The Story of Us

There was a split decision in the Brown household on The Story of Us, the new Rob Reiner film. My wife gave it three stars. "The lines of dialogue came from real life situations," she explained.

I agree with her assessment of the real life dialogue. That’s part of what’s wrong with the movie. I liken The Story of Us to listening to your next-door neighbors quarrel with the windows wide open. If that ever happen, I’d close the windows and turn up the stereo. Wouldn’t you? So why would anyone want to sit through a 90 minute film that features an unhappy couple fighting?

I always thought that it was family finances that most often causes marriages to fall apart. The marriage of Ben Jordan (Bruce Willis) and his wife, Katie (Michelle Pfeiffer) has hit the skids after 15 years, though their financial house seems to be in order. After all, they seem well-off enough to pack their kids off to summer camp for the entire summer. The couple goes through a trial separation, but don’t want the kids to know about it.

There aren’t any problems with the lead performances. Willis plays Ben as the free-spirited writer, while you can imagine a control-freak like Katie going bonkers because someone forgot to put the cap back on the toothpaste.

Besides the shallow story, it’s the pace of the movie that drives me bonkers. Director Reiner takes the audience for a bumpy 15 year ride with endless flashbacks to show the highs and lows of the relationship. Michelle Pfeiffer never ages; only her hairstyles seem to change. Bruce Willis dons so many hairpieces, we should all buy stock in Men’s Hair Club of America.

Reiner tries to counterbalance the dramatics with light comedy. Ben’s life, when he isn’t fighting with Katie, seems to be revolve around lunch with his best buddies played by Paul Reiser and Reiner. Meanwhile, Katie does lunch with her chums played by Rita Wilson and Julie Hagerty. The boorish chatter shows the supporting cast as cardboard figures whose lives seem to have no purpose other than to serve as a support group for Ben and Katie.

To which I urge people who are tempted to see The Story of Us: let Ben and Katie work out their problems in private.