Millers in Marriage

Actor/writer/producer/director Edward Burns turns his back on the blue-collar by exploring the, “Champagne problems of rich people."

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I glommed onto the works of actor/writer/producer/director Edward Burns early in his career. As a teenager of the mid-1990s there was a certain Sundance cachet to his directorial debut “The Brothers McMullen” since it played Robert Redford’s respected film festival. His follow-up “She’s the One” sported a soundtrack entirely from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which is a very singular and special thing. Burns also had a meaty supporting role in Steven Spielberg’s World War II classic “Saving Private Ryan” (one of my Top 10 favorite flicks of all-time).

Somewhere along the way I lost track of and/or interest in Burns. He’d pop up in a romantic comedy here (“The Holiday,” “27 Dresses”) or a misguided sci-fi vehicle there (“A Sound of Thunder”). He played Bugsy Siegel on the TNT limited series “Mob City,” which my wife and I enjoyed over a decade ago. All along he kept plugging away making movies I’d hear about but wouldn’t watch – among them “Nice Guy Johnny,” “Newlyweds” and “The Fitzgerald Family Christmas.”

I’ve always liked Burns. He’s easy to like or at least admire. He’s a good-looking guy who seems like a decent-enough dude and has long been married to supermodel Christy Turlington. His first few films had a blue-collar, Irish-American charm to them – a vibe to which I very much subscribe. His latest “Millers in Marriage” (available in select theaters and on VOD beginning Friday, Feb. 21) is a tad tonier. It feels less like the Burns of yore and is more akin to the offerings of Woody Allen (whom he’s admittedly always aped), Nancy Meyers and Nicole Holofcener. It feels less like the work of a cat who made his bones as a production assistant and gofer on “Entertainment Tonight” and more like someone who’s been married to a supermodel for 22 years.

The Millers in question are siblings Maggie (Julianna Margulies), Andy (Burns) and Eve (Gretchen Mol). They’re the children of famed musicians. Mom’s since departed and Dad’s now snuggled up to a chippie who’s younger than they are.

Maggie’s a prolific and successful author who’s married to Nick (Campbell Scott), also a writer … albeit a blocked one.

Andy’s a painter (canvas, not house) who’s fresh out of a marriage to Tina (Morena Baccarin) and has begun dating his ex’s former boss Renee (Minnie Driver).

Eve is a homemaker who hit rock stardom with her band in the ‘90s only to turn her back on the limelight at the insistence of her manager husband Scott (Patrick Wilson), also a rock star … and a raging alcoholic.

Also in the mix are Dennis (Brian d’Arcy James), a Hamptons caretaker and ladies’ man, and Johnny (Benjamin Bratt), a music critic with an interest in both Eve and her work. Either and/or both of these fellas may sway the Miller gals away from their marriages.

Nick astutely makes a comment about the, “Champagne problems of rich people,” and “Millers in Marriage” is very much about this. I don’t know if Burns wrote this line as a keen observation, a deflection of impending criticism or both, but it’s definitely pertinent to this picture. These folks talk and talk and talk some more (and it’s admittedly generally pretty good talk) in their nicely-appointed New York City apartments and their haute Hamptons homes and it’s all very melodramatic and soap-y. It’s also consistently engaging, entertaining and well-acted (no surprise given its accomplished cast) over its almost-two hour runtime. “Millers Out of Marriage” would’ve been a more apropos title, however.