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MARRIED IN AMERICA 2
Directed by Michael Apted.
Produced by Steven Lawrence & Dale Riehl.
Director of Photography Shana Hagan.
Edited by Bob Jorissen & Brian Johnson.
Music by Hahn Rowe.
Released by Docurama Films.
USA. 132 mins. Not Rated.
DVD Features: Interview with Michael Apted. Casting Interviews. Photo gallery. Trailer. Filmmaker biography.

…And they all lived happily ever after. It’s a nice thought, and one that Hollywood is particularly fond of, but, as director Michael Apted reveals, it’s not always the case. In 2002, Apted – most known for his “7 Up” series and feature films Coal Miner’s Daughter and The World is Not Enough – documented nine American couples from different backgrounds on their way to the altar in Married in America. Five years later, we’re given a second installment – the morning after the fairytale ending – and what the effects of children, death, career, etc., have had on each couple.

While it was Apted’s intention to remain objective, which no documentary truly is, the film offers quite a critique of the “American Dream” and the pressure couples feel to attain that ideal. It’s disheartening to see young couples sacrifice their passions in order to earn that extra buck – yet Betty and Reggie do it with such cute conviction you’ll root for them. But it’s hard not to hit your forehead and say, “Oh, no,” when Frank reveals one of the main reasons he wants to make his marriage work with Nadine is that he can’t stand the thought of another man raising his kids.

The most interesting profile, however, revolves around lesbian couple Toni and Kelly, and Apted smartly saves their piece for the second to last. Not only do we witness their long struggle to have children but also an unexpected bit of drama in a restaurant where Toni and Kelly calmly endure the homophobic slurs of a fellow diner. It isn’t until this moment that it really hits home – marriage has nothing to do with cars, houses, and bank accounts, things many of the other couples make an issue of. It’s this scene that prompts Apted to feel, in the bonus feature interview, that Toni and Kelly are the “most likely to succeed,” if I may borrow from a popular high school yearbook expression.

And I hope they do succeed. I hope Betty and Reggie retain their spunk, and I hope the hard-luck Carol and Chuck get some long overdue happiness, with or without each other. Apted, you’ve made me care – but not in a guilty, reality TV kind of way. In an I-wish-you-couples-all-the-best kind of way. And we’ll see you in a few more years.

DVD Extras: In an in-depth interview, Apted shares his views on documentary filmmaking and the process of choosing the couples. Interestingly in the casting interviews, which were essentially auditions, all the couples lower their guard much more freely than in the film. B. Baston
November 14, 2007