Told in an engaging collage of direct camera confessionals, flashbacks, roundtable discussions, and montages, Rob Reiner's THE STORY OF US, a sweet romantic comedy featuring solid performances by Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer, examines the difficulty of preserving marriage in America and the dual lives married couples often must endure. 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?

An emotional, romantic story about a married couple's struggle to maintain their relationship. In an effort to discover the true meaning of their 15 years together, they attempt a trial separation while their children are at summer camp.

Theatrical release: October 15, 1999.

Director Rob Reiner appears in the film as Stan.

Rita Wilson, who plays Rachel in the film, is married to Tom Hanks.

In one scene, Ben (Bruce Willis) and Katie (Michelle Pfeiffer) begin to make love while George Bush gives a speech on a television in the background. During this scene, Willis passionately mouths some of the Republican U.S. President's familiar mannerisms. Willis is a well-known contributor and public supporter of the Republican Party.

Excerpt: "I've always had a thing for happy endings; I don't know why. You know the movies where the couple falls in love, gets married, has kids, then fifty or sixty years later, one of them dies, and two or three days later the other one dies. Okay, so that's not a great example of a happy ending. I mean two people are dead. But, for some reason I thought Katie and I would be that couple. Not that we would be dead, I mean, but that we would go on forever."--Ben Jordan (Bruce Willis) to the camera in the opening scene

"At what point does a spoon start to become only a spoon?" - Katie Jordan (Michelle Pfeiffer) to the camera

"I've always thought the loudest silences were the ones after a fight, the ones where you go over all the things you said in your head, all the things you said wrong."--Katie in voice-over

"Then you discover you can't french kiss the guy who puts the new roll of toilet paper on top of the old used-up roll instead of moving it the extra two inches. What? Does he not see it? Does he not see it? I'm telling you, marriage is the Jack Kevorkian of romances."--Rachel (Rita Wilson)

DVD Features:

Region 0
Keep Case
Dual Layer
Letterbox - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital - 3.1 - French
Dolby Digital - 5.1 - English
DTS Surround - 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Cast and Filmmakers Biographies
Commentary with Director Rob Reiner
Spotlight on Location
Trailers: Theatrical
Text/Photo Galleries:
Production Notes

Bruce Willis: American actor, THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)
Michelle Pfeiffer: American actress, SCARFACE, DANGEROUS LIAISONS
Tim Matheson: Actor/director, ANIMAL HOUSE
Rob Reiner: American Director/Actor
Rita Wilson: Supporting actress and producer
Paul Reiser: American Actor/Comedian

Rob Reiner: American Director/Actor

Jeffrey Scott: Producer, "PRINCESS BRIDE"
Frank Capra Jr.: Producer

"...Reiner creates something unexpected, a marital romance..." -- Rating: A-
"...[Pfeiffer] breaks your heart..."
"...Prettily shot..."