Ncuti Gatwa Archives – CULTURE MIX

Review: ‘The Roses’ (2025), starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, Sunita Mani, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Demetriou, Zoë Chao and Kate McKinnon

August 25, 2025

by Carla Hay

Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman in “The Roses” (Photo by Jaap Buitendijk/Searchlight Pictures)

“The Roses” (2025)

Directed by Jay Roach

Culture Representation: Taking place in the San Francisco Bay Area and briefly in England, the comedy/drama film “The Roses” (a re-imagining of the 1989 film “The War of the Roses”) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some black people and Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: An architect husband and his chef wife, who are both British immigrants living in the United States, have a reversal of fortunes in their respective careers, which cause deep resentments and lead to a very bitter divorce.

Culture Audience: “The Roses” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, “The War of the Roses” movie and book, and viewers who like dark comedies with banter-filled dialogues about relationships.

Benedict Cumberbatch, Ncuti Gatwa, Olivia Colman, Kate McKinnon and Andy Samberg in “The Roses” (Photo by Jaap Buitendijk/Searchlight Pictures)

As a dark satire of divorce, “The Roses” plays it much safer than 1989’s “The War of the Roses.” This re-imagining takes a little too long to get to the main couple’s major conflicts. However, there’s enough witty banter to make the movie worth watching.

Directed by Jay Roach and written by Tony McNamara, “The Roses” is a different take on 1989’s “War of the Roses,” directed by Danny DeVito and starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. DeVito had a supporting actor role in “The War of the Roses,” which was adapted from Warren Adler’s 1981 book of the same name. Perhaps because there is more sensitivity in contemporary times about homicidal domestic violence (compared to how this issue was handled in the 1980s), the marital acts of rage in “The Roses” aren’t as extreme as they are in “The War of The Roses.”

Unlike the very American “War of the Roses” movie, “The Roses” is very much steeped in the mixtures of American and British cultures. Roach (who is American) and McNamara (who is Australian) make good use of the British couple at the center of the story having a British sense of dry wit. However, there’s not nearly enough in the movie about how British and American cultures can clash.

At times, viewers might wonder why “The Roses” is primarily set in the United States (specifically, the San Francisco Bay Area), because there’s almost nothing in the story that couldn’t have taken place in the central couple’s native England, where “The Roses” was actually filmed. The couple’s immigrant status is almost never mentioned in the movie.

“The Roses” begins by showing quarreling married couple Theo Rose (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) and Ivy Rose (played by Olivia Colman) in a marriage counseling session. Theo and Ivy are both strong-willed and quick-witted. The counselor asks Theo and Rose to list 10 things that they like about each other. Theo replies, “I’d rather live with her than a wolf.” Ivy responds, “He has arms.” Their comments get increasingly hostile and then turn into vicious insults.

The movie then goes in flashback mode to show how Theo and Ivy ended up at this point, and then continues to show their nasty divorce battle. Theo (an architect) and Ivy (a restaurant chef) met and started a quickie romance in their native England when both of their careers were on the rise. At the time, Theo had a higher income than Ivy, who was working in the kitchen at a hotel where he was having a business meeting. On the day that they met, Ivy told Theo that she was moving to the United States to pursue a career as a chef. Theo and Ivy use it as a reason have sex (in the kitchen cold room) within an hour of meeting each other.

Theo moved to America to be with Ivy. Theo and Ivy got married, and they settled in Mendocino, California, which is about 155 miles north of San Francisco. Their two children—fraternal twins Hattie and Roy—were born in the United States. Hattie is the more obedient child. (Delaney Quinn has the role of Hattie at 10 years old. Ollie Robinson is the character of Roy at 10 years old. Hala Finley portrays Hattie at 13 years old. Wells Rappaport depicts Roy at 13 years old.)

