Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch get vicious in ‘The Roses’

Olivia Colman is feeling a bit tired. It’s been a long day of press for “The Roses,” the irreverent and occasionally unhinged black comedy she filmed with Benedict Cumberbatch last year, and she can’t sit up straight. Both she and Cumberbatch, speaking over Zoom from a hotel in London, are visibly slouched. She confirms almost immediately that she’s wearing slippers instead of shoes.

“We’re supposed to be bright and alert pupils with intelligent and witty repartee,” Cumberbatch says, straightening up with feigned attention.

“Well, we were hours ago,” Colman replies. “I’m afraid you’ve got the dregs now, so good luck.”

Despite her warning, Colman and Cumberbatch turn out to be warmly enthusiastic about “The Roses,” scripted by “The Favourite” screenwriter Tony McNamara and directed by comedy veteran Jay Roach (“Meet the Parents”). In theaters Friday, it’s an adaptation of both Warren Adler’s 1981 novel “The War of the Roses” and Danny DeVito’s 1989 film of the same name, which pitted Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner against each other as a couple on the verge of divorce. The idea to revive the story came about several years before it was actually made.

“I’m going to let Olivia tell this story to see if she’s been paying attention all day,” Cumberbatch says. (Playful banter quickly becomes a recurring factor in our conversation.)

“Ben and I have been friends for a long time and have mutual friends,” Colman says, recounting how the film came together at the Venice Film Festival in 2018. “We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be lovely to work together?’ And then [former Searchlight Pictures president] David Greenbaum said, ‘We should get these guys to work together.’”

Cumberbatch nods enthusiastically, adding, “This isn’t her memory.”

It was, in fact, Cumberbatch who met with Greenbaum, McNamara and Colman’s producing partner and husband Ed Sinclair. “This thing was born,” Colman says in a dramatic voice. “Tony said, ‘What about a reimagining of ‘The War of the Roses’? I can imagine these two in it — it’d be funny to watch them be in love and then fight each other.’”

After a beat, Cumberbatch takes over the telling. “There’s a lot of Negroni drinking in the film because [we drank them] a lot on various occasions in Venice,” he says.

The film is laced with bad behavior. Even though it was a long-held desire to collaborate that initially drove Colman and Cumberbatch to jump onboard, the project really solidified because of how much they liked McNamara’s script.

“It was utterly brilliant,” Cumberbatch says. “We all fell in love with it. And then we were told, ‘We can’t make the film because that’s way too expensive.’ So the only real changes to the brilliance from the original script were toning it down at certain moments and making it more affordable to make.”

McNamara approached the film less as an adaptation and more as a reimagining — a term often used by screenwriters taking a less straightforward approach — although “The Roses” does occasionally nod to the original film, particularly during the climax.

“Danny’s movie is so great and I was like, ‘Well, we can’t do that again,’” McNamara says, speaking separately over Zoom from New York. “That was about two people tearing each other apart as they get divorced, but this was more like: How do two people who desperately want to stay married stay married despite not having the skill set to do so?”

“I think it’s its own beast,” Colman says. “It’s not a remake or a reboot or any of those ‘re’ phrases. It’s definitely a starting point and an influence.”

In the new film, Cumberbatch plays Theo Rose, a buttoned-up architect with a dream gig of designing a museum in Mendocino, Calif. Colman plays his wife, Ivy, a chef who has put her own career on the back burner to raise the couple’s two young children. But while Theo’s reputation disintegrates after a sudden (and viral) mishap with his building, Ivy finds herself on an upward trajectory with a successful restaurant. McNamara wanted a contemporary marriage in which both partners work — a deviation from the 1989 film.

“I was very interested in what happens to marriage in a society where ambition is what everyone has to have,” McNamara says. “At the same time you’re supposed to be keeping this intimate relationship together. So I came up with this idea: Is ambition the enemy of marriage? What happens if one of you succeeds and one of you starts failing?”

That dynamic yields both dramatic tension and hilarity as Theo and Ivy begin to resent each other. The film takes time to explore their history before things go off the rails. That development was important to the actors because they wanted the audience to initially root for them to work it out.

“There are all these missed moments that everything hinges on,” Cumberbatch says. “A bridge of love not being heard because of earphones or a mismanaged communication on an airplane or a joke that’s slightly awry or a misunderstanding. And it builds and builds. All relationships suffer huge amounts of tests and upheaval in their lifespan, and it’s how you respond to those crises or changes or irritations, however major or minor.”

It’s a coincidence that Colman’s character is a chef after she played one on “The Bear” (she’s currently Emmy-nominated for that turn). McNamara chose the career because he’s a self-described foodie who has worked in restaurants himself. “I was looking for things I knew about and I wanted two jobs that were manifested visually,” he says. “I wanted [Theo] to build something we could see and for her to build something that was tactile.”

Colman filmed a scene with British chef Ollie Dabbous in his kitchen at London’s upscale, Michelin-starred Hide restaurant, although she didn’t do much preparation otherwise. “I did try and write it all down,” Colman says of watching Dabbous work. “And I don’t know where I’ve put it. That sauce — it’s making my mouth water.”

