"THE STORY OF US" (1999) (Bruce Willis, Michelle Pfeiffer) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild None Heavy None None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Minor None None None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None Extreme Moderate None QUICK TAKE: Drama/Comedy: An unhappily married couple reminisce about both good and bad times as they try to figure out whether their fifteen-year-old marriage can or should be saved PLOT: Ben (BRUCE WILLIS) and Katie Jordan (MICHELLE PFEIFFER) have been married for fifteen years and seem like any other happily married couple. Yet that's been nothing but a charade for their kids, Josh (JAKE SANDVIG) and Erin (COLLEEN RENNISON) who may have a hint at their parents' problems, but aren't aware that they're nearing a divorce. In fact, when the kids head off to summer camp, their parents separate. While Katie, a crossword puzzle creator, stays home and discusses relationships and men with her friends, Rachel (RITA WILSON) and Liza (JULIE HAGERTY), Ben, a novelist, moves out and does the same with his friends, Stan (ROB REINER), Rachel's husband, and Dave (PAUL REISER), his literary agent. As the two reminisce about both the good and bad times of their relationship, Ben, the optimist, hopes they can get back together. Katie, however, who's succumbed to years of pent-up domestic frustration and irritation over Ben's idiosyncrasies, isn't so sure. That's especially true since whenever they try to reunite they end up fighting again, and also because she's started seeing Marty (TIM MATHESON), a divorced friend. With Josh and Erin soon returning from camp, Ben and Katie must decide whether they'll give their marriage one more try, and if not, how they'll break the news to their kids. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? The combined star power of Willis and Pfeiffer might draw in some older teens, but it's unlikely many kids will want to see a film about a marriage on the rocks. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For language and brief sexuality. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: BRUCE WILLIS plays a carefree novelist whose marriage is crumbling. As he tries to make amends, he often gets into fights with his wife and uses strong profanity. MICHELLE PFEIFFER plays the crossword puzzle creator who's married to him and has grown tired of his quirks and her belief that he won't grow up. She also uses strong profanity. ROB REINER plays Ben's friend who uses strong profanity while trying to offer out advice. RITA WILSON plays his wife who also uses strong profanity while doing the same for Katie and speaking her mind about her sexually related philosophy. PAUL REISER plays Ben's agent who also uses strong profanity, evidently has cybersex with anonymous women and talks about other sexually related matters. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama/comedy hybrid. Profanity is rated as extreme due to nearly 20 uses of the "f" word, along with other profanities and colorful phrases. Many of those "f" words are used in a sexual context, as several sexually related discussions occur during the film (told from male and female perspectives). We see the married couple fooling around in the kitchen in one scene (her shirt is open, we see his bare butt), while another brief scene included in a montage shows them having sex (with slight movement and related strong dialogue, but no nudity). The film is filled with moments of marital discord, including plenty of verbal fighting, and the couple separates and talks of getting a divorce. As such, bad attitudes are present between them. Beyond all of that, however, the rest of the film's categories have little or nothing in the way of major objectionable content. Nonetheless, and as always, should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Ben and Katie have wine with dinner. In a flashback, Ben and Katie have wine. Ben has a beer. Ben and Katie have wine and then more with dinner. Ben mentions what a sunset and a bottle of Chianti can do for romance. Ben and Katie have wine with another American couple in Venice. Ben, Stan and Rachel have wine with dinner. We see some beer in Ben's fridge. We see a flashback of people celebrating with champagne. BLOOD/GORE None. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Ben and Katie have both toward each other in different scenes and to varying degrees as they fight. Katie accuses Ben of having an affair after she learns that he was talking to another woman about their personal lives, and some may see her dating someone during their separation as having some of both. Some viewers may not appreciate Dave mentioning that the ten commandments were easier to follow when most people dropped dead at thirty-five. He then adds that there should be amendments to them, such as you can "covet thy neighbor's wife's ass, just don't do it in their house." FRIGHTENING SCENES None. