the story of us movie review

The Story of Us

Rob Reiner’s “The Story of Us” is a sad-sack movie about the misery of a married couple ( Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer ) who fight most of the time. Watching it is like taking a long trip in a small car with the Bickersons. I leave it to you to guess whether the movie has a happy ending, but what if it does? A movie like this is about what we endure while we’re watching it, not about where it finally arrives.

Meet the Jordans, Ben and Katie. He’s a TV comedy writer, she composes crossword puzzles. They have two kids, Erin and Josh. Their marriage is a war zone: “Argument has become the condition for conversation,” he observes. They fake happiness for the kids. How did they arrive at such pain? It is hard to say; the movie consists of flashbacks to their fights, but their problems are so generic we can’t put a finger on anything.

Gene Siskel used to ask if a movie was as good as a documentary of the same actors having lunch. Watching “The Story of Us,” I imagined a documentary of the marriage of, say, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore . I do not say that to score a cheap point, but because Moore and Willis are spirited and intelligent people who no doubt had interesting fights about real issues, and not insipid fights about sitcom issues.

Example: The movie wants to illustrate Poor Communication. It shows Pfeiffer at home, where the washing machine is spewing suds all over the room and the kids are fighting. Willis calls her from outside their old apartment building, which is being torn down. He tells her the wrecking ball has just taken out their bedroom. She doesn’t pay attention. His feelings are hurt.

The Marriage Counselor is in: She should shout, “The washer just exploded!” And he should say, “Catch you later!” Another marriage saved. Oh, and if I were her, I’d turn off the power to the washing machine.

The movie is filled with lame and contrived “colorful” dialogue. Reiner, who plays a friend of the husband, gives him a long explanation of why appearances deceive. “We do not possess butts,” he says, “but merely fleshy parts at the top of our legs.” Woah! Later there is a restaurant scene in which Willis screams angrily in an unsuccessful (indeed, melancholy) attempt to rip off Meg Ryan’s famous restaurant orgasm in Reiner’s “ When Harry Met Sally… .” At the end of his tirade, Willis jumps up and tells Reiner what he can “shove up the tops of your legs!” Doesn’t work, because (a) he’s too angry to think up or stop for a punch line, (b) the line isn’t funny, and (c) the setup wasn’t funny, either, because the concept isn’t funny. Oh, and the scene ends with Reiner doing a double-take directly into the camera. How many ways can one scene be mishandled? Who thought this movie would be entertaining? The same person who thinks we need more dialogue about why guys do the wrong thing with rolls of toilet paper. And who thinks the misery of this film can be repaired by a showboat monologue at the end that’s well-delivered by Pfeiffer, but reads like an audition scene.

There is a famous short story about an unhappy couple and about what happens when it comes time to tell their children they’re getting a divorce. It is called “Separating,” by John Updike. Read it to understand how much “The Story of Us” does not reach for or even guess.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

• Tim Matheson as Marty
• Michelle Pfeiffer as Katie Jordan
• Paul Reiser as Dave
• Rita Wilson as Rachel
• Bruce Willis as Ben Jordan
• Julie Hagerty as Liza
• Alan Zweibel
• Jessie Nelson

Directed by

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The Story of Us Reviews

There's no doubt that The Story of Us can tug at the heartstrings, but it should have tried to pull a few mindstrings once in a while.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 27, 2023

Willis and Pfeiffer deliver what’s required here, but the writing kills their efforts.

Full Review | Jul 21, 2023

A remarkable prism with which to contemplate the even more remarkable fall of Reiner's directorial career.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Sep 17, 2022

Mostly the movie is like the marriage: good casting, golden promise, yet somehow a grating ordeal. The Story of Us means to describe pain; instead, it inflicts it.

Full Review | Apr 7, 2020

Folks, I really feel that seeing this one for you is the movie critic's equivalent of jumping on the grenade to save your lives. Send me medals.

The Story of Us reduces marriage to a montage sequence -- an embarrassment to baby boomers everywhere.

One of the year's most excruciating, shallow films.

[Reiner] successfully blends boisterous comic zingers with provocative and often scorching insights into the strains of a marriage. Bring the Kleenex.

In its comfy material trappings and minor-note concerns, "The Story of Us," seems to be less about the universal "us" than about one pair of well- to-do, self-involved yuppies with an overblown sense of entitlement to the perfect life.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 7, 2020

The chemistry is dull, but the hairdos are not.

