Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau’s “Couples Retreat” is a Hollywood Blockbuster which delivers a big dose of reality with it’s depiction of marriage. From the pressures of everyday life to a spouse’s cheating, this film does a nice job of depicting couples struggling with real-world situations. Unfortuntately the film fails to provide any realistic methods to heal the damaged relationships. Patty Howell, Vice President of the California Healthy Marriages Coalition says, “Since everyone’s flawed, we all bring imprefections to the relationship. It’s fun to see these depicted in film and I’m happy the filmmakers showed couples staying together through the tough times. What’s sorely missing is seeing a realistic pathway to success. America has a big need for this information.”

Relationship experts all agree that a happy marriage requires a foundation of skillful communication. Unfortunately for many couples, their conflict-resolution skills and communication abilities are seldom developed enough and most would benefit from a class in Marriage Education. Howell says “We are ready and willing to work with future filmmakers on how to show couples in realistic, skillful communication with each other.”