The Roses is one of those movies where the more I think about it, the more I like it, and I think I do need to see it again at some point to really know how I feel about it. When I walked out of the theatre, I was not exactly blown away, but the movie did have some charm, mainly due to its fantastic cast. The trouble this movie had was that it had so much to live up to!
Where to Watch The Roses
The Roses was released on August 29, 2025. You can expect soon to be able to stream the film from a digital platform such as Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video.
The Movie Review
You probably know what I am going to say, but what I am talking about here is, of course, the fantastic 1989 Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner led The War of the Roses, which The Roses is a remake or reimagining of. I will admit that my ignorant butt had no idea that 1989 movie was based on a book. Anyway, that original movie is a lot of fun, and it is still a movie that I can watch and have a great time with to this day. With that in mind, The Roses had to do something very special to make it stand out, and I am not sure it did.
Cast and Character Dynamics in The Roses
The movie stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Theo Rose and Olivia Coleman as his wife, Ivy. The way Theo and Ivy meet is fun, but it is nowhere near as exciting and hot as when Oliver and Barbara meet in the original. Still, these two are a lot of fun together, and honestly, it is their pairing and the way that they play off each other that makes the movie as good as it is. The supporting cast is a lot of fun, featuring Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon in fun roles as the friends of The Roses.
Plot Overview and Family Dynamics
The story is about Theo and Ivy, who meet and then move to California. They are madly in love, and Theo has a good job as an architect, and they end up having a couple of kids. Ivy has dreams of opening her own restaurant, and Theo manages to make that happen for her. On the surface and to the outside world, it looks like The Roses have it all.
Trouble in Paradise: When Love Turns Sour
However, things change when Theo ends up becoming a stay-at-home dad and Ivy’s restaurant business starts to flourish! The dynamic in the family changes, and once the kids move to a fancy school, Ivy and Theo are left on their own, and things start to get really, really bad! If you have seen the original, you know the gist here. Theo and Ivy start to hate each other and begin making each other’s lives miserable in some creative and messed-up ways.
Performances and Final Thoughts on The Roses
Our leads really make this movie. Olivia Coleman and Benedict Cumberbatch are a lot of fun together, and their interactions, especially when they hate each other, are the highlights of the movie. There are some pretty funny moments here, and the very dark way that the movie comes to a close was kind of fun, and I am glad that they did not try to force some kind of cheesy all is good ending on us.
However, this just does not come close to being as good as the original, even though our two leads are giving everything they have to make this work, and they nearly fully succeed. Still, even though I would much rather watch The War of the Roses, The Roses is certainly not the worst remake I have ever seen. Yet, despite me saying that, it would never make my list of best remakes either.
