USA TODAY International Edition
The upside to ‘ Downhill’ is couples can learn from it
Stars Will Ferrell and Julia Louis- Dreyfus enter a Valentine’s Day danger zone.
Will Ferrell’s Pete commits the ultimate ski- vacation sin in the comedy “Downhill.” During a controlled avalanche, he panics, grabs his phone and bolts as his wife Billie ( Julia Louis- Dreyfus) shelters their two children. No one is physically harmed by the false alarm. But Pete’s moment of cowardice causes cracks in the couple’s relationship – and he makes things worse by insisting his sprint didn’t happen as Billie remembered.
Valentine’s Day weekend is a darkly ironic release date for the comedy, which is based on the 2014 Swedish dark comedy “Force Majeure” “and premiered at January’s Sundance Film Festival. It could lead to tough conversations for couples attending.
“We talked about how divorce rates have been trending down lately,” says Ferrell playfully. “It’s like, we’ve got to fix that, turn that chart upside down. That’s the plan.”
He’s joking. Ferrell, and the filmmakers, give a survival guide to seeing “Downhill” with your sig
nificant other.
Make it clear you would never screw up like Pete
Knowing the subject matter going in, it’s best to let your partner know that “Downhill” is fiction. You’d never leave the family in peril in such a moment of need.
“It’s a good idea to make it clear: is not me,” says Nat Faxon, who directed the film with Jim Rash.
Repeat those sentiments to yourself ( first) and your partner the next morning as well, since the movie could cause guilt to dwell in the subconscious.
“It can be like waking up from a dream where you’ve been deceitful to your partner and you’re like, ‘ Hey! How are you? You have a good sleep?’ “Ferrell says in a high- pitched tone. “And they’re like, ‘ Yeah, why are you acting like a weirdo?’ And you’re like, ‘ No reason, and I love you. I love you so much.‘ “
Even if you’re not sure how you’d act in a perilous situation, fake it. “When in doubt ... lie,” Louis- Dreyfus advises.
Don’t fall for Pete’s flawed logic or apologies
When Billie confronts Pete about his terrified sprint in front of their friends, it turns into a blowout argument in “Downhill.” Pete makes the argument that he couldn’t possibly have run away, per his wife’s description, since he was wearing bulky ski boots. While ski boots do make cowardly escapes difficult, don’t buy into Pete’s argument from the theater seats.
“Don’t yell, ‘ Yeah! Get ’ em Pete. I got you, Pete!’ at the screen,” says Ferrell. “Clap at the end of the movie if you’re so inspired. But definitely don’t clap for Pete in that moment.”
Pete’s apologies about the incident go from bad to worse. Don’t endorse them.
“Don’t lead your apology with, ‘ I’m sorry for the way you feel,’ like Pete does,” says Faxon. “Don’t go with ‘ I have my version of what happened, you have your version.’ Hopefully, you can learn about your own relationship here. Like the way to apologize.”
Make sure sharp objects aren’t nearby when viewing
Just in case things go off the rails, it’s probably best to make sure no one has anything that could be used to inflict pain while watching.
“Make sure everyone empties all pockets of any sort of sharp objects before going to the theater,” cracks Ferrell. “You don’t want to unconsciously, intermittently stab your partner due to the behavior that you see onscreen.”
Maybe learn from the experience
One of the themes in “Downhill” is that nothing in a relationship is blackand- white. Perhaps the movie can lead to a healthy discussion on the matter.
“Do you ever completely know the person you’re with? Do you ever completely know yourself and how you would react in that situation?” says Faxon. “Hopefully, couples leave the theater talking about it and not divorcing over it.”
Ferrell is all about the talking, even if he jokes that he expects to see a divorce spike. “Statistics will show it in a Forbes article a year from now,” he laughs. “It will be called the ‘ Downhill’ effect on marriages.”