Not even Michelle Pfeiffer's performance, which culminates in a very touching climactic speech, can save this annoying dreck. It is stunning how far director Rob Reiner has slipped in recent years. The Story of Us purports to be a study of marriage. In reality, it is a chronicle of the screaming matches a married couple is forced by contrivance to fight.

It's true, that many marriages involve fiery arguments. It is also true that, with patience and work, these marries can still succeed. It is not true that The Story of Us is any good at illustrating that peculiar aspect of marital relationships.

The script, as I mentioned before, consists of very little more than the two leads, played by Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer, finding reasons to scream at each other. Some of their disputes have the uncomfortable ring of familiarity, but it's all magnified to stupid extremes, as if the subtlety of dissatisfaction expressed via any other means than prolonged screeching would be lost on a movie-going audience. These people are pathetic. They're touchy, overreactive individuals whose emotions just don't ring true. Their screaming matches are irritating. I didn't particularly care if they pulled through in the end or not. I just wanted them to shut up.