phildamanstr This movie is without a doubt not anywhere near a comedy. It does have some humor in it, but not much. However, that in itself does not take away from the movie. It is a superb movie! I highly recommend it for both married couples and couples in general.Young adults may not care for it because it focuses on the trial and tribulation of marriage. However, it is a reminder to couples to remember why the got together in the first place. "The Story of US" truly touches on the reality of relationship, in this case real marital relationships.I found myself comparing scenes in this movie to similar experiences in my own life. Not all relationships end up quite the same as the couple in this movie, but it certainly makes you think, what could we have done differently to make it work?Bruce Willis's performance was truly outstanding. It is one of his best performances that I have seen. Michelle Pfeiffer's performance was outstanding, as well. She has, IMO, played all the roles that I have seen her in, very well. However, this role was exceptionally good. Together, Willis and Pfeiffer created a truly realistic portrayal of a married couple in torment and agony, trying to determine the fate of their diminishing relationship.I am sorry I never seen it until now! I feel the cast and crew of this movie truly deserved their pay.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews This movie holds so much truth; it cannot possibly be watched by anyone, man or woman who are or who have been in a serious relationship without any such crying at some point during it, or at least being strongly enough emotionally affected to do so. I cried. I cried before the opening credits song was more than a few lines in. It spoke to me like few movies have. It is the first movie about the subject of love that I've watched since I became this involved, physically and emotionally with my wife-to-be. That alone makes the movie have an impact on me, good or not. That it dealt with a subject that has so recently become so important to me. A successful marriage. But while I was this into the film, while it had this impact on me... I can't claim that it was great. The performances are. The editing is. The script is. Most of the parts are. But somehow, the sum, it just doesn't add up to being that... great. It might be that the ending feels flat. It might be that the movie offers no answers, only observations. The movie goes back and forth between present day chaos/unhappiness and fond memories... these were particularly difficult to watch without crying. This works to the film's advantage and creates a sense of more than a non-linear time-line; a life-time, years upon years of memories returning to this old married couple. The story of two people who love each other... they do. They've just tired of each other, of the differences, of the arguing. Comes very close to being great, but it just doesn't quite make it, I'm afraid. Worth watching for any fans of the genre, and has plenty of insights to offer. I recommend this to anyone who is or has been in a serious relationship. 6/10

Craig Hamrick Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer are great actors; there's no denying that. But even the best actors in the world can't breathe believable life into dialog that is overly flowery and complex. And this script is full of tongue-twisting speeches that Pfeiffer and Willis just can't overcome.In a way, the writing is actually pretty beautiful -- certainly it's far better than the tripe in most movies (and it's the only thing that elevates this much above a "Lifetime, made-for TV" flick). But it simply isn't the way that people talk. The dialog -- especially Pfeiffer's mouth- full-of-a-monologue at the end of the film -- is filled with unnecessarily big and non- conversational words and long, complex sentences that don't exactly trip of the tongue. Overall, that final scene was pretty touching, and the meaning of what Katie is saying is deep and important -- and ultimately, it's the only thing that makes the movie worth sitting through. But nobody talks like that. And then there are the scenes where the Ben and Katie talk to the camera, narrating the story. Again, if it was writing in a book -- "prose" as opposed to "dialog" -- I'd consider it quite good writing. But clunkers like "...maybe it was the stuff of life..." (that separated us) are so distracting that they ruin the flow of the movie. The ultimate point of Katie's final speech, and I guess of the whole movie, is that you should choose to be with someone because of the quality of his or her character. Amen. But neither of these people really exhibited a depth of character to make them endearing to viewers or to each other. And even if someone has a sterling character, would you want to waste your life with a person who can't stop yelling at you? Though the movie doesn't take sides, I personally found Katie far more annoying than Ben -- and her rigidity, coldness, and inability to really communicate made it pretty unbelievable that Ben would want to stay with her. Life is too short to stay with someone you bicker that much with, in my opinion. It's true that sometimes you can find yourself in love with someone who really pushes your buttons. But there was never really a sense of these characters being in love, so I certainly didn't find myself rooting for them to work things out.One might make the point that parents should stay together "for the children," but as the child of parents who argued a lot when I was young, and who now (divorced) say they stayed together for the kids, I strongly believe that parents don't do their children favors by doing that. I'll admit that maybe watching this sort of story was upsetting for me to endure because of that personal history. But from reading other readers' comments, it seems that not many people found this an enjoyable film to watch. (I'm not saying that every movie should make you laugh out loud, or feel better, or whatever ... but a movie like this is such a downer that it makes you want your two hours back.)I absolutely can't recommend this film if you have any other alternatives. If it's a choice between this and a rerun of "Full House," I guess you could give this a try. But if there's some way you can just watch the last 10 or 15 minutes, that's about the only part worth watching.

Catherine_Grace_Zeh THE STORY OF US, in my opinion, is a very sweet, touching, romantic, and kind of heartbreaking drama about the affect bickering can have on a married couple's children. Anytime Ben (Bruce Willis) and Katie (Michelle Pfeiffer) bickered, I felt really touched. It's hard for me to explain why. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say, "If you ask me, THE STORY OF US really shows you how kids can be affected by their parents bickering. " Now, in conclusion, I recommend this very sweet, touching, romantic, and kind of heartbreaking drama about the affect bickering can have on a married couple's children to all you Bruce Willis or Michelle Pfeiffer fans who have not seen it. You're in for some tears and a good time, so, go to the video store, rent it or buy it, kick back with a friend, and watch it.