X
- 2015
- Not Rated
- Image Entertainment
- 1 h 47 m
- 2015
- Not Rated
- Image Entertainment
- 1 h 47 m
Summary Once upon a time, Keith Michaels (Hugh Grant) was an Award-winning Hollywood screenwriter, but divorce and a string of unsuccessful films have left him with nothing but bad debts and blank pages. So when his agent arranges a job as guest screenwriting professor at a remote university in upstate New York, a desperate Keith can’t say no. ...
Directed By: Marc Lawrence
Written By: Marc Lawrence
- 2015
- Not Rated
- Image Entertainment
- 1 h 47 m
- 2015
- Not Rated
- Image Entertainment
- 1 h 47 m
The Rewrite
51
7.0
Where to Watch
Summary Once upon a time, Keith Michaels (Hugh Grant) was an Award-winning Hollywood screenwriter, but divorce and a string of unsuccessful films have left him with nothing but bad debts and blank pages. So when his agent arranges a job as guest screenwriting professor at a remote university in upstate New York, a desperate Keith can’t say no. ...
Directed By: Marc Lawrence
Written By: Marc Lawrence
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 17 Critic Reviews
51
29% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
59% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
12% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 17 Critic Reviews
51
29% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
59% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
12% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
The Rewrite is hardly shattering new ground, but the familiar path is strewn with a steady stream of smile-inducing moments, two terrific performances from the leads and a first-rate supporting cast.
By no means watch this if you’re looking for a nourishing cinematic experience. But if your idea of a cozy rom-com is an old Hugh Grant one, this has some cine-comfort-food-carbs for you.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 25 User Ratings
7.0
56% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
44% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 25 User Ratings
7.0
56% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
44% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
The Rewrite is a truly enjoyable comedy. It may not break new ground, but it masterfully rewrites a familiar theme: Hugh Grants plays an over the hill, has been Hollywood screenwriter, forced to teach a screenwriting class in Binghamton, a town best known for its old carousel and a meaty sandwich.
He starts out believing writing cannot be taught, teachers are losers, and he aims to do as little as possible for as long as he can pull it off.
In the course of the film, he will, as expected, learn to love teaching and his students and the happy ending we've come to look forward to is sure to come.
But the film gives us more. Hugh Grant's own fall from grace and his questionable ethics in real life are given a nice twist here. Marissa Tomei is charming as the love interest, and Allison Janey is the perfect nemesis as a feminist professor and an Austen fan (but one who doesn't know Clueless is an Austen adaptation and has never seen the film). The clash between the idea of "high literature" and Hollywood movies is the source of some of the best lines in the movie. My favorite is the scene in class where the neurotic and lovable Jewish student defends her love of Disney films. The 'Gothic" Chinese student asks : Can you mention Tarantino and Disney in the same breath? to which the Hugh Grant character replies; You just did.
In the same vein, an episode from the cult TV show Twilight is also the focus of two endearing scenes in the film.
So although Grant's total transformation from an obnoxious womanizer (or cradle robber) to a truly caring man is a bit too easy, the film's other qualities make up for this possible flaw.
Grant's character's claim to fame is a film he wrote fifteen years ago about angels in heaven, which he describes in the movie as a "fairytale". In the same vein, The Rewrite is a fairytale for adults with a small town happy ending on the sunny lawns of Binghamton, in the only day of the year when it stops raining.
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I enjoyed this - its a bit cheesy but it isn't as 'lovely dovey' as some of Hugh Grants other films which are also categorised as romantic comedies. The plot is interesting and the variety of characters I found interesting - its a relatively quick and easy watch. I thought the story was quite nice and I'm very much for the idea of Hollywood types breaking free of the superficiality of that industry and going elsewhere to do different, new things, such as teach screenwriting, as is the case in this film. I liked the characterisation and aspects of the plot - I'm not sure if there's anything I can say really but overall yes, I'd recommend this film.
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That Mr. Grant can bring Keith back from the edge more or less persuasively is a testament to his ability to convey genuine humility without mawkishness, once he sees the light.
While it’s neither a masterpiece of gender politics or contemporary romantic relations nor designed to elicit belly laughs, it is a pleasant diversion for fans of the form.
It’s a rare pleasure to see Tomei in a lead role, and she fills out the short cuts in Lawrence’s characterization with wry warmth and a hint of swallowed disappointment.
