SnoopyStyle
Ben (Bruce Willis) and Katie Jordan (Michelle Pfeiffer) are married with two kids. They find themselves drifting apart after 15 years of marriage. After sending the kids away to summer camp, they try a trial separation.This wants to be 'Two for the Road' but it has no style. I'm not in love with that movie and this one is so much more inferior. It starts in a static depressing place that the movie never reaches takeoff speed. There is a manufactured feel to the whole enterprise. Their marriage in the various flashbacks seems lifeless and unreal at the same time. At no point do I feel an urge to root for the couple. Each spouse has their own circle of friends which they have a jokey time with. That doesn't work either.
bkoganbing
Bruce Willis takes a break from action flicks to star with Michelle Pheiffer in The Story Of Us about two married people whose marriage seems to be going off course. After 15 years they're marriage is in crisis mode.By all rights they have the storybook American Dream, wife, two kids, and living the good life in suburbia. But they seem to be stuck in a rut and both are trying to capture the magic gone.What they learn in the end is that the magic of those honeymoon early years is gone and they actually do like each other. What they have to do is stop letting little things annoy both of them all out of proportion.Rob Reiner directed The Story Of Us and cast himself in a nice part as Willis's friend who seems to be giving bad advice every time he opens his mouth. But the best supporting roles are from Bill Kirchenbauer and Lucy Webb who are a pair of yokel Americans that Willis and Pheiffer meet on a trip to Italy. These two may be dumb, but they're happy and sometimes that's what you should strive for.For fans of the leads especially for Bruce Willis fans who get a nice change of pace.
djansen24
I am baffled by Reiner's purpose in making this film. Was it supposed to be therapeutic, attempting to help troubled marriages resolve their differences? Was it supposed to be a romantic comedy? Was it capitalizing on When Harry Met Sally? Well, it failed! It failed on all levels! The serious subject of marital crisis is given a superficial treatment here. The script and direction (not to mention the acting) never gives us a chance to dig deep into a serious matter - keeping our marriages going through troubles. Are we supposed to believe the kids just upstairs never hear the scream matches the parents have downstairs? Are we supposed to believe the arguments the parents have? Are the moronic and thoroughly unhelpful side characters anything more than a distraction to the movie? Marital stress can make for some hilarious moments in cinema. What couple hasn't been through arguments and fights? That's why we laugh when comedians make jokes about married life. We can empathize. But this movie sets up the dumbest and sometimes most offensive jokes. I sat watching uncomfortably rather than laughing. Because the script has the characters talking AT each other rather than really talking TO each other. Marriage is so rewarding precisely because it involves hard work and sacrifice for the greater good. That is why love making and conversational intimacy are always best after rough patches have been worked out and forgiveness has been given. This film left me wondering why this couple really wanted to stay together. If you are single, marriage is a LOT better than this film makes it out to be. If you are struggling with your marriage, don't use this film for advice. If you are someone looking for a romantic comedy, check out That Thing You Do or something like it.
ADeFanti1116
This has to be one of my favorite movies. My husband and I watch this and we both end up in tears (at different points) and can identify with the characters. We appreciate each other more (at least for a little while) after watching this movie. Marriage is not easy and the road that this couple travels together hits home with us. When feeling like things are getting too hard and giving up would just be easier, watching this movie puts things into perspective. Do I think that this movie is good for people having marriage difficulties? Maybe. But I do think that this is a good movie for anyone who has ever been married, or wants to be married, or is married. The fact that this movie has Bruce Willis in it was an added bonus, I mean, how can you go wrong with him in a movie?
AD
