We "Retreat" with Kristen Bell and Jason Bateman

In the new comedy Couples Retreat, shot on the glorious island of Bora Bora, Kristen Bell and Jason Bateman play a control-freak married couple about to break up under the stress of trying to have a baby and schedule their lives down to the last millisecond!  They even make elaborate Powerpoint presentations to convince their best buds to go on a couples workshop vacation at Eden resort with them! Of course the other couples think it's just a jet ski, luau-laden, fun and sun getaway but learn on arrival that they'll be forced to work on their relationships as well or be sent home!

From our Beverly Hills chat with Kristen and Jason, we gathered that, in addition to sharing amazing dives into clear, turquoise water, the eight lead actors in this ensemble comedy (Kristen and Jason, Vince Vaughn and Malin Ackerman, Faizon Love and Kali Hawk and Kristin Davis and Jon Fraveau) weren't divas at all and were careful to balance the laughs and pathos equally. Kristen spoke of girl bonding sessions and we learned that Faizon had an embarrassing surprise in store for his fellow actors in a beach scene. Surprisingly, if Kristen could pick a spot to be alone with friends and loved ones she'd just stay home!  But, Bora, Bora would be the clear second choice.

Picture this color-coordinated duo in shades of black.. and blue. Kristen was
wearing a black cardigan over a periwinkle blue ruffled-neck chiffon dress by Doo.Ri tunic-style over skinny jeans. Jason was very sharp-looking in crisp dark blue suit and shirt.

TeenHollywood: Your characters are pretty "A-type" control freaks. Are you guys like that at all in reality?

Jason: I'm not very A-type.  I sort of like to just let it go. My wife, on the other hand, is very good about organization and planning and, between the two of us, there's somebody normal, right in between.

Kristen:  Cynthia is probably me on my worst day. If I'm very stressed out, I do like everything to be in order and it's quite frustrating to see things that are not. But, I don't think I've been her or plan to be her in a long while.

TeenHollywood: A lot of people might think their Powerpoint demonstrations and ultra-planning were a good thing.

Jason:  Yeah.  There's nothing all that bad about what they do. I think that it's a combination of their routine along with their inherent bit of uptight-ness too which probably goes into their emotional life and maybe their sexual life and spiritual life and all that stuff. So, they need this island and they need this program to shake things loose and lighten up a little bit.

TeenHollywood: When they told you this film was shooting in Bora Bora, did they have you at "hello"?

Jason: (laughs) They sure did! With me, it was a very easy 'yes'. This is something that was born from two of my comedy heroes, Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn. It was a great call to get.  The location could have been Laughlin, Nevada on a bus but it happened to be the most idyllic situation you could ever imagine. Literally if you could run though all the travel brochures and find a place you would want to go, it would be this spot and it would be that resort and we got to stay there for five weeks and get paid and shoot a movie that we loved.

Kristen:  There were no losers on this film. Everybody won.

TeenHollywood: What was it like working with producer and former child actor Peter Billingsley (Ralphie in the iconic A Christmas Story) as your director?

Kristen: Peter's lovely.  I think he knows that you can't really make a comedy if people aren't happy; if people on the set aren't smiling, you're probably not getting that much funny material on screen and people probably won't be laughing when they're watching it.  But, he had a lot on his plate from taking a gigantic amount of equipment and crew and relocating them to Bora Bora and learning how to work with all the elements there; the heat, just a different situation that everyone wasn't used to.  I think that he kept a smile on his face the whole time.  He had a very clear idea of what he wanted out of the film and he was just all-around great to work with.  He's very experienced despite the fact that this is his directorial debut but he made it a very fun, cooperative set to work on.

TeenHollywood: Vince said that the best idea won so would you all think up ideas for other people's characters as well?

Jason: Yeah.  I think, like Kristen said, it was a very collaborative set.  There were no bad ideas.  Everybody felt very safe to pitch in.  It was kind of a free-for-all.  The rehearsal process was never rushed or forced.

TeenHollywood: And with four couples being so important in the story, it must be important to make sure everyone is balanced and on game.

Jason:  There was enough time for everything to be worked out and that was important because there were eight of us. If you have eight people all together in a scene, those eight people need to make kind of one character so everybody kind of has to be on guard to make sure they are playing whatever right element they need to to make it all work.

Kristen:  It's all about what moves the story along.  The best idea will win; the funniest idea but also what gets the story told.  We're still doing it for an audience. It could be a very, very funny joke but it might get cut out because it's not what the scene needs to move it along.

