YNOT at the Movies

Marriage has never been funnier or nastier than in director Jay Roach's wildly entertaining "The Roses" (UK/USA 2025 | 105 min.). It is a remake of the black-comedy classic "The War of the Roses" (1989), based on Warren Adler's novel. With biting wit, brilliant performances, and razor-sharp dialogue, this film begins with a seemingly perfect marriage before unraveling into one of the most cutting and laugh-out-loud comedies of the year.

Theo Rose (Benedict Cumberbatch), an ambitious architect, and Ivy Rose (Olivia Colman), a rising-star chef, appear to have everything: charm, success, and two wonderful children, Hattie (Delaney Quinn and Hala Finley) and Roy (Ollie Robinson and Wells Rappaport). After Theo's architectural triumph, a museum on the seashore, literally collapses on the same day Ivy's cheekily named seafood restaurant We've Got Crabs becomes an overnight sensation, the balance of their marriage shifts, unleashing barbed comments and escalating feuds. An ensemble of colorful and offbeat players, including Theo's bumbling lawyer friend Barry (Andy Samberg) and his wife Amy (Kate McKinnon), offers them support that may or may not be helpful.

Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch are a revelation together, turning marital struggle into hilarious comedy gold. Their verbal sparring, crafted with biting precision by Tony McNamara, makes every argument sting and sparkle. Even the children get in on the act, skewering their parents with disarming frankness.

The film looks as striking as it sounds. Theo and Ivy's modernist clifftop home, designed with meticulous irony by production designer Mark Ricker, serves as both a dream palace and a ticking time bomb, its striking glass-and-steel beauty gradually reflecting the fractures in their marriage.

What also makes the film stand out is how deftly it balances tones. Just as it soars into absurd, laugh-out-loud farce—dinner parties, cake-based betrayals, insults as weapons—it always finds its way back to something raw and recognizably human. This isn't just satire, but a cautionary tale about ego, ambition, and the fine line between love and loathing.

This remake is uproariously entertaining, elevated by two actors at the top of their game. Sharp, unpredictable, and surprisingly heartfelt, it's a fresh, whip-smart take on a story that proves well worth revisiting.

"The Roses" opens in theaters on Friday, August 29, 2025.