# Story of Us, The (1999)

### reviewed by
Michael Elliott

Christian Critic's Movie Parables - http://www.christiancritic.com

    THE STORY OF US
    * * out of * * * * stars
    ========================

DIRECTED BY: Rob Reiner STARRING: Bruce Willis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rob Reiner, Rita Wilson, Tim Matheson WRITTEN BY: Alan Zweibel, Jessie Nelson RATED: R for language and brief sexuality SCRIPTURE REFERENCES: Ephesians 4:26, Mark 10:1-9, Ecclesiastes 9:9

Cinematic stories about an introspective journey are among the most difficult to tell. So, telling a story about two such journeys simultaneously is understandably twice as hard. Director Rob Reiner's (THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT) latest work, THE STORY OF US, is a strange mixture of a movie. Combining comedy and drama, pathos with vulgar sexual bantering, the film contains both hits and misses but ultimately doesn't quite succeed in sustaining an emotional connection with its audience.

Ben (Bruce Willis, THE SIXTH SENSE) and Katie (Michelle Pfeiffer, THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN) Jordan have been married for fifteen years. They have produced two delightful children and the four of them appear to be enjoying a wonderful life together. The trouble is, whenever the kids leave the room, the life leaves with them. Over time, whatever kindled the spark of this marriage has long since died out.

The movie focuses on the Jordans' attempts to present a happy facade for their children's sake even while each is trying to figure out what went wrong in the marriage and why. He is more of a free spirited individual... A fun and spontaneous kind of guy. She, on the other hand, feels pressed to be the responsible one of the duo. And after fifteen years of being the "designated driver," she resents it.

Using a series of flashbacks, voice-overs, and interviews (a la WHEN HARRY MET SALLY), Mr. Reiner explores the effect that everyday "life" has on a marriage relationship. The Jordans move from a happy, sexually compatible, vibrantly fun couple (seen in the flashbacks) to a pair of individuals who allow the minor irritations of idiosyncratic behavior to build and fester until it reaches intolerable levels. The film's chopped up structure is used to try to show each character's perspective of their failing marriage but, in so doing, it manages to distance us from connecting with those characters. The non-lineal time line forces us to view the story with our heads rather than our hearts.

Bruce Willis is very good as the man who hasn't quite grown up. His repeated protest of "I am not a third child!" is obviously born of an oft heard accusation. There are times when he looses his anger at levels incongruent for the moment but overall, his work is quite pleasing.

Michelle Pfeiffer is just wonderful. Few actresses can portray a deadened soul and still be interesting, but Ms. Pfeiffer does just that. When her children leave the room, and the camera zooms in for a close up of her, we literally can see the light go out in her eyes, leaving an empty shell of a woman. Her three minute monologue at the end of the film is singly able to lift the entire project out of its mediocrity and raise it a notch in our esteem.

Supporting the lead characters are friends played by Rob Reiner (EDTV), Rita Wilson (SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE), Paul Reiser (MAD ABOUT YOU), and Julie Haggarty (AIRPLANE). They are less effective and are disappointingly used for the sexual bantering mentioned earlier. Ms. Wilson is seen in the worse light, coming across as a foul-mouthed harpy.

The premise of the film is something that is important to consider. Contrary to popular thought and hundreds of romantic comedies, love is not something one "falls in or out of." It is a decision one makes. Once we decide to love, we take certain actions because of that decision.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son." John 3:16a [KJV]

"For this then is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." 1 John 5:3a [KJV]

Ben and Katie so loved their children, they took actions to hide the fact that they were considering separation and divorce. Yet they did not take the proper action needed to strengthen their own relationship, choosing instead to suffer silently through the minuscule annoyances experienced when living with another person. The mistake they made (and a mistake many couples make) was to let the little issues go by unresolved. When we do that, we aren't building bridges, we're building wedges. Build a big enough wedge, and the strongest love won't be able to hold a relationship together.

    Michael Elliott
    October 1999
    http://www.christiancritic.com

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