In ancient times people got married in order to insure their physical survival. Two or three or eight in a family against the elements were better than one. Marriage offered later generations the security and meaning necessary for achieving "the good life." More recently, marriage was seen as a road to personal growth for husband and wife. Now, there are so many different reasons for this intimate relationship that it is impossible to list them all. Perhaps that is part of the problem facing today's couples. Many of them are unwilling to deal with all these mixed meanings and the sobering values of love, commitment, and honesty as the moral core of marriage.
In this thought-provoking drama, writer and director Jeff Lipsky provides an anatomy of an intimate relationship that starts on a blind date and leads into a marriage that seems very natural and appealing to both participants. But then these two thirty-something New Yorkers begin to face daunting challenges to their togetherness.
Stuart (Jason Kirk) is a handsome and gregarious Jewish man who creates fictionalized sales pitches for Broadway shows. He is by nature a talker and not a listener, more interested in his own perspective than what others have to say. Nicole (Julianne Nicholson) is a more laid back young woman from Missoula, Montana, who works in the computer industry. They both enjoy sex, and it becomes the central tie that binds them together. Stuart wants to settle down and has plenty of money; in fact, he gives Nicole $15,000 to take care of her student loan. After she loses a job, he provides the cash she needs to start her own catering business.
They both bring eccentric families into the relationship. Stuart has a genius but socially awkward brother Jordan (Jamie Harrold) whose hold on reality is quite fragile. He joins the two of them for a visit to Nicole's family in Montana and is surprised by what a grand time he has there. But Nicole's artistic mother Elizabeth (Rebecca Schull) does not take a shine to Stuart. Nonetheless, the young couple does get married and after the ceremony, Jordan gives a heart-rending salute to his brother for holding things together when their mother died.
Stuart and Nicole settle into his condo high above the city. His main reason for marrying her was his yearning to protect someone. She desperately wants children but agrees to his suggestion that they wait two years. Eventually, this turns into a hot potato in their relationship along with Stuart's dislike of Tess (Chelsea Altman), her promiscuous best friend whom he regards as a bad influence. This leads Nicole to play tit for tat and explode over Jordan's irresponsible behavior while staying at their place with a girlfriend.
It is sad to watch the giddiness of their early intimacy erode into fierce little battles brought on by rigid ideas, criticism, and family warps. In one of the most riveting scenes, Stuart meets with Nicole's mother and tries to find out why they have never been able to relate. The scene contains plenty of emotional dynamite and reveals how damaging birth family baggage can be to couples struggling to keep their relationship together.
In this involving story, Writer and director Jeff Lipsky illustrates what happens when couples bring high expectations into a marriage. Stuart and Nicole have a lively sex life but are unable to meet each other's needs: she wants a baby and he wants a woman subservient to his will. Eventually, they face the dilemma stated so well by Joseph Campbell: "In marriage you are not sacrificing yourself to the other person. You are sacrificing yourself to the relationship." This is a well-acted and thought-provoking anatomy of a relationship that sheds light on the many challenges faced by all who embark on the journey of love.