TeenHollywood: Did either of you come up with any improv ideas that ended up in the film?

Jason:  I'm trying to remember.  I think my favorite line in the movie is Vince's that he improvised when the sharks are in the water chasing him (and thick
French-accented guru played by Jean Reno is yelling instructions at him). 'Get the French out of your mouth (and tell him to start shooting the fish)'. I haven't heard anything that funny in a long time. But I know there were tons of things that were ad-libbed that were not in the movie but you can't have a ten-hour movie. So, I do not envy the position of the editor or the director on this film.

Kristen: There was a lot of funny stuff not in it but a lot is in it. (check later for the DVD outtakes!).

TeenHollywood: Were they any embarrassing moments on set; like filming with the inappropriate Yoga instructor or the scene in which everyone has to basically undress?

Jason: The disrobing on the beach wasn't really that tough for anybody except Faizon (Love).

Kristen: Well, it was tough for everybody except Faizon (who didn't have on underwear so ended up flashing the whole cast and crew!!).

Jason: (laughs) That's true. We were all basically in our bathing suits; the guys were wearing boxers and the girls, underwear and bra but they were the size of a bathing suit.  I would say, the most embarrassing...well, I got off pretty scott free. Didn't have to do anything too embarrassing in the film.

TeenHollywood: Kristen, where do you like to go to get away with your loved ones?

Kristen: Home. Staying at home is the most important thing for me because I get so little time there I think.  Having people over, that feels very comfortable and where I can catch up with someone. I don't really like to go out to that many places in Los Angeles because I don't like to go to places where I can't hear or see the people that I'm going with. Yeah, I'd pick home I guess but I'd definitely go back to Bora Bora.

Jason: There's a plane leavin' tonight!

TeenHollywood: Do either of you have friends who are having trouble having a baby? That is one of the major things driving your characters apart in the film so did you sort of research that?

Jason: I've got some friends that are having trouble with that and it's very stressful on the relationship.  I didn't need to talk to them about it, partly because I don't need to do a whole lot of homework. I didn't really want to weigh it down with serious stuff like that.  This is a light, fun movie. I didn't want to bore anybody in the audience with any sort of real acting (we laugh).

Kristen: (teasing him) Oh, you didn't.

Jason: Thank you. So, I think everybody coming into this movie is there to have a good time and eat plenty of popcorn and I think it delivers that.

TeenHollywood: Did you actually learn anything through the counseling sessions in the movie? Any valuable lessons?
 
Kristen: Not really because most of our therapy sessions were meant to be more for the comedy. They were definitely extreme in what our therapist was telling us. Something about puppy death syndrome or something (laughs).

Jason:  It's tough to get a good lesson from the puppy death syndrome. If there is any sort of message that I absorbed, it was just to keep talking and stay connected as much as you can. Don't just assume that that person is just going to keep waking up next to you every morning. You might need to talk to that person every once in a while and check in.

TeenHollywood: Good advice.  Kristen, a lot of the guys in the film and making the film were already buddies but the girls weren't.  Do you all meet early for a little girl bonding experience or anything?

Kristen: We did click really quickly.  The rehearsal process worked quite well because we all met and had some social time together while we were working out how our characters would best be developed and best tell this story of all eight people. But I think we were all a little bit intimidated clearly because the guys are such comedy powerhouses. (To Jason) I wasn't talking about you (he puts on a mock "hurt" expression). But I think the girls, with what they were given, pretty much held their own. And I'm proud of the females in this film and we got on really great.

TeenHollywood: There is a scene involving hot and steamy Yoga guy and the wives that is a very real representation of women just letting go and partying. Was that fun to shoot?

Kristen: Yeah. Absolutely.  They (Malin Ackerman and Kristin Davis) are all very easy to hang out with and we're all kind of similar so it just all fell into place.

TeenHollywood: Kristen, Astro-Boy, the animated film comes out late in October. For those not familiar with the story, comics etc., will they "get" it?

Kristen: It presents Astro-Boy in the light he's used to living in but with a slightly fresh perspective. People that are familiar with the Manga or how iconic he is overseas, I know they're going to have high expectations and that's a little nerve-wracking, knowing that people are so familiar with this character and I hope they did it right. I think they did. My character is new to the story but I think that she helps move it along.  I like that they added a female so that little girls and people that saw it might be able to identify with it as a girl.  Also, on a friendship level, they gave Astro a best friend which I think is really cute.  I've seen it and really like it.  It's really good.