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Hide the salami" and "Put out" (sex), "Shaking hands with the sheriff" (masturbation), "Blow job" and "Go down" (oral sex), "Bonehead," "Piss," "Pain in the ass," "Idiot" and "Jeez." JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 19 "f" words (9 used sexually), 6 "s" words, 1 slang using male genitals ("pecker"), 13 asses, 4 damns, 2 hells, 1 incomplete "What the..." and 5 uses of "G-damn," 4 of "Jesus," 3 each of "Jesus Christ," "Oh my God" and "God," 2 of "Oh God" and 1 use each of "Swear to God" and "Oh Jesus" as exclamations. SEX/NUDITY Dave tells Stan, "I jerked off to your secretary last night, I hope you don't mind." Liza mentions to Katie and Rachel that her husband wanted to have sex the night before and thus gave her the thirty-second massage before "quickly heading south to the promised land." When they ask if she did have sex, she said that she was too tired. Rachel then mentions "opening the gates" (the vagina) while talking about men and sex. Dave mentions that "online sex isn't cheating," causing Stan to reply that while Dave's wife is upstairs sleeping, "You're downstairs in your den f*cking some bimbo in cyberspace." Dave replies, "First of all, we're not f*cking." The women talk about whether an affair means having sex and Liza then mentions that another woman "could f*ck her husband, she just couldn't kiss him." Rachel mentions that she's been angry with Stan and that she "could f*ck him," but doesn't want him anywhere near her. She then goes on to say that "f*cking means I love you...kissing means I like you..." Ben reminds Katie of a former neighbor who had "patriotic orgasms" and then mimics him, "God bless America! God bless America! Land that I love!" Stan asks, "You don't think fantasizing is cheating?" to which Dave replies, "Oh please!" and then goes on to mention some anonymous woman he met doing wonders for him "tonight when I'm shaking hands with the sheriff" (masturbating). Dave mentions that the ten commandments were easier to follow when most people dropped dead at thirty-five. He then adds that there should be amendments to them, such as you can "covet thy neighbor's wife's ass, just don't do it in their house." Rachel mentions that men can mend a fight with sex, but a woman can't have sex until they resolve the fight. She then goes on to say that it's because of "the basic difference between the penis and the vagina." She states that the penis is a "thruster" or "battering ram," whereas "the vagina has to be relaxed" to "be open and receive..." and to be a "gracious hostess." She then adds that her philosophy "goes for blow jobs and kisses" as well and then states "the penis is coming in peace" (all while symbolizing the vagina opening with her hands). In a flashback, Ben mentions to Katie that something "makes me want you even more" and we then see them making out in their kitchen with her shirt open and pants partially unzipped (we see her bra and some cleavage). He then places her on a large butcher block counter and nuzzles on her neck. When she remembers that they need to do their tooth fairy duties, he kisses her on her bra and down her belly and then starts to go upstairs. When Katie reminds him that he's nude and throws him an apron, we then see glimpses of his bare butt as he runs up the stairs. After partially making up, Ben and Katie go up to their bedroom, stare at the bed and Ben then hops on it, stating, "I'm ready. How about you?" A psychiatrist mentions that sex is a symbolic representation of the state of a marriage. It's mentioned (as Ben, Katie and their parents sit on a bed in a partially imagined scene) that the whole point of having a knock down, drag out fight is the "hide the salami afterwards." Ben's mom then tells Katie's mom that she should "put out once in a while" so that her face won't be so tight. When Ben pitches writing a novel about his grandmother to Dave, his agent asks, "Did she f*ck a president?" (about whether the story is tantalizing enough to sell). He then adds that unless she "went down" on someone interesting, no one will want to read the story. We briefly see Katie in her bra (with some cleavage). As Katie and Ben take turns writing sentences in a letter to their kids at camp, Ben writes (and reads aloud), "I don't want to talk about grammar. I want to make love to your mother." She can't believe he wrote that and wants to wait until they finish the letter, while he wants that order reversed. In the end, they only get into another fight. A cooking instructor mentions that spices make better lovers and that the more you eat, the hotter you get. Rachel shows some cleavage. While talking about Katie's mom, Ben states that you "can't even f*ck unless everything's just right." As a montage of Ben and Katie's life together plays, we briefly see him on top of her (a head and shoulders shot) with some slight movement and her saying, "F*ck me! F*ck me!" SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Ben and Katie are having major marital problems, although they're trying to hide them from their children. They have many fights (both in the present and in many flashback scenes), he goes to a motel once the kids are away at summer camp, and there's talk about them getting divorced. The kids start noticing that their parents aren't getting along. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Marriages and relationships and what it takes to maintain them. The differences in the ways men and women see and respond to things. VIOLENCE None. Reviewed October 12, 1999 / Posted October 15, 1999

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