The movie follows the story of four couples enjoying their weekend trip. During that trip, three couples devise a plan to tell two good friends that they must get divorced. Now, this journey turns into a bad turn as everyone is now forced to face secrets and fears that seem to prevent them from enjoying their lives naturally.
The script wobbles between heavy-handed and touching, but the result is a pleasantly nostalgic throwback that's saved from its copy-cat tendencies by charismatic actors.
DuVall doesn't just fall back on ad-libbing quip-flingers; her cinemascope frames are precise and assured, and she knows how to cut on a joke without making it seem over-determined.
It's more engrossing to just hang out with the characters in all their damaged glory, before the plot marches through the room with its clunkiest boots on.
Engrossing, wise, funny and well-acted. How refreshing it is to watch an American film that's for adults, that can't be turned into a video game. and where no one gets eaten by zombies for a change!
It's the directorial debut of Clea Duvall and it's very much an actors' showcase: eight characters with heavy baggage doing their best to ignore the weight.
Despite her script's omissions - we learn little about where these affluent people come from, their occupations or how they know one another - Ms. DuVall juggles the emotional dynamics with fluid editing and light comic touches.
