises, especially the bout of inappropriate Yoga, proving standouts. Vaughn leads from the front and his patter with "Swingers" buddy Favreau and Bateman is reason enough to persist.

So, it's another safe mega hit from Vaughn - one that will mildly entertain and appropriately bat away the critics' misgivings. But, and you'll have to forgive the turn of phrase considering the subject matter, you can't help but wish Vaughn would 'rough' us up a bit, be less polite and less 'water rings' about the whole thing. We want "Old School", hell we'll even settle for "Wedding Crashers" - we want something a bit more inappropriate!