Theo got a job at a prestigious architecture firm, where he became a top employee. Ivy eventually quit her chef job to become a homemaker. For years, the Rose family had an idyllic life. When the twins are about 10 years old, Theo encourages Ivy to open her own restaurant, which she does. It’s called We’ve Got Crabs (a seafood eatery), which is only open a few days a week and does sluggish business at first.

Theo’s high-profile work on designing the East Bay Maritime Museum turns into a disaster when the museum’s roof (which had a giant ship sail on top) collapses during a major rainstorm and causes the rest of the building to collapse. The building collapse and Theo’s frantic reactions are filmed on bystander videos, which go viral. During this rainstorm, Ivy’s restaurant becomes crowded from people seeking shelter. One of the customers is an influential food critic named Sylvia (played by Caroline Partridge), from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Theo gets fired from his job on the same day that Ivy finds out that the food critic gave a rave review to We’ve Got Crabs. This review is the turning point for Ivy’s career, which has a meteoric rise that includes opening more We’ve Got Crabs locations. Ivy becomes rich and famous. Meanwhile, Theo’s career stalls, he becomes a homemaker, and his resentment and jealousy of Ivy begin to grow, as she becomes a busy, jet-setting workaholic who has less time for Theo and their children.

“The Roses” also shows how the different parenting styles of Theo (the disciplinarian parent) and Ivy (the lenient parent) also have a lot to do with their marital discord. For example, Theo wants Hattie and Roy to mimic his strictly healthy diet and pushes the twins to become champion athletic runners. Ivy, who smokes marijuana, makes decadent desserts for the twins to eat as late-night snacks, and she doesn’t care if the twins participate in sports.

“The Roses” has some supporting characters that bring some laughs, but this movie is mainly elevated by the believable chemistry between Cumberbatch and Colman. “The Roses” adds layers to the original “War of the Roses” movie with the addition of several new characters who are friends or colleagues of Theo and Ivy. All of these characters are American. Ivy and Theo don’t have any close British friends in the movie.

The movie’s purpose of these supporting characters is for Theo and Ivy to compare their lives to people who seem to be happier than Theo and Ivy. Needless to say, it’s a minefield of insecurities for almost everyone involved. By contrast, “The War of the Roses” main couple did not have multiple friends making commentary and giving advice about the couple’s problems.

Barry (played by Andy Samberg) is a “know it all” real-estate attorney who met Theo because of their jobs. Barry is married to Amy (played by Kate McKinnon), a self-described progressive feminist who lusts after Theo. Although Barry and Amy say they are open-minded about their own marriage, Amy sexually propositions Theo in a way that implies she doesn’t want Barry to find out that she wants to have sex with Theo. Even though Barry is not a divorce attorney, he ends up representing Theo in the divorce negotiations.

Rory (played by Jamie Demetriou) and Sally (played by Zoë Chao) are a married couple who are architect colleagues of Theo. Rory is smug and competitive with everyone, including Sally. Before Theo got fired, Theo was condescending to Sally too. But then, after Theo became an outcast in the architecture industry, Sally’s career begins to take off. And it makes Theo feel jealous.

We’ve Got Crabs employees Jane (played by Sunita Mani) and Jeffrey (played by Ncuti Gatwa), who are platonic friends, have been loyal staffers for Ivy from the beginning of her business, when Jane worked as a sous chef and Jeffrey was the head waiter at the restaurant chain’s first location. Ivy is a supportive and motivating boss, but even Jane and Jeffrey can see the changes in Ivy when success pumps up her ego. The stress of a bad marriage makes Ivy irritable and vindictive.

It’s a mixed bag to have all these supporting characters who were not in the “War of the Roses” book and movie. These supporting characters have some amusing lines of dialogue in capable performances, but the characters of Sally and Rory are not essential to the story. A supporting character who is essential is Ivy’s divorce attorney Eleanor (played by Allison Janney), who has barracuda-like skills in negotiations and brings her pet Rottweiler as a scare tactic in a negotiation meeting.

