The Story of Us (1999)
The wonderful thing about The Story of Us is that you can watch it and make up your own mind. There is no right or wrong opinion, and depending on where you are in the path of your life, you might end up changing your mind if you watch it more than once. The Story of Us is the story of a marriage headed downhill, and as the audience gets to know the couple through snippets of flashbacks, they can decide whether or not they think Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer should patch things up or call it quits.
For me, the acting makes this movie great. It’s not a unique story, since every married couple on Earth can testify that it’s incredibly difficult and at some point they’ve wanted to throw in the towel. Adding children into the mix makes marriage even more difficult, so it’s no wonder that Bruce and Michelle are at the point in their marriage when divorce seems to be the only option. Yes, some of the scenes are touching and sad, but it’s the two leads’ performances that make them touching and sad. If you’ve only thought of Bruce Willis as an action star, or Michelle Pfeiffer as merely a pretty face, you’ve got to rent this movie. They both balance tenderness, hope, despair, anger, frustration, love, and exhaustion whenever the scenes call for them.
This is a Rob Reiner movie, so expect a fair amount of corny one-liners exclusive to the 1990s and an overwhelming theme of him-versus-her. Rob himself, Rita Wilson, and Julie Haggerty play the classic ’90s friends who have no character development but provide witty repartee and sarcastic reflections of romantic relationships. But, once you put on your 1999 goggles, you’ll be in for a very good, emotional movie. Can anyone get through The Story of Us without shedding a tear? I couldn’t, and I was only sixteen when I watched it!
More Bruce Willis movies here!
For me, the acting makes this movie great. It’s not a unique story, since every married couple on Earth can testify that it’s incredibly difficult and at some point they’ve wanted to throw in the towel. Adding children into the mix makes marriage even more difficult, so it’s no wonder that Bruce and Michelle are at the point in their marriage when divorce seems to be the only option. Yes, some of the scenes are touching and sad, but it’s the two leads’ performances that make them touching and sad. If you’ve only thought of Bruce Willis as an action star, or Michelle Pfeiffer as merely a pretty face, you’ve got to rent this movie. They both balance tenderness, hope, despair, anger, frustration, love, and exhaustion whenever the scenes call for them.
This is a Rob Reiner movie, so expect a fair amount of corny one-liners exclusive to the 1990s and an overwhelming theme of him-versus-her. Rob himself, Rita Wilson, and Julie Haggerty play the classic ’90s friends who have no character development but provide witty repartee and sarcastic reflections of romantic relationships. But, once you put on your 1999 goggles, you’ll be in for a very good, emotional movie. Can anyone get through The Story of Us without shedding a tear? I couldn’t, and I was only sixteen when I watched it!
More Bruce Willis movies here!