from www.monstersandcritics.com – The Vince Vaughn rom-com Couple’s Retreat appeared little more than a surprisingly witty palm-treed foray to most who saw it.

But a former New York model claims the movie was a vehicle for her image to be turned into a sex prop in a $10million defamation lawsuit she filed today in New York.

The woman, Irina Krupnik [pictured], alleges a nearly 10-year-old bikini snap of her was used in the movie which also starred Kristin Davis. Krupnik, who gave rights to a stock agency for the 2001 picture, filed her suit against NBC Universal in New York City.

She claims the stock picture agency apparently sold the photo to the filmmakers. The picture, she alleges, was written into the script as a sex aid for one of the unhappy characters, played by Jon Favreau. In the movie, three couples with relationship problems travel to a wacky island run by a guru who promises to heal their marriages.

Krupnik is a 31-year-old make-up artist who claims she would never allow such ‘softcore pornography’ use of a picture and that the result is damaging her reputation. Thomas Mullaney, her lawyer, said: ‘It was not a welcome development. That’s really a trashy way to treat somebody.’