Each time the two are getting along just fine, one of them says something that sounds to us innocent enough, but that's all it takes to set off another war of the roses. Bruce Willis as Ben and Michelle Pfeiffer as his wife of 15 years, Katie, do not really convince us that what they say can be responsible for these orgies of verbal destruction, but anyone who has been married as long as their characters have been can relate to the fact that just about anything can be used as an excuse to let off steam. The real fun comes from side characters, though, particularly director Rob Reiner in the role of Ben's best friend. I don't have an ass. That is an illusion.
Love is an illusion, just like the ass.
Love is lust. When Katie gets together with her best friends, played by Rita Wilson and Julie Hagerty, they too discuss the nature of relationships, taking a similarly pithy route, with even more ribald terminology than that used by the men. What is most diverting about the flashbacks is the mere sight of the characters as they appeared fifteen years back. Ben, now with thinning hear, sports hippie-ish locks and Katie looks dazzling with her hair long and flowing freely. Bergman's is the more realistic.