Nate At The Movies

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

I’m back on the proverbial movie horse after a week away from film, and while I excited to see The Roses today (the trailers made it look very promising), I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie.

The main source of this surprise was in its exceptional balance between comedy—which is possesses in spades—and realistic and tragic relationships. Many of the insane antics from the trailer didn’t show up until the last 30 minutes, which made me wonder how the movie would be spending the rest of its time. I was delighted that it dove headfirst into the Roses’ relationship, detailing its glorious highs and wonderful interconnectedness before slowly, torturously sowing the seeds of discontent.

Ivy and Theo’s relationship was very authentic and the things that started driving them apart made sense; it made me want to start taking notes as a newlywed that doesn’t want to get to a place where my wife is chasing me around the house with a gun. The first and second acts were huge surprises, and I found myself wholly engaged in the Roses’ family dynamic (and I loved the kids and their reckless obsession with athletics).

The third act really cleaned up, though, and brought the crazy that the trailers had promised. Once the Roses accepted their fate as pregnable (their words), all hell broke loose and it was glorious. Did I hope a few times that one of the two would just concede and sign to end the misery? Sure. But then I would’ve missed out on their hateful antics, and that would’ve been the real misery.

The Roses was often hilarious—thanks to pitch-perfect, hateful performances from Cumberbatch and Colman and lovely support from my man Andy Samberg—and shockingly heartfelt, and for a straight-up comedy in 2025, it was a home run. We don’t see films like this much anymore, especially in theaters, but they should totally make a return. Jay Roach, the saint that you are; thank you!