The Story of Us A Movie Review	MPAA Rated - R It's 1:35 Long A Review by The Dude on the Right

"The Story of Us" tells the impending break up of a mostly happily married couple, Katie (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Ben (Bruce Willis). It's another summer and the kids are off to summer camp. They've been having their marital problems for a while and what better time to try a separation than while the kids are at camp. They do their best to keep up appearances while the kids are around, but it's obvious when they're alone in the SUV that there are seemingly insurmountable problems. So Ben moves to a hotel while Katie stays at home, and for a movie we get to see flashbacks of the good times and the bad, we get to see advice from friends as only friends can give, and we get to see Katie and Ben deal with almost truly being apart from each other. Can they try again to get out of the valley and climb the mountain of love or will their marriage finally go under with the next downpour (how's that for a metaphor, or an example, or a lovely way to use different words to describe a situation, or, well, you get the idea)? Anyway, they've been married 15 years and in today's society their marriage would probably be history because it just seems to easier to call it quits, at least in my opinion, than to make a marriage last till death do they part, and, well, I have never been married, my longest relationship hasn't really been that long, but my parents are approaching forty years together, and even though they've had their share of problems, and even though there are times I can hear the frustration in their voice about the other, there are those times when leaving the other doesn't happen, not because of fear as Ben's friend Dave (Rob Reiner) says, but I think they stay together (at least in my maybe delusional mind) simply because, in the end, they love each other.

Alright, how's that for a tangent. Anyway, in my mind, "The Story of Us" isn't so much a movie about how the little things can drive people apart, it's about, and especially with the "brought a tear to my eye" profession of Katie at the end, that in the end it's the little things that keep people together, but sadly, at least the way I see it, most people forget them.

Yea, "The Story of Us" is a chick flick, and dudes, you'll probably have to go because you made her see "Fight Club," but it is a good look at why, in the end, it might actually make sense to work things out rather than start over. Maybe just call me a romantic at heart but I love Ben's story at the beginning of the couple that stays together, one partner dies and a few days later the other dies because they can't live without them. All I know is I'm glad the movie ended like it did or else I might never have given another thought to finding Mrs. Right (Get it, Mrs. Right, and I'm The Dude on the Right? Oh, never mind.)

Thinking about it I guess this movie grew on me a little. I thought Bruce Willis did a pretty good job at being the, well, sometimes lost puppy-like husband, and Michelle Pfeiffer, well, looks aside because if my wife looked like her I'd do anything she said, but she clicked with Bruce, made the marriage seem believable, and the two of them combined helped to show that sometimes a marriage isn't worth giving up on. I give "The Story of Us" 3 ½ stars out of 5.

That's it for this one! I'm The Dude on the Right!!! L8R!!!