Based on Warren Adler’s novel and the 1989 cult classic, "The War of the Roses", this updated version ditches the shoulder pads but keeps the emotional body slams. Where the original leaned into slapstick brawls and sweaty yelling (courtesy of Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner), this take is sharper, meaner and built to cut closer to the bone. The tension still boils over spectacularly, but now with smarter dialogue and deeper emotional stakes.
Ivy and Theo Rose seem to have it all: great jobs, good kids, charm and matching passive-aggression. But when Theo’s career nosedives just as Ivy’s skyrockets, their “perfect life” turns into a slow-motion domestic cage match. What starts with icy glares and snide remarks escalates into a full-blown battle of egos... because all’s fair when love is war.
Pairing Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman feels like someone at the studio said, “You know what? Let’s just break people’s brains with talent with this one.” Cumberbatch simmers with a magnetic, quiet fury, while Colman pivots from composed to burn it all down without ever raising her voice. Together, they play Ivy and Theo with equal parts charm and menace. Watching them is like seeing two pros play emotional ping pong with knives, every volley more precise than the last.
And, as you can imagine, the supporting cast of Andy Samberg, Kate McKinnon, Allison Janney and Ncuti Gatwa, aren’t there just to fill space. But it’s McKinnon’s character who’s so openly thirsty for Theo that her entire performance could be captioned “same, girl, same.” She’s unhinged in the best way, lobbing innuendo like verbal grenades while lusting after a man who's mid-marital implosion. It’s weird. It’s hilarious. It’s total McKinnon.
What really kicks this version up a notch is how it updates the power dynamics. Unlike Turner in the original, Colman isn’t a housewife with repressed rage. Instead, she’s a successful entrepreneur whose rise tilts the entire marriage on its axis. Meanwhile, Cumberbatch’s Theo is left floundering as his career and identity circle the drain, delivering lines like “I suppose sometimes I do hate you… sporadic hatred” in that signature voice so polite it almost sounds like a compliment.
So yes, this remake earns a spot on your coveted to-watch list. It’s smart, savage, beautifully acted, and unapologetically fun. The Roses hits U.S. theaters August 29.
Viewing recommendation: Watch it with a glass of wine and a bowl of popcorn…not your spouse.
