Despite some obvious similarities between the two films, "The Story of Us" definitely isn't in the league of "When Harry Met Sally." In fact, it's not even good enough to be "When Harry and Sally Separated."
Sure, the two films feature the same director, Rob Reiner, as well as a similar story structure, and it's in the same movie genre — romantic comedy-drama. But screenwriters Alan Zweibel and Jessie Nelson are poor substitutes for Nora Ephron, who wrote "When Harry Met Sally," as evidenced by their concentration on cheap sexual humor, as well as other crudities and profane language.
And frankly, Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer lack the chemistry of Harry and Sally themselves, Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, who were quite appealing together, and who made even that film's weakest aspects work.
That's not to say that "The Story of Us" is unwatchable. It certainly has its share of moments. But it also treats its subject matter in a superficial manner, and there's not nearly enough humor — or at least, good humor — to let that slide.
The "us" of the title refers to Ben and Katie Jordan (Willis and Pfeiffer), who have decided to separate after 15 years of marriage. Even having two loving children, 12-year-old Josh (Jake Sandvig) and 10-year-old Erin (Colleen Rennison), isn't enough to make this constantly bickering duo stay together.
So, while the kids are away at summer camp, Ben decides to move into a hotel, and later, into his own apartment. Over the summer, the two of them reflect on their relationship — such as what made it work in the first place, and how things ever got this bad.
For help, they seek the opinions of their best friends — Stan (Reiner) and Rachel (Rita Wilson) — who have managed to stay married under trying circumstances of their own and who encourage the couple to stay together.
But as the summer drags on, it becomes apparent to Ben and Katie that distance has only made the emotional chasm that separates them widen. As they prepare to pick up the kids from camp, they begin considering a more serious option — divorce.
To be honest, in a little more than 90 minutes, the film still doesn't give us any indication as to why the two characters got together in the first place, much less why they stayed together this long. And it doesn't help that Willis and Pfeiffer seem so mismatched.
It's also apparent that there are only two ways for the movie to end, and thanks to Zweibel and Nelson's bad plotting and characterizations (Pfeiffer's character, in particular, is written very unsympathetically), neither ending would work.
But the screenwriters certainly aren't the only ones to blame here. As both the director and a supporting actor, Reiner's comic timing is off. (The same holds for Wilson, who puts in possibly her worst big-screen performance.)
And the film's stars try too hard to improve on the material — especially Willis, who would have been better served with more humor.
"The Story of Us" is rated R for considerable profanity, crude sexual jokes and use of vulgar slang terms, brief male nudity and a brief simulated sex scene (seen during flashbacks).