“I do envy that because I didn’t get to work with any wonderful architects,” Cumberbatch replies. “She actually got to play with the tricks of her trade. I just stepped onto a set and was like, ‘Wow.’ Cooking is a passion that you can grow into and I would have loved that experience with Olivia.”

“I mean, I didn’t get to do anything,” Colman says. “I just got to eat it.”

Although “The Roses” is set in Northern California, it was filmed in England, primarily on the Dorset coast. The production used the towns of Salcombe and Combe Martin and built interiors at Pinewood Studios, including the impressive house Theo eventually designs for the couple. The actors pushed to shoot the movie close to home.

“We’re homebodies and it made sense for our families, which are the most important things in our lives,” Cumberbatch says. “We had some say in that.”

“That’s the nicest thing about being a producer,” Colman chimes in.

“It was nice because I knew I had an ally,” Cumberbatch continues. “I knew we could both push the producers. Five-day weeks were critical as well. The pragmatics of working when you have production companies and when you are the reason why the projects come together, you do have a bit of sway there. We were very much a united front on all things.”

Neither actor claims to have taken on “The Roses” as an opposing response to their stable marriages and home lives (a marked contrast to Theo and Ivy), but they reveled in its cathartic release. Both are associated with prestige dramas — Cumberbatch has had two Oscar nominations and Colman has gotten three (including a win) — yet their dive into slapstick works far better than you’d expect. “The Roses” sees them going full tilt, including a raucous climactic fight that involves stunts and throwing fake oranges and knives at each other.

“I did find the big fight really enjoyable and I loved being bombarded with oranges,” Colman says. “He had shockingly good aim. He didn’t even have to try.”

“It was a sponge, Olivia,” Cumberbatch interjects. “The ones coming towards you were not real.”

She looks astonished. “See, I’ve watched it and I thought, ‘Wow, we threw oranges!’”

“It was such a burst of action and every time you’d have to get the adrenaline up again,” Cumberbatch adds. “But that’s the joy. You get to run the whole crazy gamut.”

“For years, I was doing comedy desperate to be given something dramatic,” Colman says. “But there’s basically two lists, and no one gives you the chance to jump to the other list. It takes someone putting their neck on the line to give you an opportunity and then people realize: Oh, an actor can do both. And yeah, we like doing both.”

“It’s about authenticity and it’s about making it good,” Cumberbatch agrees. “Good work is good work, whether it’s funny, serious or somewhere in the middle.”

Cumberbatch does admit that this is the first time he’s gone for laughs. “What I learned about comedy is something I already knew: It is a serious business and I think it’s the harder of the two,” he says. “But the best is what Tony does and what good drama does — it doesn’t exclude either one. Life is both of those masks. All good storytelling has an element of both.”

McNamara says, “They both are great comic actors who have the ability to completely unravel in a completely truthful way.”

“The Roses” hits a few surreal moments, including in the finale scenes, which pay homage to DeVito’s film with a dinner-party argument and an escalation of violence between the couple. It was an important tonal balance to get right because the story couldn’t become so wild that it felt unbelievable.

“You don’t want to witness that mutually assured destruction, but you’re also enjoying the madness of the comedic farce,” Cumberbatch says. “People do slightly crazy things when they’re locked into a point of view.”

The addition of supporting players like Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon helped to bring moments of “bigness and craziness,” says McNamara, without losing the tumultuous dynamic between Theo and Ivy. “Ben talked about the idea that, at the end of the movie, you vow you’ll be nicer to your partner.”

“People should sigh with relief as they exit the theater,” Cumberbatch says. “It’s fun to laugh at them, but let’s be generous to each other and grateful and hold each other in our minds and be more present for one another. Because that’s where it goes awry, when you’re lost in your own story and you’re not reaching out for the middle ground.”

After being friends for many years (they can’t remember exactly how long), it wasn’t hard for Cumberbatch and Colman to step into the shoes of a married couple. “The only danger of friends is that you don’t get the work done because you are having too good a time,” Cumberbatch says. “And there is obviously always a ticking clock. But it was joyous. I’ve said this so many times it’s embarrassing, but when you trust [your co-star] it raises your work.”

“I’ve loved every moment of you saying that,” Colman says. “You’re so good at saying lovely, kind things.”

“Because it’s true,” Cumberbatch insists. “That’s why it’s very easy. And I’m looking forward to the next opportunity for us to do it.”

Colman suddenly perks up. “Should we do it again?” she asks, moving onto another comedy featuring DeVito. “‘Romancing the Stone’?”

Cumberbatch laughs. “Yes,” he says, gesturing to the both of them. “This is the new Kathleen Turner/Michael Douglas pairing.”

He adds, getting serious, “She’s amazing at elevating the mood of the whole day, the whole set and the whole crowd of people, no matter what’s going on. I’m not so good at that compared to Olivia.” Her joy, he adds, is “infectious.”

“You made me feel joyful,” she says, leaning onto his shoulder. She sighs and adds, “It’s the end of the day and I think we’re both feeling quite emotional.”

Their friendship is palpable and far more aspirational than Theo and Ivy’s marriage. Colman suggests that I might play back this interview and realize it’s completely useless. But, actually, through their fatigue comes something revelatory.