“The Roses” missed many opportunities to get more comedy out of the differences between British and American cultures. The closest that the movie comes to contrasting British and American cultures is a scene where Ivy and Theo go to a gun range with Barry, Amy, Rory and Sally. Theo and Ivy learn to use guns for the first time at this gun range. (Of course, you know where this gun use is going to go when the divorce gets ruthless.) The scene at the gun range has some slapstick elements, but there are much better scenes in the movie.

The meltdowns in the movie are symptoms of a larger, deep-rooted problem that can plague many marriages: In relentless pursuit of material success and having a perfect family image, spouses can often can be consumed by jealousy, they can neglect communication, and they can stop making an emotionally healthy relationship a top priority. “The Roses” might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But as a dramedy for adults, it’s entertaining enough in taking an acerbic and cautionary look at the effects that divorce can have on people’s lives.

Searchlight Pictures will release “The Roses” in U.S. cinemas on August 29, 2025. A sneak preview of the movie will be shown in U.S. cinemas on August 27, 2025.

Review: ‘Barbie’ (2023), starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman and Will Ferrell

July 19, 2023

by Carla Hay

Emma Mackey, Simu Liu, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Kingsley Ben-Adir in “Barbie” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Barbie” (2023)

Directed by Greta Gerwig

Culture Representation: Taking place in Barbie Land and in “the real world” in the United States, the comedy film “Barbie” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some African Americans, Latinos and Asians) portraying Barbie dolls and human beings.

Culture Clash: Barbie and Ken, who are two of Mattel’s most famous dolls, leave Barbie Land to venture out into the real world, and they encounter humans who have various reactions.

Culture Audience: “Barbie” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the Barbie brand and campy comedies that have pointed observations about society and feminism.

Ana Cruz Kayne, Sharon Rooney, Alexandra Shipp, Margot Robbie, Hari Nef and Emma Mackey in “Barbie” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

Despite a few parts of the screenplay being clumsy and meandering, “Barbie” is a nearly pitch-perfect comedy in its blend of satire and social commentary. The production design, costume design and casting are impeccable. The musical numbers are a bonus. If you like pop-culture-drenched comedies that can appeal to many generations (but adults will understand most of the jokes), then “Barbie” is the type of movie for you.

Directed by Greta Gerwig (who co-wrote the “Barbie” screenplay with Noah Baumbach), “Barbie” is candy-hued madcap adventure that sometimes gets overstuffed and unfocused in what it’s trying to say. It’s an occasionally bumpy ride that’s still worth the journey, but it’s best appreciated by people who are attuned to the impact that Mattel’s Barbie dolls have had on the perception of “feminine ideals.” People’s views of the “Barbie” movie will likely be affected by their views of Barbie dolls.

Barbie dolls (and what they represent) have been loved, hated, and somewhere in between by countless numbers of people, ever since the first Barbie dolls were sold in 1959. Within the Barbie toy brand are dolls with other names, but the Barbie doll name is iconic for various reasons. Barbie having a woman’s body and an entire imaginary world built around her have become part of Barbie’s image of being a “superstar” doll.

The “Barbie” movie acknowledges this impact from its opening scene, where voiceover narrator Helen Mirren is heard saying, “Since the existence of time, there have been dolls—baby dolls.” It’s a spoof of the opening scene from the 1968 sci-fi classic “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The “Barbie” movie then shows girls playing on a beach with baby dolls until a giant Barbie (played by Margot Robbie) suddenly appears on the beach, in a one-piece, black-and-white-striped swimsuit, like a doll version of Godzilla. The girls on the beach quickly smash and abandon their baby dolls and are in awe of Barbie.

Over the years, Mattel has presented Barbie as different races, occupations and body sizes, in order to deflect criticism that Barbie is not diverse. The “Barbie” movie does the same thing too. It also pokes fun at the stereotype that the “ideal” Barbie is supposed to be thin, blonde and pretty, by naming its protagonist Stereotypical Barbie (played by Robbie, one of the producers of the movie) and having her do a lot of stereotypical things that an eternally cheerfully doll would do. Barbie lives in fantastical world called Barbie Land, where the majority of everything is in pink, and parties often feature well-choreographed song-and-dance numbers.

