When a nasty thunderstorm ends up destroying the museum that Theo worked so hard to build, largely due to a miscalculation and a bit of pride on his part, and an embarrassing moment in the aftermath goes viral, the patriarch finds himself out of work. Meanwhile, Ivy’s seafood restaurant start booming in business after that same storm sends a San Francisco food critic into her establishment for shelter and a meal. Suddenly, Ivy is the triumphant breadwinner, booking customers months out, starting a restaurant franchise, and galavanting around the world with famous chefs — and Theo is forced to stay at home with the children.
At first, Theo is wholly supportive of Ivy’s newfound fame and rising success, and he takes his time with the children to turn them into finely tuned athletic machines who don’t poison their bodies with sugar. Don’t worry, the kids actually end up really getting into their new fitness regimen, which doesn’t rub Ivy the right way, as she just wants them to have fun and enjoy some of her delectable treats. But Theo is also silently suffering and hates that he can’t get back to work due to his recently ruined reputation.
Though Theo and Ivy start to get at each other’s’ throats a bit more, they’re still mostly able to wash their hands and fall back into a loving embrace, even if it means shoving their differences deep down inside them. But of course, this wouldn’t be an adaptation of “The War of the Roses” if that rift didn’t gradually get bigger and darker, and that’s where the fun begins.
Screenwriter Tony McNamara (“The Favourite,” “The Great”) has written a sharp screenplay that balances wonderful charm between Cumberbatch and Colman with some of the most biting barbs that a couple can deliver. As Theo and Ivy start to unravel and get more vicious, not even letting therapy repair their troubles, their takedowns, verbal and beyond, get more brutal and vindictive. It’s the kind of word war that makes you laugh and cringe in pain at the same time. Since Cumberbatch and Colman are both classically trained actors, they manage to tap into the raw emotion that this kind of crumbling relationship ignites while still being dryly hilarious at the same time. Cumberbatch has never been funnier, and Colman is razor sharp.
Around them is a magnificent ensemble of supporting players, including Andy Samberg as Theo’s best friend Barry and Kate McKinnon as his flirtatious, overbearing wife, who makes not so subtle advances towards Theo, even when Barry is within earshot. Each of the “SNL” veterans bring different personalities to the table that add a lighter but still dysfunctional marriage to the proceedings of another flavor. Plus, Jamie Demetriou and Zoë Chao (both of “The Aferparty”) make for another hilariously mismatched couple who bring even more comedic disorder. Even Theo and Ivy’s kids get some hilarious moments as they witness their parents’ destruction, both seeming to be much more mature and aware of their relationship woes, even at just 13 years old.
