The Vaughn Supremacy

Vince Vaughn stars in Couples Retreat, a comedy about four Midwestern couples who embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. Photo / Supplied

When Vince Vaughn first came on to our radar in 1996 in the indie hit Swingers, it seemed unlikely Hollywood would rank him a decade later, as one of the most bankable stars of his generation.

Now, at 39, his irreverent-yet-likeable appeal that crosses gender and age demographics has translated into huge box office returns on almost all of his films - regardless of merit.

In fact, last year he topped the Forbes list of actors who give studios the best return on their investment. Arguably, Vaughn has become the Will Smith of comedy.

His signature, offbeat charm is evident in his latest film, Couples Retreat, in which he heads an impressive ensemble cast, set to a Bora Bora backdrop, in a tale about four couples who need to work on their respective marriages and undergo the resort's unconventional form of couples therapy.

Based on Vaughn's idea, this is not the first time this Minnesota-born actor/writer/producer has been fascinated with the theme of relationships.

His anti-romantic comedy The Breakup became a blockbuster hit, grossing over US$200 million ($273 million), and his previous comedies have all done exceptionally well: The Wedding Crashers another US$200 million plus, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, at US$114 million, Four Christmases at US$120 million, and even back in 2003, Old School grossed over US$75 million.

There's a no-nonsense quality to Vaughn. He's articulate, looks you directly in the eyes, and comes across as one who doesn't suffer fools gladly. Perhaps an unlikely candidate to come up with an idea about couples therapy, given that he's never been married, although he famously dated Jennifer Aniston after her paparazzi-plagued divorce from Brad Pitt.

But Vaughn will soon be relinquishing his bachelor status when he weds Canadian realtor Kyla Weber.

Like many comedic writers, Vaughn sees the funny side of human foibles, and likes to exploit behavioural issues in dysfunctional relationships.

Says Vaughn, "I always thought it was a crazy idea to have corporate retreats. I've never worked for a corporation but the idea has always struck me as funny that people would do these crazy activities that somehow would apply to their business. So, I thought of the idea of a couples retreat where you go to some nether place, almost a Wizard of Oz-ish magical place where regular folk could go to sort out their marital problems."

Says Vaughn of what makes him laugh, "It's the dynamic of the relationship that makes me laugh, not one person stating stuff. It's the misunderstandings, the miscommunications. It's that kind of stuff that is funny to me."

Directed by long-time pal Peter Billingsley, who worked with Vaughn as producer on Four Christmases and The Breakup, the movie also stars long-time collaborator Jon Favreau, who co-wrote the script with Vaughn, Malin Akerman (Watchmen, The Heartbreak Kid), Jason Bateman, a welcome addition to any cast, Sex And The City's Kristin Davis, Faizon Love (Torque, Of Boys and Men), and Kristin Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall).

Raised in Illinois, Vaughn has two older sisters: Victoria and Valeri. He remains close to his parents, Vernon, a salesman, and Sharon, a real estate and stockbroker (now divorced), and occasionally casts his father as an extra in his movies. Sharing the wealth, his sister, Victoria, now serves as executive producer on many of his movies. The youngest Vaughn was interested in theatre from a young age, and he packed his bags for Hollywood to become a struggling actor. He met Favreau, who was writing the Swingers' script and wrote the lead for him. Steven Spielberg then cast him in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and he went on to make dramas including Clay Pigeons, and the iconic role of Norman Bates in the recreation of Psycho.

But it wasn't until he started making comedies that he found his niche, although he was cast in a supporting role in last year's Into The Wild.

Like Judd Apatow, the creator of such comedies as Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Superbad, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, he will generally collaborate with the same actors such as Jonah Hill, and Seth Rogen. Similarly, Vaughn surrounds himself with his own comedy team. In fact, he was nicknamed the leader of the so-called Frat Pack, which consists of Jon Favreau, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Will Ferrell, and Owen and Luke Wilson.

He says of the comparison: "I think Swingers came first. Swingers was sort of a flagship at a time where all the independent films, like Swingblade, were having a moment. Then Jon and I did Made, then there was Old School, an R-rated comedy at a time when you couldn't make them. Three years later we did Wedding Crashers and then came The 40-Year-Old Virgin. I don't know the inner workings of Judd [Apatow] and his team, but he's a really talented guy.

"As for the 'frat pack' thing, there was no consciousness going on. I think it rhymes and I think it's nice that way but it was never a real cohesive thing of, 'Let's all collaborate and do stuff.' I think what you're saying with the Apatow camp is that there probably is a mission to do that, but I'm more of an independent person. I've never had a consistent camp to say, 'this is my camp!"'

On the verge of marital bliss, did he learn anything useful about marriage from making this movie?

"I think that the biggest thing is not to lose sight of what made you want to get married in the first place. You have fun with this person, you respect this person, there's things you like to do with that person. Make sure you try to have some fun, because life goes by pretty quick if you don't. Take advantage of being happy and enjoying some of those moments or you might miss the whole thing."

Now that he's well-versed in the language of therapy, is he closer to understanding the concept of the perfect relationship? "God, the only expert thing I know about a relationship is that I don't know anything. But I do know this to be true: men marry women hoping that they will not change, and women marry men hoping that they will change and inevitably, everyone's disappointed," he laughs.

Although there is no date yet for his own big day down the aisle, he insists, "I'm not nervous about it."

It would seem that the themes of his movies mirror his personal life. From marriage counselling to his next movie, Male Doula, where he will explore the joys of childbirth, the next chapter of his own life will most likely include children. "The idea of fatherhood is not intimidating to me but it's scary until they talk because you don't know what they want. I've seen a baby being born, my sister's. It's amazing and I'm looking forward to it. But then again, I'm not the one giving birth. I've got it easy."

Who: Vince Vaughn
Born: March 28, 1970, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Key roles: Swingers (1996), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Psycho (1998), The Cell(2000), Made (2001), Domestic Disturbance (2001), Starsky & Hutch (2003), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), Mr & Mrs Smith (2005), Be Cool (2005) Thumbsucker (2005), The Wedding Crashers (2005), The Break-Up (2006), Fred Claus (2007), Four Christmases (2008).
Latest: Couples Retreat, opens at cinemas today.