THE ROSES (2025)

Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Jay Roach
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, Belinda Bromilow, Ncuti Gatwa, Zoë Chao, Jamie Demetriou
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scene)
Released By: Walt Disney
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 4 September 2025

Synopsis: Life seems easy for picture-perfect couple Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch): successful careers, a loving marriage, great kids. But beneath the façade of their supposed ideal life, a storm is brewing – as Theo’s career nosedives while Ivy’s own ambitions take off, a tinderbox of fierce competition and hidden resentment ignites. The Roses is a reimagining of the 1989 classic film The War of the Roses, based on the novel by Warren Adler.

Movie Review:

Marriage can be one of the hardest things in the world to sustain. There are countless books and videos on how to keep love alive but one piece of advice always surfaces: communicate clearly and often.

In hindsight, the Roses should have followed that advice from the very beginning. Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch), a successful architect turned stay-at-home dad and Ivy Rose (Olivia Colman), an up-and-coming chef turned thriving restaurateur, find their marriage unraveling.

More than a decade in, Ivy feels jealous and regretful for missing out on most of her twins’ milestones, while Theo believes Ivy has neglected her family in pursuit of her expanding crab shack business. Attempts at rekindling things through a short vacation or marriage counseling only fan the flames.

Despite being a modern reworking of both the 1981 novel "The War of the Roses" and its 1989 film adaptation directed by Danny DeVito (and starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner), The Roses falls flat. Ironically, two of Britain’s finest contemporary actors, Cumberbatch and Colman, headline the project and deliver sharp, convincing performances as a once-loving couple turned bitter rivals. Their efforts, however, cannot mask the shortcomings of the film itself.

Director Jay Roach (Austin Powers, Meet the Parents) and screenwriter Tony McNamara (The Favourite) take the bones of the source material but sand it down into something resembling a safe, commercial rom-com. The energy, chaos and biting satire of the earlier versions are stripped away, leaving behind mild verbal sparring that rarely lands beyond a snicker.

Those expecting scuffles and slapstick violence will need to wait until the final 20 minutes, when Theo’s meticulously designed home (funded, ironically by Ivy) becomes the stage for mayhem. By then, the pacing has dragged, with much of the film devoted to petty sabotage and simmering jealousy that never quite escalates into anything memorable.

The supporting cast includes Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon as the Roses’ American friends, along with a brief but scene-stealing cameo by Allison Janney as Ivy’s no-nonsense divorce lawyer. McKinnon provides the biggest laughs with her politically incorrect advances toward Theo but overall, the supporting players leave little impression.

In the end, this is the least satirical take on The War of the Roses yet. It’s less dark, less witty and ultimately forgettable. Marriage woes are as old as time but it’s surprising to see a 2025 adaptation so toothless in exploring them.

Movie Rating:

(Even an ensemble cast giving it their all can’t save this weakly written comedy)

Review by Linus Tee