<p> Marriage is seldom just a coupling of two people. Usually it also involves the merger of family, friends and history. In the comedy <em>Newlyweds</em>, a carefree young couple is finally forced to sort through the baggage each brought to their marriage, including suitcases that had never been aired out. </p> <p>Written and directed by Edward Burns in a school of Woody Allen pseudo-documentary style, <em>Newlyweds</em> focuses on Buzzy (Burns) and Katie (Caitlin Fitzgerald), affluent Manhattanites who feel above life's fray from the perspective of their expensive loft apartment. “Are we a successful couple because we never see each other?” they wonder at the onset. Their busy professional lives, their self-absorption and wariness of intimacy, are shaken with the arrival of Buzzy's long-lost, troubled sister Linda (Kerry Bishe). An emotionally reckless, irresponsible mess in contrast to Katie and Buzzy's carefully ordered smugness, Linda is a whirlwind of trouble. Her arrival triggers the unhelpful intervention of Katie's older sister, Marcia (Marsha Dietlein Bennett), bitter over the unraveling of her marriage and eager to project her anger onto Linda and Buzzy. </p> <p>With whip smart, razor sharp and observant humor, <em>Newlyweds</em> is a convincingly amusing examination of an upper class professional couple under pressure. It's out on DVD. </p>
