Alexandra Daddario and Josh Gad star in Couples Weekend, a relationship dramedy that promises a spicy premise but delivers only strained shouty dialogue and mugging performances. The film, directed by Jamie Adams, follows two couples as they fall apart during a midwinter break in a picturesque woodland cabin.
Plot Overview
Daddario plays Debs, a book editor with aspirations of becoming an author, while Gad portrays Mitch, her platonic college best friend who works in investment banking and may harbor unspoken feelings for her. They travel to a cozy cabin for New Year's with their respective partners: Debs brings her hunky nature photographer boyfriend Josh (Daveed Diggs), and Mitch brings Melanie (Ashley Park), an uptight bestselling cookbook author of Emotional Eating.
The tension begins when Debs and Mitch return from a snowy walk and witness through the cabin window Josh and Melanie having sex. Debs wants to confront them immediately, but the spineless Mitch insists on waiting, hoping to deny the situation and avoid upending his life.
Critical Reception
The film's promising setup quickly devolves into uninteresting yelling and sobbing, with a later honesty breakthrough fueled by moonshine offering only marginal relief. According to the review, the film arrives in the UK at the same time as Olivia Wilde's The Invite, which demonstrates how a spicy couples comedy can succeed. Couples Weekend abandons its initial idea without providing compensatory insight or fun.
"All we get is strained shouty dialogue and mugging performances in a film which succeeds neither in being funny or realistic," the review states.
Release Details
Couples Weekend is available on digital platforms from 13 July.