But then, this Barbie begins to see signs that she’s not as “perfect” as she thought she was. Barbie starts to have dark thoughts about death. Her feet—which are supposed to be in permanent “tip-toe” mode so she can easily slip into high heels—suddenly become flat fleet, much to the horror of the other Barbies in Barbie Land. The movie’s other Barbies who have prominent speaking roles are portrayed by Issa Rae (the president of Barbie Land), Hari Nef, Emma Mackey, Alexandra Shipp, Sharon Rooney, Ana Cruz Kayne, Ritu Arya, Dua Lipa and Nicola Coughlin.

In the “Barbie” movie, Stereotypical Barbie has a possible love interest named Ken (played by Ryan Gosling), just like Mattel has a Ken doll that’s supposed to be Barbie’s love interest. In the movie, there are also various Kens of different races and body sizes. The ones with prominent speaking roles are portrayed by Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa and John Cena. (Cena’s appearance in the movie is very brief: no more than two minutes.)

More often than not, the Barbies in Barbie Land co-exist peacefully with each other and the Kens and are in perpetual supportive “girl power” mindsets. The Kens in Barbie Land aren’t as friendly with each other, because they are often competing for the attention of the Barbies. Gosling and Liu portray the Kens who have the biggest rivalries with each other. It’s the movie’s way of saying that competitive male egos will always exist, even in so-called utopias. (After all, history has shown which gender is more likely to start wars on Earth.)

One male who’s not named Ken in Barbie Land is Allan (played by Michael Cera), who represents every sad-sack beta male who’s treated like an outcast misfit. Allan is not considered “cool” enough to be a close friend of the Kens in Barbie Land. And he’s not considered “attractive” enough to be swooned over by the Barbies in Barbie Land, although the Barbies treat Allan better than the Kens do.

The Barbies have their own outcast misfit: Weird Barbie (played by Kate McKinnon), a disheveled doll who was played with too hard by whoever used to own her. Weird Barbie is a moody, sarcastic nonconformist who prefers the real world over Barbie Land. Almost all of the Barbies in Barbie Land have no idea what the real world is about, but they have a vague concept that it’s an undesirable place.

Weird Barbie has some of the best lines in the movie. There’s a scene that has some snarky commentary about how Mattel makes all Barbie and Ken dolls with genital areas that are not explicitly detailed. Weird Barbie quips in this scene about the Ken character played by Gosling: “I’d to see what kind of nude blob he’s packing under those jeans.” There’s also a joke about discontinued Barbie dolls, including Midge (played by Emerald Fennell), who was controversial because she was pregnant.

The Ken played by Gosling is frustrated because he wants to have sleepovers at Stereotypical Barbie’s place. Stereotypical Barbie doesn’t think about sex and only wants to have female-only slumber parties, so Ken is always rejected when he asks Barbie to spend the night at her home. As Barbie tells Ken about her sleepover rules: “Every night is girls’ night.”

Stereotypical Barbie grows increasingly disturbed by signs that she’s turning into a different Barbie. In addition to having flat feet, Barbie also shows signs that she’s becoming klutsy, insecure and no longer “perfect.” Through a series of events, Stereotypical Barbie finds out from Weird Barbie that someone in the real world has been planning a Barbie with “irrepressible thoughts of death” and other non-Barbie-like characteristics that Stereotypical Barbie has been experiencing.

And so, to solve this mystery and to find the person who’s been messing with her “perfect” life, Barbie decides to go to the real world, right to the place where she was made: Mattel headquarters in the Los Angeles area. Because she’s a master traveler, she goes by land, air and sea in a quick montage. Barbie starts her journey on a road trip, and she’s surprised to find Ken has hidden in the back of her car, because he wants to go to the real world too.

