Sharp, steamy, essential rom-com viewing

One can’t imagine Ivy and Theo together after the opening scene, a disastrous marriage counseling session that ends with the therapist swearing them off in the name of incurable resentment, self-righteousness, and defensiveness as the crumbling couple gangs up on the innocent clinician in a fit of delirious enablement. (In the therapist’s defense, the nicest thing either of them had to say about each other was, “He has arms.”) A dark, organ-reeling jazz jam propels the sequence, a tonal harbinger of the passion and ferocity to come and a bellwether for the film’s terrific taste in music, both in Severance composer Theodore Shapiro’s score and the inspired indie-folk soundtrack.

However, it’s also almost impossible to imagine the pair apart after the first hour of inimitable chemistry and pitch-black comedy charm. Things finally go awry when Theo’s attempt at a masterpiece—a maritime museum in the shape of a large sailing vessel—opens on the same night an unparalleled storm hits the bay. But the storm also gives way to a new opportunity for Ivy. In the second act, the couple’s dynamic flips, and she’s the globetrotting careerist to Theo’s stay-at-home dad.  Eventually, they each get the opportunity to fund the others’ dreams, and they do. But it’s still not enough. The tides turn practically overnight, and the sudden desperation for divorce begets an avalanche of life-ruining sabotage.

Supporting them are Kate McKinnon and Andy Samberg (American friends, met at a gun range) in career-best bit parts: A bizarro, kinky-sad, nothing-to-lose, overfamiliar type for the former—an equal blend of Sheila Sovage, Debette Goldry, and Kathryn Hahn in Step Brothers—and an obliviously overconfident dude-bro for the latter. But, instead of an unhinged couple in their 20s or 30s, they’ve adapted their mode to the disillusionment of 40-somethings sunk up to the eyes in suburban suppression. Allison Janney takes a terse turn as an unbearable divorce lawyer, while Ncuti Gatwa and Sunita Mani stand out among the rest of the stacked cast.

Roach—the wunderkind studio comedy director (the Austin Powers trilogy, Meet The Parents and Fockers) turned historical dramatist (Trumbo, Bombshell)—hasn’t delivered much of note in the last nine years. But he’s back with a bang in The Roses. There’s a rejuvenated spirit to his pace and craft that stems from a now-veteran wisdom and the fresh collaboration with screenwriter Tony McNamara, who’s had enormous success in film, alongside Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite, Poor Things, Cruella), and TV (The Great), since 2018.

Having written a much looser and sharper-tongued Colman character in The Favourite—which is saying a lot, considering Ivy names her dainty seafood shack “We’ve Got Crabs!”—McNamara precisely pens her role, while Colman winks, flirts, punches, swings, and sings right in her comfort zone. To make the rich richer, it turns out Cumberbatch is McNamara’s male Colman. The wit and restraint behind his interpretation of the driven-husband-turned-superdad is grounded in this same script-star chemistry. As a result, the leads are magnets, whether they’re surgically picking each other apart with the cruelty of Caligula or steaming up a seductive romance. Their remarkable rapport makes The Roses essential viewing, a must-watch rom-com.

Director: Jay Roach
Writer: Tony McNamara
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon
Release Date: August 29, 2025