Millers in Marriage: Movie Review

Rich people and their champagne problems.

“You’re a good writer, Mags; you always have been, but it’s rich people and their champagne problems.” “Well, I write what I know.” That passage from husband Nick (Campbell Scott) to wife Maggie (Julianna Margulies) is the perfect quote to summarize Millers in Marriage. By far, the most common – and fair – complaint about Edward Burns’ latest is that it’s just rich people and their boring problems. This is true, but also true is that Burns is still a very good writer and has armed these characters with some witty dialogue and moments where things come together in an understated manner.		2024 Directed by: Edward Burns Screenplay by: Edward Burns Starring: Julianna Margulies, Gretchen Mol and Edward Burns
Somewhere along the way Edward Burns has stopped writing with a New York-hustle vibe, but after decades of success, he has now graduated to obscenely wealthy people in loveless marriages in the Hamptons. The Miller siblings are all 50-ish and in various mid-life crises. Maggie hates her husband Nick. They’re both writers, but in recent years Nick has stopped writing, Maggie has become more successful and she thinks Nick resents that, but really she’s just an awful person. Eve (Gretchen Mol) is worried about her husband Scott (Patrick Wilson) who’s a rock star and she hasn’t heard from him in days. Nobody else is worried mostly because they don’t care if he’s drunk or dead in a ditch somewhere since he is just an awful person. Meanwhile Andy (Edward Burns) has recently been dumped by his wife of 15 years and has just entered into a new relationship with Renee (Minnie Driver). The better action of the movie happens when Renee invites Andy to spend the weekend in her second house (remember, rich people) and they’ll have his sister Maggie and some of her friends over for dinner. First we meet Dennis (Brian d’Arcy James) who takes care of the property for all the wealthy home owners. With just one look, and no words, Andy asks Renee a question which every audience member wants to know as well. “Oh, he really does just take care of the property. I mean he has slept with every housewife in the area, but not me!”. We just have to save that little nugget for a few more minutes while we are reminded about who else is a housewife in the area. There are a few scenes like this that show how good of a writer Edward Burns is at the understated drama. When things rear their ugly head later, it’s not explosive because the audience already knows. Most of the problems in Millers in Marriage could be solved by just getting divorced. I have no clue why Maggie and Nick seem to enjoy being so hateful to one another or why Eve hasn’t woken from her depression to just leave Scott already. Money is not an issue, they can just get divorced. Burns saved the better character, one which doesn’t have an easy answer or isn’t mired in dreariness, for himself. While nobody liked Tina (Morena Baccarin) his drama-seeking ex, Renee seems lovely and more level-headed, but Andy still remembers why he fell in love with Tina in the first place and is having a hard time moving on. It shouldn’t be as hard as he’s making it out to be, but one can understand the traps he has created for himself. The are some good ideas in Millers in Marriage that aren’t full explored, namely the fact that the siblings had famous musician parents who probably spent more time in the tabloids than raising them. And all three siblings found careers in the arts and spouses in the same profession as well. There’s more that could have been said here, and probably more interesting than just yelling at them to get divorced already. But the characters are well written and the film unfolds in a manner to keep you watching even though it’s just rich people and their champagne problems.