The Mattel executives are an all-male team led by an unnamed CEO (played by Will Ferrell), who has more ego posturing and bluster than he has intelligence. His team consists of a bunch of “yes men,” except for a junior executive named Aaron Dinkins (played by Connor Swindells), who dares to be an independent thinker. The CEO is predictably a bumbling oaf.

Meanwhile, another Mattel employee named Gloria (played by America Ferrera) and her daughter Sasha (played Arianna Greenblatt), who’s about 12 or 13 years old, are big parts of the story. Sasha is a pouty adolescent who’s angry that her mother left her father, for reasons that aren’t fully explained in the movie. Sasha and her female friends hate Barbie dolls and aren’t afraid to say so.

“Barbie” director/co-writer Gerwig is an outspoken feminist, so it should come as no surprise that the movie has a lot of satire about misogyny, patriarchy and how people are treated or perceived a certain way because of gender and physical appearances. The female characters aren’t excused for terrible actions, since “Barbie” also lampoons “mean girls” who are bullies and snobs. “Barbie” is not a male-bashing film, but it does point out the privileges men often get just for being men. One of the funniest parts of the movie is when Ken discovers that the real world is the opposite of Barbie Land, such as men have most of the power in the real world.

“Barbie” stumbles a bit in the backstory for Gloria and Sasha. It could have been a better-developed part of the screenplay, because Gloria and Sasha just seem kind of thrown into the movie without viewers really getting much of a chance to know them before Gloria and Sasha become a big part of the story. The movie also doesn’t do enough with Barbie’s and Ken’s “real world” interactions with adults who don’t work for Mattel.

There’s a very children’s movie-type subplot about the Mattel CEO wanting to capture Barbie and Ken, in order to put both of these life-sized dolls back in their boxes. During a chase sequence through Mattel headquarters, Barbie finds refuge in a kitchen, where she meets an elderly woman named Ruth (played by Rhea Perlman), who shows up again later in a hilarious scene.

Robbie and Gosling are a very good comedic team in “Barbie,” with both playing their respective roles in an effectively funny tongue-in-cheek style. Robbie’s Barbie is naïve but resourceful and a quick learner. Gosling’s Ken proves that he’s not just a mindless “himbo” and he has very thoughtful side. McKinnon (whose Weird Barbie deadpan delivery is very amusing) is a true standout among the “Barbie” cast, but she isn’t in the movie as much as many people think she should have been.

Ferrell, who has played pompous jerks in many other comedies, doesn’t do anything new in “Barbie,” but people who like to see him in this type of role will find his performance to be what’s expected. Ferrera and Greenblatt give believable performances as a mother and a daughter working through their own issues. Ferrera’s Gloria character has had an interesting life that is only hinted at in the movie, especially when she gives a dramatic monologue at one point in the story. The rest of the “Barbie” cast members give serviceable performances.

The soundtrack music of “Barbie” has some predictable selections, including Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” Spice Girls’ “Spice Up Your Life” and Lizzo’s “Pink.” Barbie has a personal theme song during her “real world” journey: Indigo Girls’ “Closer to Fine,” while Ken’s personal theme song after he discovers patriarchy is Matchbox Twenty’s “Push.” “Closer to Fine” and “Push” are inspired choices for the soundtrack, which includes “Barbie” co-star Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” and Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” Also on the soundtrack: Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice have a duet cover version of Aqua’s “Barbie Girl.”

Making a live-action “Barbie” movie is so much harder than it sounds. You can’t alienate the die-hard Barbie fans, but you can’t make it so sickeningly sweet that it will turn off people who have no interest in buying Barbie dolls. There’s some product placement in “Barbie,” but it isn’t aggressively obnoxious, like some product placement is in many other major studio movies. The “Barbie” movie is a lot like a Barbie doll: Some people will find it to be disposable entertainment, while others will be hooked and will become devoted fans.

Warner Bros. Pictures will release “Barbie” in U.S. cinemas on July 21, 2023.