Couples Retreat (2009)

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Couples Retreat is an American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Billingsley for his directing debut, and written by Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Dana Fox, Curtis Hanson and Greg Beeman. Vaughn and Favreau stars with Jason Bateman, Faizon Love, Kristin Davis, Malin Åkerman, Kristen Bell, and Jean Reno. It was released on October 9, 2009, in the United States. The film was shot mostly on the French Polynesian island of Bora Bora [1]

Plot

Couples Retreat tells a comedy centered around four couples living in a tropical island resort for a vacation. While one of the couples is working on their marriage, the others fail to realize that participating in the resort's therapy sessions is not optional. This movie got a 5.5/10 rate on IMDb. [2]

Controversy

Different version of Couples Retreat (2009)'s poster

The American ad for Couples Retreat, a comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Kristin Davis, shows all eight leading actors – six of whom are white and two are black. But the poster in Britain, where the film is in general release, omits the actors Faizon Love and Kali Hawk. [3]

This 2009 comedy had an ensemble of top comedy actors, but when it was time to put together the names and faces of the film poster talent, the Black actors were taken out of the international edition. Although many may attribute this notorious act of racism to the entertainment industry's early days, things haven't gotten any better, says Couples Retreat star Faizon Love, who filed a fresh lawsuit against Universal over what happened on this issue. [4]

Faizon Love filed a lawsuit with the intention of bringing Universal Studios to the California Superior Court on charges of fraud, breach of contract and violation of California's Fair Employment and Civil Rights Act. Love claims that this is a whitewashing issue and that the company has broken promises to address it. Love apparently brought the issue back when the film came out in 2009 and it was promised that it would be removed and that he would be given lucrative career opportunities after the incident. In one clause in the document, Love recalls the moment when Vince Vaughn was brought in with the then President of Marketing for Universal, Adam Fogelson. [5]

As stated by Love through Variety,

This film was a big money-maker for Universal, but instead of honoring my work and my contract, the studio chose to render me invisible to billions of moviegoers around the world. They have not only hurt me financially, they have hurt me in a deeper way by dismissing me because of my Blackness — and they have hurt all Black performers by continuing to perpetuate racism in the movie industry. I want to ensure that future generations don’t have to endure the racism and whitewashing that I have experienced.[6]

Reference

  1. “Couples Retreat”. Retrieved on January 10, 2021.
  2. IMDb. Retrieved on January 10, 2021.
  3. Goslett, Miles (Nov 15, 2009). “Race row as black stars are left out of Couples Retreat film poster”.dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved on January 10, 2021.
  4. Gardner, Eriq (Nov 25, 2020). “Universal Faces Racism Lawsuit As Notorious Movie Poster Resurfaces”. hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved on January 10, 2021.
  5. El-Mahmoud, Sarah (Nov 28, 2020). “Couples Retreat Lawsuit Alleges Vince Vaughn Tried To Convince Star Not To Make A Stink Over Poster Removal”. cinemablend.com. Retrieved on January 10, 2021.
  6. Maddaus, Gene (Nov 25, 2020). “Faizon Love Files Race Discrimination Suit Over ‘Couples Retreat’ Poster”. variety.com. Retrieved on January 10, 2021.