Millers in Marriage (2024)

I loved director/writer/star Edward Burns' latest, about three 50-something siblings dealing with relationships and careers. Jack enjoyed it but not as much as I––he said, "Are we supposed to like any of these people?" Burns assembled a star-studded cast: Morena Baccarin, Benjamin Bratt, Brian d’Arcy James, Minnie Driver, Julianna Margulies (who plays one sister of Burns' character), Gretchen Mol (the other sister), Campbell Scott, and Patrick Wilson.

The words "champagne problems" are uttered in the movie, and the characters are certainly well-off, which may repel some viewers, but I enjoyed the sumptuous sets by production designer Jason Singleton and the locations in New Jersey.

This is where I would write about the music, but there's nothing online––no composer, no list of songs, only two crew members who worked on music clearance. And because we streamed it over three months ago with membership in the Independent Feature Project, I can't remember the music.

Burns was last blogged for The Fitzgerald Family Christmas, Baccarin for Deadpool 2, Bratt for Coco, d'Arcy James for Sisters, Driver for Beyond the Lights, Margulies for City Island, and Wilson for The Founder.

Mol had some buzz in Manchester by the Sea (2016) and was terrific in 53 episodes of Boardwalk Empire (2010-14) and eight of Mozart in the Jungle (2015). Her long resume also includes Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and the title role in The Notorious Bettie Page (2005). Scott is best known for Big Night (1996), Roger Dodger (2002), and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) and I recall liking him in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) and The Spanish Prisoner (1997). He's currently more active than that list would imply. Singleton is new to me.

November 22, 2024 is when we watched it. I jotted a few notes at the time but waited to finish until the rest of you could see it, and it can now be purchased ($9.99 on Apple, 19.99 on the others). Maybe after a while it'll be rentable. Rotten Tomatoes' critics are heading for a separation with a 58% average, but its audiences want to renew their vows at 98.