Is there anything worse than being stuck in the company of a married couple who can't open their mouths without taking vicious swipes at each other? Such is the punishment meted out by The Story of Us, allegedly a romantic drama.

Audiences may want their own speedy divorce from this irritating collection of stale jokes, pointless vulgarities, and warmed-over cliches.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Apr 7, 2020

The screenplay is wildly hit and miss, peaking with dead on marital/relationship observations and plummetting with contrived, groan-inducing sitcom material.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Apr 7, 2020

By the end, you feel drained and disaffected, as if you, too, had been living with the Jordans for fifteen years.

I actually found the film very moving, very honest, except maybe for its resolution.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 7, 2020

The film lacks focus, sharpness.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 7, 2020

The movie turns into bogus drivel courtesy of the sitcom monster.

If Harry and Sally met and things weren't working out, the result would be The Story of Us, a romantic comedy unable to maintain either half of that description.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Apr 7, 2020

According to The Story of Us, men and women have different responses to life, love and sex, and this can sometimes result in conflicts and tension in a marriage. And you thought American Beauty was daring.

At times you get the feeling, even when they raise their voices, that they're struggling to struggle.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

The Story of Us

Ben and Katie Jordan are a married couple who go through hard times in fifteen years of marriage. Ben and Katie Jordan are a married couple who go through hard times in fifteen years of marriage. Ben and Katie Jordan are a married couple who go through hard times in fifteen years of marriage.

• Alan Zweibel
• Jessie Nelson
• Bruce Willis
• Michelle Pfeiffer
• Colleen Rennison
• 166 User reviews
• 77 Critic reviews
• 37 Metascore
• 1 win & 4 nominations

Top cast 41

• Katie Jordan

• Erin Jordan at Ten

• Josh Jordan at Twelve

• Josh Jordan at Two and a Half

• Josh Jordan at Three

• Dr. Hopkins

• Dr. Siegler

• Lillian Jordan

• Arnie Jordan
• Josh Jordan at Seven
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Bruce Willis was going through his own divorce from Demi Moore at the time of filming.
• Goofs On the drive to pick up the kids from camp Ben has his head turned toward Katie, but in the reverse angle Ben is looking straight ahead then turns toward Katie.

Katie : I want to go to Chow Funs

Ben : I thought we agreed we couldn't really talk at Chow Funs

Katie : I know

Ben : Are you saying Chow Funs because you can't face telling the kids? Because if that's why you're saying Chow Funs, don't say Chow Funs

Katie : That's not why I'm saying Chow Funs. Funs, I'm saying Chow Funs because we're an us. There's a history here, and histories don't happen overnight. In Mesopotamia or Ancient Troy there are cities built on top of other cities, but I don't want another city, I like this city. I know what kind of mood your in when you wake up by which eyebrow is higher, and you know I'm a little quiet in the morning and compensate accordingly, that's a dance you perfect over time. And it's hard, it's much harder than I thought it would be, but there's more good than bad and you don't just give up! And it's not for the sake of the children, but God they're great kids aren't they? And we made them, I mean think about that! It's like there were no people there, and then there were people and they grew, and an an an I won't be able to say to some stranger Josh has your hands or remember how Erin threw up at the Lincoln Memorial And I'll try to relax, let's face it, anybody is going to have traits that get on your nerves, I mean, why shouldn't it be your annoying traits, and I know I'm no day at the beach, but I do have a good sense of direction so I can at least find the beach, which isn't a weakness of yours, it's a strength of mine. And God you're a good friend and good friends are hard to find. Charlotte said that in Charlottes Web and I love how you read that to Erin and you take on the voice of Wilber the Pig with such dedication even when your bone tired. That speaks volumes about character! And ultimately, isn't that what it comes down too? What a person is made of? That girl in the pin helmet is still here 'bee boo bee boo' I didn't even know she existed until you and I'm afraid if you leave I may never see her again, even though I said at times you beat her out of me, isn't that the paradox? Haven't we hit the essential paradox? Give and take, push and pull, the yen the yang. The best of times, the worst of times!I think Dickens said it best, 'He could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean', but, doesn't really apply here does it? What I'm trying to say is, I'm saying Chow Funs because, I love you

Ben : Did you hear that kids? Mom wants to go to chow Funs!

