Here we go again – another exploration of a 15-year marriage gone stale, or haywire, or whatever. However, "The Story of Us" is directed by Rob Reiner, who also plays a small part, so we are guaranteed some solid comedy.
Michelle Pfeiffer as Katie Jordan and Bruce Willis, as Katie's husband, Ben, are the movie's protagonists, who ask the question: why did we ever get married in the first place?
Facing this problem, the Jordans attempt a trial separation while their children are off at summer camp. Katie is a crossword puzzle designer (I always wondered what they called those people), and Ben is a writer, a "true romantic." Katie mourns the fact that Ben has lost his spontaneity, his playfulness. Ben is bewildered. However, again, there is Reiner in there and the story, the examination of what has happened to them, to the "us," is witty and touching, although one reviewer has described it as "When Harry left Sally."
There is an overload of comic relief in the casting of the couple's two sets of parents – Red Buttons, Betty White, Jayne Meadows and Tom Poston. Also in the cast is the wonderful, fey Julie Hagerty – remember "Airplane?"
The film is rated "R" for language and sexuality.
It starts Thursday at Sunny Isle.
