# Best depictions of a married couple? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809 "2012-02-05T00:41:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/41 "2012-02-05T22:31:04Z")
Recently watched Stir of Echoes for the first time and I thought the two leads in that had a likably realistic depiction of a married couple and especially as their marriage comes under strain. Most TV/Movie depictions of a stressful marriage make me just want to shake and/or slap the partners and tell them to get a grip but Stir of Echoes was quite well done. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/42 "2012-02-05T22:58:51Z")
The couple in _Mad About You_ were good the first season or two. After that, horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/43 "2012-02-05T23:14:36Z")
What about Fred & Wilma? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/44 "2012-02-05T23:29:32Z")
The Ingalls’ on Little House on the Prairie (Michael Landon and his wife, Laura’s parents). ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/45 "2012-02-05T23:30:21Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > Rob and Laura Petrie of The Dick Van Dyke Show. Perhaps a bit too glamorous, but the first convincing couple on TV. Rob and Laura actually had “chemistry”, and you could tell they actually had sex. Not only could you tell, but a few episodes had very subtle dialogue that was clearly a euphemism for “We are going to fuck like rabbits later!” ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/46 "2012-02-05T23:30:26Z")
Charles and Emma Darwin as played by Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly in the movie [Creation](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0974014/). I was already struck with how much of a married couple they seemed and then the movie got to a bedroom scene (no explicit sex, sorry Darwin fetishists) that ended with them snoozing back to back with Paul Bettany’s arm flung backwards to stay in contact with Jennifer Connelly. This was so intimately familiar…it’s what me and my husband do when we want to stay in contact but simply must roll over…I was thinking “Wow, these people are so married!” Watching the extras I found out Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly are married! Who knew? I didn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/47 "2012-02-06T00:07:49Z")
Hank and Peggy Hill in _King of the Hill_. Their dialogue always struck me as incredibly believable (in a zany cartoon kinda way). ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/48 "2012-02-06T00:30:52Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > I don’t know if the couple was actually supposed to be married, but Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston in **The Break Up.** > > The movie as a whole was pretty insipid. But there’s a great five minute scene early on, that’s probably one of the best depictions of relationship discord I’ve ever seen, where a disagreement about doing dishes turns into a huge blow up with the characters listing all their grievances. A pretty realistic portrayal, IMHO, of how things can snowball quickly when you’re having a seemingly minor spat with your SO. Thanks for reminding me of that. Terrible movie overall but that scene is just so beautifully/horribly observed. I’ve been there a couple of times, and watching something relatively innocuous spiral out of control was as uncomfortable for me as watching a horror movie. I did appreciate that they didn’t get back together at the end, though. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/49 "2012-02-06T01:34:17Z")
From what I heard… it’d be Lester & Carolyn Burnham ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/50 "2012-02-06T15:03:07Z")
Early Al & Peg Bundy. First season, maybe a few episodes in season two they were a very realistic couple who stuck together because they couldn’t imagine doing anything else, but didn’t really like to be with each other. By season 3 they had turned into cartoon characters of course. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/51 "2012-02-06T15:06:53Z")
Homer and Marge Simpson. For all they go through, their reactions and relationship are very realistic. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/52 "2012-02-06T16:49:27Z")
I like Bob & Helen Parr in _The Incredibles_. The way they relate to each other, their arguments about parenting, the effect his career has on their relationship, and of course their fight about correct driving directions - “You asked me how to get there, and I told you!” ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/53 "2012-02-06T18:10:53Z")
Another vote for Dan and Roseanne. Also, from _Cagney and Lacey,_ Marybeth and Harvey were VERY down to earth. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/54 "2012-02-06T18:26:00Z")
My wife and I recently watched the 1953 British comedy **Genevieve** , about the London-to-Brighton Run (Genevieve is a 1904 Darracq), and the relationship between the hero and his wife was just pitch-perfect, especially an early-movie quarrel about whether she’d be coming along on this year’s Run. I have had disagreements exactly like that with Mrs. R. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/55 "2012-02-06T18:41:59Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > I like Bob & Helen Parr in _The Incredibles_. The way they relate to each other, their arguments about parenting, the effect his career has on their relationship, and of course their fight about correct driving directions - “You asked me how to get there, and I told you!” Oh, yes, definitely. Helen’s grappling with her suspicion that he’s cheating on her is also terrific, considering it’s a kid’s movie. "Honey, I just want you to know I love you _so much…"_ ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/56 "2012-02-06T18:45:29Z")
The parents in Phineas and Ferb. Loving, but not cloyingly so. P&F has a fair few realistic characters for a show about genius kids who find mummies and unicorns. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/57 "2012-02-06T19:12:50Z")
The parents in The Wonder Years seemed pretty realistic to me even though the father was kind of a dick. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/58 "2012-02-06T19:15:03Z")
The movie \*Two for the Road \*with Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney struck a chord for me. They have their up and downs, their celebrations and their regrets, but ultimately end up with each other. To paraphrase Danny Peary, how you feel about their relationship says a lot about how you feel towards marriage. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/59 "2012-02-06T19:30:49Z")
I like the couple on the new NBC show Up All Night. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809/60 "2012-02-06T19:49:41Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Homer and Marge Simpson. For all they go through, their reactions and relationship are very realistic. If I was Marge and my husband was Homer, he would have had a terrible, fatal “accident” about six months into our marriage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-depictions-of-a-married-couple/611809.md?page=4)