• Connections Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Superstar/Random Hearts/Boys Don't Cry/The Limey/Romance (1999)
• Soundtracks (I) Get Lost Written and Performed by Eric Clapton Produced by Eric Clapton Courtesy of Reprise Records

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 35 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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October 15, 1999 FILM REVIEW 'The Story of Us': Take My Husband, Please, Along With His Apron Related Articles The New York Times on the Web: Current Film Video Selected Scenes From the Film 'The Story of Us' Forum Join a Discussion on Current Film By JANET MASLIN he Story of Us" offers such an arthritic vision of middle-aged marriage that it feels like the first Jack Lemmon comedy made expressly for the baby boom generation. Perhaps that would explain the casting of Bruce Willis as a jokey but sensitive suburban Dad and Michelle Pfeiffer as his beleaguered spouse. The stars, variously directed by Rob Reiner to kid around, look wistful or scream so hard that their necks turn red, are not helped by the film's elbow-in-the-ribs humor or its overbearing tactics. Though it sets out to explain why this marriage is worth saving, "The Story of Us" could prompt even single members of the audience to file for divorce. The "us" of the title are Katie and Ben Jordan. They have been married long enough to regard concern about the level of windshield wiper fluid in the family station wagon (she's careful, he isn't) as a revealing character trait. They have two young teen-age children and at family meals everybody chimes in and makes a game of listing the high and low points of the day. "Dinner and dancing" is Mom and Dad's idea of a great way to spend their anniversary. If an air of unreality accompanies this, it should. Katie and Ben are actually all but estranged and just keeping up appearances for the children's sake. Then, while the children go to summer camp, the parents separate and have a chance to review all the highs and lows of their life together. This is accomplished with the help of flashbacks involving a criminal set of wigs and hairpieces (never has Willis' pate been crowned by anything that looks less like human hair) and such kicky memories as the time Ben ran around the kitchen wearing nothing but an apron. The camera is mercifully discreet. As written by Alan Zweibel and Jessie Nelson, and larded with references to sigmoidoscopy, prostate trouble, orthodontia, tree surgery and the caulking of bathroom tile, "The Story of Us" means to illustrate the workaday realities that hold the Jordans together. That would be harmless enough if the film didn't insist on trumpeting its insights at top volume, relying on heavy shtick and turning its characters into clowns. One especially horrible scene finds Katie having lunch with two other wives, played by Julie Hagerty and Rita Wilson, who are eager to talk about how to avoid sex with their husbands. When Ms. Wilson's character suggests that if one husband had behaved better, his wife "would have sounded the trumpets, opened the gates and welcomed the troops home for Christmas," she personifies the film's light touch. Many of the film's characters sound like aging Catskills comedians. (Tim Matheson, as a dentist and single father, remarks about sending his son to camp: "Oh, please! The minute my Kevin gets off that bus it's goodbye bite plate!") Many also play their roles with Reiner's familiar hand-waving mannerisms, which are funnier when they come straight from him. The score by Eric Clapton and Marc Shaiman features a light samba that would not be out of place in a Las Vegas lounge act. Sets of married friends imagine one another as Fred and Ethel Mertz. Just when the whole film is at its creakiest, Willis and Ms. Pfeiffer are joined in one scene by Tom Poston, Jayne Meadows, Betty White and Red Buttons as their parents. (The latter two sing "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree With Anyone Else but Me.") Not even in this company do Ben and Katie seem young at heart. PRODUCTION NOTES 'THE STORY OF US' Rating: 'The Story of Us' is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It includes mild profanity and a shot of Willis' bare posterior. Directed by Rob Reiner; written by Alan Zweibel and Jessie Nelson; director of photography, Michael Chapman; edited by Robert Leighton; music by Eric Clapton and Marc Shaiman; production designer, Lilly Kilvert; produced by Reiner, Ms. Nelson and Zweibel; released by Universal Pictures. Running time: 90 minutes. Cast: Bruce Willis (Ben Jordan), Michelle Pfeiffer (Katie Jordan), Colleen Rennison (Erin at 10), Jake Sandvig (Josh at 12), Casey Boersma (Josh at 2), Tim Matheson (Marty), Rob Reiner (Stan), Julie Hagerty (Liza) and Rita Wilson (Rachel).

