Four couples take a South Pacific island holiday on which their broken relationships get fixed …even though they may not realize anything needs fixing. Here's a look at the new comedy film .
The resort is called "Eden;" but, as so often happens in a paradise, temptations abound for lifelong friends from the American Midwest. The journey starts with a jolt from one seemingly happy pair.
"Sometimes you think that you're succeeding at what you're told life should be," Vaughn explains, " I have to get a job and make money, I have to make sure my kids are doing this - and then all of a sudden where are you in that? You start to come in last because the priorities and obligations of life are taking up your time and you forget to have fun with the person that you are with. If you are constantly solving problems with that person you are kind of dimming the flame; so it's important to, every now and then, go outside and lay down on a blanket or go to concert together …just go have fun and laugh with each other. Don't try to solve everything. You don't have to solve everything. At least give yourself some fuel for all of the obligations that we all have to go through."
Romantic comedies often focus on either the man's or woman's perspective; but Malin Akerman, who plays the wife of Vaughn's character, says this one gives equal opportunity.
"One thing that drew me to the script from the beginning was that it is couples' relationships, which you don't usually see," Akerman says. "It's 'the guys club' or you have an all-female [view] such as . It was really nice, from the beginning, just to get a script where you go 'wow, it's couples and everyone is kind of balanced and you've got these four stories and everyone gets their arc."
The role of the annoyingly detail-oriented organizer of the trip is a comfortable fit for the dry wit of Jason Bateman.
"There is nothing funny about a guy who is relaxed and can let everything roll off of his back," Bateman says. "Discomfort and embarrassment and humiliation is funny and so if your character is halfway there it makes your job a little bit easier. You don't have to act as hard."