Reiner's a mensch - a guy who knows
how to make you laugh without making you feel like you've been taken.
Movies like When Harry Met Sally, Stand By Me and This is Spinal Tap are
all classics in their genre. Even in his tougher stuff like Misery or A
Few Good Men, he's an honest director who shows respect for his audience.
His movies may not be the ones that get cineast retrospectives, but they
are good movies in the old-fashioned sense of the word: solid story
telling, universal themes, a little tug at the heartstrings and you leave
the theatre feeling that maybe we're not such a bad species after all.
But enough about Rob. The Story of Us (Universal) stars Willis and the gorgeous Pfeiffer as a couple who decide to try a split after 15 years of marriage. He's a writer, she edits crossword puzzles - which sounds like a great Freudian set up. Add Rita Wilson (a.k.a. Mrs. Tom Hanks) as Pfeiffer's loose-cannon friend and Reiser for a dash of neurosis and you have the ingredients for a standard, feel good, how-do-I-love-you-baby kind of film that explores the true meaning of intimacy.
But not the kind of intimacy that would make you uncomfortable. The Story of Us is a movie that you can go see with your mom without fear of her seeing anyone's naughty parts. Even better, you won't have to explain it to her. That's not so bad for a night at the movies, now is it?
- Karen
Gordon