The Story
Of Us
Directed
by Rob Reiner
Written
by Alan Zweibel and Jessie Nelson
Starring
Bruce Willis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tim Matheson, Rob Reiner, Rita Wilson,
Paul Reiser, Julie Hagerty, Colleen Rennison, and Jake Sandvig
94
minutes. Rated R. Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1. 1999
I never quite know what to expect from Rob Reiner films anymore. The man
doesn't stay within one specific genre, he sort of bounces around. I mean,
the man goes from directing This Is Spinal Tap to Stand By Me
to The Princess Bride, from where he makes the logical leap to Misery,
The American President, and Ghosts of Mississippi. I mean, other
than a couple writers who show up more than once (Stephen King and Aaron
Sorkin), there's not really anything to link any of these films together
other than the fact that they're all directed by Meathead.
Having
just watched Sorkin's The American President and having seen the
trailers to The Story Of Us, I guess I was expecting a fairly light
romantic comedy. I was not expecting the achingly sad film that
just finished spinning in my DVD player. The Story Of Us is actually
a very difficult film to watch. We're basically treated to the worst parts
of Ben (Willis) and Katie (Pfeiffer)'s marriage, interwoven with scenes
from the present, where they are undergoing a separation. It's a heartwrenching
94 minutes, watching these two people who so obviously love each other
go through something so awful and wrong.
The script is well-written, with enough humor woven in with all the raw
emotions to keep me from wanting to open my wrists. Paul Reiser and Reiner
himself provide most of the comic relief as Ben's friends, though Rita
Wilson's graphic explanation on why men can use sex to end an argument
and women can't is pretty damn funny too. Most of the film, though, is
Ben and Katie screaming, crying, or sitting alone, wondering what happened
to the two people who fell in love and married fifteen years ago. The dialogue
is believable and poignant -- enhanced by wonderful performances from 
Willis
and Pfeiffer. Thanks to them, we instantly feel as if we've known these
people for years, and that the two of them breaking up is akin to our own
parents or our two best friends separating. The empathy that we feel for
them is unreal. Which of course makes the film all the more powerful. Strong
supporting roles played by, again, Reiser, Reiner, and Wilson, as well
as the oddly small roles of Ben and Katie's kids (played by Rennison and
Sandvig), round out the film beautifully.
As always,
Reiner's direction is straightforward, elegant, and wonderfully effective
without being obvious about it. He's one of those directors whose style
is very difficult to describe, but whose films are recognizable by the
strong performances he coaxes out of his actors, and (for the most part,
Ghosts
of Mississippi notwithstanding) by the wisdom and good taste with which
he chooses his scripts.
This
is, as I mentioned above, a rather difficult film to watch. It's so heartwrenching
and sad, you wonder how these people can possibly live like this. A rapid-fire
montage of Ben and Katie's life together near the end of the film (from
which most of the material from the trailer came) actually brought tears
to my eyes, as did Katie's final disjointed montage. It's a hard film to
watch, yes, but it's a beautiful one as well, one that refuses to accept
that life is anything except shades of grey, and reminds us that true love
manages to endure, despite itself.
Bottom line: An achingly sad film that should not be watched when depressed
-- but a beautiful one as well that should be watched.
My grade:
B
My advice:
If you've had a fight with your significant other, give them a call, huh?
It's just not worth being stubborn over. Oh -- my advice on the movie.
Uh, see it.
Get the movie
poster!