Everyone here deserves better.
Grant specializes in bastards, but he makes them so charming that viewers can nearly forget, and even forgive, their consistently bad manners. It’s a good skill, and it’s put to heavy use in Marc Lawrence’s otherwise charmless, vaguely offensive The Rewrite.
Hugh Grant has virtually disappeared from movie screens, and his return goes direct to on demand. "The Rewrite" is a cute, nice semi-romantic comedy - a film about a man who Hollywood has discarded, and the people he meets in "real" America who still dream of ****. The cast is excellent, with J.K. Simmons, Marisa Tomei and Chris Elliott all delivering nice performances in a movie that is nice, but a good example of why so many films aren't getting a theatrical release any longer...
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The Rewrite is a romantic comedy that sometimes flirts dangerously with being appallingly mediocre, and just when you think the film is about to go off the deep end and graduate from being mundane to being simply awful, Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei yank it back from the brink and set it straight again. There is also some support from J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney, and Chris Elliott with respect to the yanking effort.
Grant is playing Keith Michaels, an Oscar-winnng screenplay writer who has not written anything of substance for at least fifteen years. In the interim he has had a few box-office turkeys, a divorce (his wife left him for the man who directed his best movie), and he is alienated from his grown-up son. His agent (Caroline Aaron) still loves him but can’t get him arrested, and she finally suggests that he take a temporary job as writer-in-residence at a college in upstate New York, where he will teach screenplay writing. Michaels balks at the idea, his philosophy being “those who can do, those who can’t teach,” until the electric company shuts off his lights, at which point any kind of employment starts looking attractive.
Michaels arrives in Binghamton, New York with a bad attitude and a chip on his shoulder. He’s a Hollywood snob who has no use for the Home of the Spiedie Sandwich. He has his first supper at Wendy’s where he meets a student who has already signed up for his course (Bella Heathcote). He immediately sleeps with her apparently because he’s an incurable cad which means there he stands, and he can do no other. She is not his true love, however, and he comes close to being fired for cavorting with an undergraduate. His true love turns out to be an older student named Holly (Marisa Tomei), a single mom who works two jobs and believes she can still establish herself as a writer in her late 40’s, whereas Michaels has given up on hope and optimism, even though he secretly admires Holly for being so positive. Slowly, she and a handful of associates pull Michaels out of his low-level despair and force him to respond to humanity once again.
There are quirky but lovable characters—J.K. Simmons is the English department head who is obsessively devoted to his wife and four daughters; Allsion Janney is a hard-hearted, toughened bird who wants to fire Michaels for violating ethical principles but who can be easily seduced by her love for all things Jane Austen, and Chris Elliott is a Shakespeare expert who prides himself on having the perfect quote for every situation. The film actually gives a fairly realistic view of eccentric and idiosyncratic literature professors who may like their students but often hate each other, and who have trouble understanding that their professorships have locked them up in an Ivory Tower where they have a rather distorted perception of reality. In other words, they have no idea how weird they are. Michaels, however, turns out to be the genuine article. He finds his true calling by teaching others, and he seeks to inspire, encourage, and advise. He ignores department politics to the best of his ability, and as an outsider, he brings out the best in his colleagues. He falls in love with Holly, who is an age-appropriate student, but will not proceed until the writing course ends and the relationship can be deemed kosher.
The surprise in this was not the ending, which was highly predictable, but in the understated performance of Hugh Grant, who has lost his playboy handsomeness and has acquired a steely grit that he never had before. His sarcasm in past roles was always charming and superficial; now his caustic wit denotes toughness, fortitude, and an elaborate defense system for facing a hostile world. Tomei has also evolved into a character with more depth and complexity. It would appear that Tomei and Grant, ages 50 and 54 respectively, are now fully formed grown-ups.
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It's not terrible. The dialogue is crisp and often subversively funny. Allison Janney is woefully underutilized and Chris Elliott was about half as annoying as I usually find him to be.
It's all pretty standard RomCom fair but if you're looking for something mildly entertaining for a couple hours - The Rewrite ain't bad.
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Production Company
Castle Rock Entertainment,
Reserve Room,
Resnick Interactive Development
Release Date Feb 13, 2015
Duration 1 h 47 m
Rating Not Rated
Tagline A comedy about getting on the same page.
Website
http://relife-movie.com/
