It’s been pretty touch-and-go for the past few years, but it really feels like the classic studio comedy is making a comeback. One of Them Days was one of the first hits of the year, and this month alone has seen the successful releases of The Naked Gun and Freakier Friday. August goes out with a bang with The Roses, a dark comedy that feels plucked from the 2000s.

That is intended as a compliment. The Jay Roach-directed movie, a remake of the 1989 The War of the Roses and an adaptation of the 1981 novel by Warren Adler, takes the simple premise of a marriage falling horribly apart and updates it. And yet, the way the movie unfolds — with over-the-top visual gags, a stacked supporting cast, and profane humor — is reminiscent of a bygone era.

We first meet Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo Rose (Benedict Cumberbatch) in couples’ therapy, vainly struggling to say a single kind word about each other. Their marriage is in a bad place, but this isn’t even the worst of it. The Roses then returns to the day they met — a shockingly crᴀss interaction that gets heated very fast — before revealing their domestic bliss ten years later.

While we’re here to see a relationship splintering into a million pieces, a natural expectation considering the plot revolves around the acrimonious end to Ivy and Theo’s marriage. Luckily, the film is less about the end of their relationship and more about the journey that gets us there.

The Roses Tries To Make The Downfall Of A Marriage Funny (& It Largely Works)

When the story really gets started, Ivy is a chef attempting to get her seafood restaurant off the ground, while Theo is an architect plotting an ambitious — to the point of concern — project. The latter is positioned as the more successful of the two, the true breadwinner, but their fortunes are reversed when a devastating storm rolls into town.

Almost overnight, Ivy is a runaway hit while Theo’s career is in shambles. This is ultimately the turning point for their relationship, as Ivy’s career takes off while Theo stays home to care for the kids and simmer in his resentment. The Roses emphasizes the gradual decline between them. We still see their love, but they also soon become far too good at hurling casual, bruising insults.

Colman and Cumberbatch play off each other incredibly well, aided by Tony McNamara’s rat-a-tat dialogue and their genuine chemistry. From the first moment Ivy and Theo meet, it’s clear they’re a perfect match for each other, with their banter immediately setting their connection alight, but that only serves to make the entire downfall of their marriage more heartbreaking.

Roach has a tricky tonal balance to navigate here. Though it’s a comedy, The Roses can also get remarkably dark. The тιтular couple frequently joke about killing themselves, and their dislike for each other eventually turns corrosive. It really shouldn’t work, and yet it largely does.

Perhaps that’s because McNamara’s script doesn’t put either person entirely at fault. Both Ivy and Theo have their reasons to be frustrated, and we can empathize with them both. The Roses doesn’t shy away from the tragedy of the lost love between them, but it also intends to wring every bit of humor out of the situation.

Olivia Colman & Benedict Cumberbatch Make The Roses Fun

By the time Theo and Ivy have a dinner party at their gorgeous new home (designed by Theo in the movie, and incredibly brought to life by production designer Mark Ricker), they’ve reached the point of no return. The dinner party is a standout sequence, just as uncomfortable as it is funny, heightened by the growing tension.

From that point on, The Roses jumps into the couple’s petty, morbidly hilarious attempts to get the upper hand in the divorce proceedings. There’s obviously a tragedy to what we’re seeing, but Roach applies a sort of go-for-broke energy to their relentless ᴀssault that you can’t help but be strangely invested in the terrible lengths they’ll both go to.

It’s a bit of a bummer to realize the trailers already gave away much of the climax, though there are a couple of surprises that had me sitting on the edge of my seat. This reimagining of The War of the Roses features a decidedly different ending, a daring one that will have people talking as they leave the theater. It’s twisted and perfect.

Cumberbatch and Colman are the undisputed stars of the show, and it’s a delight to see them dig into this kind of broad comedy. In supporting roles, Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon (as a couple who are friends with Theo) reliably supply some chuckles, and Ncuti Gatwa and Sunita Mani (as Ivy’s restaurant staff) are fun additions. Still, it’s Allison Janney who, with one single scene, totally steals the show.

Though funny, The Roses doesn’t totally nail all of its punchlines, and I’m certain the darker side of the couple’s dissolving marriage won’t be for everyone. With such incredible performers as Colman and Cumberbatch at the center of it all, though, it’s easy to have a blast. You’ll want them to break up just as much as you want them to make up, and that is the most impressive thing of all.