Recxpectations: The Roses

Recxpectations are my recommended expectations that someone should have when walking in to see a movie. I believe one’s expectations for a film shape how they take in a movie and my goal is to get everyone’s mindset in the right place as they settle in to watch a film. I try to keep these somewhat objective but some subjectivity will always creep in. These also will usually be on the more pessimistic end since I think it’s always better to go into a film with lower expectations. Less chance of being let down if you don’t go in expecting a classic. So without further ado, my recommended expectations for The Roses.

EXPECT: Marriage Story from a comedy director.
Note that I didn’t say a comedic version of a Marriage Story because I almost hesitate to call this movie a comedy. There’s some darkly funny dialogue but when it comes to the scenework, this isn’t a film in which the action leads to hijinks ensuing. Pretty much every action leads to a new argument. Every moment leads to another personality flaw or emotional weakness being exposed. And then Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon show up to do the exact same bit. Over and over and over. Again and again and again. And then over again. (This is an example of subjectivity seeping in.) Not to say that the schtick doesn’t have its moments but it’s kind of shocking how one note and predictable it is.
Another comparison for The Roses (I haven’t seen the OG War of the Roses) is imagine The Devil Wears Prada without Meryl Streep and, instead, the movie focused almost entirely on Anne Hathaway and Adrian Grenier’s relationship.

DON’T EXPECT: the trailer.
The Roses commits the preview sin that I call “The Geostorm”. The trailer for the movie Geostorm is filled with destruction and chaos; in reality, almost none of the action shows up until the final act out of the movie. The Roses’ trailer seems to promise a movie of two people trying to one up each other in a divorce but, in reality, most of the gamesmanship appears in an Act 3 montage and, overall, I’d say a good 80% of the trailer is from the last act. The trailer promises bombast but what you mostly get is bickering.

DON’T EXPECT: much depth.
This is a very superficial, Tell Don’t Show film. We’re thrust into the relationship very quickly so there’s not much to hold onto. My guess is that they want to keep the runtime under two hours and they hacked out a lot because a film like this usually has two or three montages to show where things are headed. Instead The Roses skips the montage and just has a character say out loud what has happened and how they feel about it.