I’m not sure that I can honestly say I’ve pictured a movie scenario involving Bette Midler and Billy Crystal playing a married couple, but I have to admit, there’s definite potential for funniness in the union. The fact that they’re playing married grandparents just makes me feel old.
Bette Midler’s film appearances have been relatively few and far between over the course of the last decade. According to Variety, she’s set to star opposite funny-man Billy Crystal in the upcoming comedy Us & Them, directed by You Again’s Andy Fickman. The film finds the humor in the older generations view of how the younger generation gets by, with Midler and Crystal playing a recently separated couple who are tasked to join forces to look after their three grandchildren. Bailee Madison (Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, The Wizards of Waverly Place) has been cast as one of the grandchildren.
The thought of a bickering Crystal and Midler working together to take care of and try to understand their grandkids sounds funny enough on paper, however, I can’t help but think back to Fickman’s You Again, which makes me hesitate to pre-judge this movie as an inevitable comedic hit. Considering You Again's cast included Kristen Bell, Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis and Betty White, I expected something really great, but the 2010 comedy missed the mark. With a decent premise and two excellent stars signed on for Us & Them, hopefully the film will live up to its potential.
