Directed by:
Rob ReinerScreenplay:
Alan ZweibelCinematography:
Michael ChapmanCast:
Michelle Pfeiffer, Bruce Willis, Jake Sandvig, Tim Matheson, Rob Reiner, Julie Hagerty, Rita Wilson, Victor Raider-Wexler, Albert Hague, Jayne Meadows (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
The "us" are Ben and Katie Jordan (Willis and Pfeiffer), a professional, and by all appearances happily married, suburban couple with two well-adjusted children, Erin and Josh; the "story," however, is that their marriage is actually crumbling at an alarming rate, a truth they endeavor to hide from their loving kids. Luckily, they can postpone the admission of dissolution because of the children's departure to summer camp, with the possibility that things will work out in the ensuing months. However, as time passes, tempers flare, Ben moves out, Katie meets a charming divorcé at a cooking class, and, as the inevitable return of Erin and Josh closes to a week, there is no apparent hope of resolution. Will the two be forced to present their kids with an awful fact of life, or can they rediscover their passion for each other and renew their love? (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (2)
A substandard movie with a good initial idea that is unfortunately completely “buried" by the unbelievably bad screenplay. The only thing that makes this watchable are the excellent acting performances by the Willis/Pfeiffer duo in the role of a married couple going through a rough patch after years of being together and, while their kids are away at summer camp, they start solving their crisis. The movie languishes in uninteresting flashbacks from the better days of their relationship and not even the crisis filled present is much more interesting.
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Our US comrades miscalculated a bit. As the 1990s peaked, it wasn't as easy to tackle adult romantic comedies based on marital crises, hence the very strange loving couple Michelle and Bruce. Theoretically, we could imagine the two as a functioning couple, but not in a film as untenable as this one. The formal aspects are as aggressive and unacceptable as they rarely are. All the omniscient talking to the camera, the flashbacks that didn't work, and the poor dramatic construction ruined what little could have worked. On the other hand, I can imagine that if someone who is dealing with a similar problem is watching the film, they might end up having an interesting dialogue with themselves.
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