My husband is not a big fan of drama – he doesn’t like the reality of a drama to intrude on his entertainment. I can understand that, though it often means I find myself wanting to show him films that he isn’t sure he wants to watch.
Among the dramas involving marriage and family life that I would want him to watch. Some of the movies in this list are not easy to watch, in fact, they are very tough and for couples that have been married for more than a few years – they can strike eerily close to home.
The films include:
The Story of Us stars Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer in what can be arguably called the first real married date movie. It’s not about having an affair or finding romance for the first time but rediscovering the love and the commitment that brought this couple together in the first place. The concept is about whether marriage can survive marriage and whether a marriage can survive personal fantasies and the lack of a perfect romance.
The first time I watched this film, I found it profoundly disturbing on many levels. It was so real. It was so gritty. It reminded me that we are not perfect and that our relationships are not perfect – that does not mean that their marriage cannot be saved or that they don’t rediscover their love for one another – but it’s hardly hearts and flowers and happily ever after.
The second movie is The Family Man features the relationship between Nicholas Cage as the husband and Tea Leoni as the wife. There are struggles with their ups and downs of life. The story continues and demonstrates that our relationships are far more important than the nebulous success dictated by finances. The film is almost Capra-esque with it’s It’s a Wonderful Life effect.
So the next time you and your spouse want to sit down for a good marriage, date night film – these two should go to the top of the list. Be ready to feel the fraught, raw reality of troubled marriages, but feel the uplifting emotion that accompanies their rediscovery of one another.