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• DVD & Streaming

The Story of Us

• Drama , Romance

Content Caution

In Theaters

• Bruce Willis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tim Matheson, Rob Reiner, Rita Wilson

Home Release Date

Distributor.

• Universal Pictures

Positive Elements   |   Spiritual Elements   |   Sexual & Romantic Content   |   Violent Content   |   Crude or Profane Language   |   Drug & Alcohol Content   |   Other Noteworthy Elements   | Conclusion

Movie Review

A fortysomething couple ponders the possibilities and impossibilities of “happily ever after.” Ben is impulsive and sometimes irresponsible. Katie’s punctual, factual, organized and a bit overbearing. The kids are away at summer camp and the two just can’t stand each other for one more second. So they separate. But that’s not quite the end of the story.

Positive Elements: Katie and Ben fight hard against the idea of divorce. As much as they drive each other crazy, they just don’t want to destroy their family. Maybe life without each other is actually worse than dealing with life together. That flicker of hope serves them well through the long summer months of fighting, bickering and trial separation. The Story of Us takes a bow to the value of “family,” that indescribable something that adds up to more than the sum of its parts. Katie and Ben adore their children and their affection is heartily returned.

Sexual Content and Nudity: The featured couple is shown making out (Katie’s wearing pants and a bra; Ben is naked, then puts on an apron before checking on the kids upstairs). Explicit word pictures about penises, vaginas, masturbation and adultery are bandied about over dinner on a couple of occasions. Sexual joking and innuendoes are at times harsh. One character insists that his practice of participating in online sex is not cheating on his wife. Another blithely proclaims that “marriage is the Jack Kevorkian of romance,” and “love is just lust in disguise.”

Violent Content: None

Crude or Profane Language: A rash of unnecessarily harsh obscenities destroys whole sections of the film’s dialogue. Jesus’ name get abused more than a few times as well.

Drug and Alcohol Content: Wine is drunk on several occasions in social settings.

Summary: The Story of Us ends up playing as an unintentional prequel to ABC-TV’s Once and Again . Reiner utilizes voice-overs, fantasy sequences and flashbacks to tell the story of a couple on the verge of divorce. Once and Again tells the story after they go through with it. Glossy pseudo-philosophy (Katie faces the camera and intones, “It still hurts because, well, hurt hurts”) detracts from the humanness which should have been central to the story. The bulk of the film bogs down with interminable verbal battles and morose woe-is-me brooding. Then just seconds before the credits roll there’s a big payoff. It’s too little and way too late. Still, commendation is due for showing the pain of separation and divorce before the fateful papers are signed and the vows broken. Note to filmmaker: Next time tell us our story without all the obscenities.

Positive Elements

Spiritual elements, sexual & romantic content, violent content, crude or profane language, drug & alcohol content, other noteworthy elements.

Steven Isaac

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The Story of Us

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

For a while you think this movie – a romantic comedy about the gut-busting work of staying married – is onto something. Ben Jordan (Bruce Willis) and his wife, Katie (Michelle Pfeiffer), have been at it for fifteen years. They’re tired of pretending. When their two kids go to summer camp, they take a shot at a trial separation. Willis and Pfeiffer give their roles a lived-in quality that pulls you in. You can see the love that was there and feel their confusion about just when and how they lost it.

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So you get your hopes up. Director Rob Reiner ( When Harry Met Sally ) knows the territory. Also, writer Alan Zweibel, who co-wrote the script with Jessie Nelson, has a sharp tongue honed on Saturday Night Live and It’s Garry Shandling’s Show. And then, poof, the movie turns into bogus drivel courtesy of the sitcom monster.

Ben, who works as a writer, is a slob. Katie, who designs crossword puzzles, is a neat freak. They’re the odd couple. And the script gives them sitcom friends: Reiner plays Stan, a man who talks about making a movie of his ass (he means a colonoscopy – ha-ha), and Rita Wilson is his shrill, dirt-talking wife, Rachel. Paul Reiser shows up for more shtick, as do Red Buttons, Betty White, Jayne Meadows and Tom Poston. A film about modern marriage is suddenly a refugee camp for Nick at Nite. Even Willis, who starts strong, is sucked into the jokey maw. Only Pfeiffer plays it for real, and in a long, final monologue she breaks your heart despite the hollow air. Pfeiffer, sadly, is acting alone.

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