Odd, isn't it? Over half of all marriages end in divorce, but movies that deal with the painful process itself are few and far between.
What accounts for this discrepancy? Are audiences too eager for happily ever after to shell out $7 just to see a marriage fall apart? Granted, it's not the best fodder for a date movie, but under the magnifying glass of a camera, a fractured union supplies a wealth of dramatic potential.
Strictly speaking, Rob Reiner's "The Story of Us" is no divorce tale. Why? Because, for starters, it's a comedy. As long as you're going to inject humor into a story, then it's impossible to fully tackle subject matter as heady as divorce. (Anyone interested in seeing something that pushes this envelope should rent 1989's woefully dark comedy "The War of the Roses.")
Instead, the audience is treated to alternately cute and painful moments from the 15-year marriage of Ben and Katie Jordan (Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer, more photogenic than ever). After dropping their two children off at sleep-away camp, the couple embarks on a trial separation.
Writers Jessie Nelson and Alan Zweibel never reveal what causes the final rift in the marriage, but it's clear that for several years, Ben and Katie have become estranged from one another.
Sporadically throughout the film's slow 90 minutes, Reiner supplies the audience with snippets from the couple's past. But these scenes are very selective. First, Reiner flashes back to Ben and Katie's meeting and subsequently brief courtship, but he then bypasses most of the marriage until the fighting begins. And as big and significant as these fights may be, you can still count them on your hand.
In truth, it's an anti-divorce story. Marriages end for any of 1,000 different reasons, but "The Story of Us" doesn't provide one reason why this marriage should be saved, nor does it argue that it should fail.
Reiner's then-and-now narrative forbids the audience from witnessing the actual disintegration of the Jordans' marriage, because deep down you know he wants them to patch things up and happily reunite. For instance, he never even reveals Katie's maiden name -- the audience sees her only as an entity forever entwined with Ben.
Luckily, however, Willis and Pfeiffer are able to fill in the holes inherent in the film's design. They are absolutely charming together, and Willis is allowed to show off his best, largely unknown talent: his ability to react. Ben listens to Katie, searching to find the woman who once "got him" so completely.
The two display this mutual understanding in the scene flashing back to the couple's first date. Katie (fluidly crafted by Pfeiffer) explains her desire to become a crossword puzzle editor (kudos to Nelson and Zweibel for creating this never-before-seen on-screen vocation) because it fits her personality. She describes herself as an orderly, controlling person who needs everything to fit in its proper place, all the while nervously rearranging the condiments on her table.
Suddenly, Ben interjects with a comment likening her actions to that of a chess player. A comedy writer, Ben is wittier and more spontaneous than Katie will ever be. But together, the two are a perfect fit.
Time, however, sharpens the edges that define the couple. Katie resents that she always has to act like an adult, while his wife's nitpicking irks Ben. While this information about the couple is entertaining and, yes, even insightful, Reiner is compelled to tell it to the audience, rather than show it. In what should be a tale of the daily nuances that lead to Ben and Katie's unraveling, there's no room for subtlety.
The main culprit here is the series of scenes, most of which occur early on and then trail off, in which either Ben or Katie addresses the camera directly. Reiner used this concept perfectly once before, in "When Harry Met Sally ... ," as a means of bookending each chapter of the film.
Hey, Mr. Reiner, here's a suggestion: To provide your film with structure and clarify your message, why not interlace Ben and Katie's with scenes from anonymous characters who had undergone trial separations, with varying results? Every "us" has its own tale to tell, no?
Just before it's too late, the movie redeems itself, in a way that's too difficult to explain without giving away the ending. Pfeiffer's beautifully delivered final monologue espouses what the story of any "Us" is all about: building a life and family with someone you love and trust.
It's a great point; hell, it's a great scene. Too bad the rest of the movie leading up to it can't echo that sentiment.
Grade: C+
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
