The Rewrite

Review: This is a very simple story about an out of work screen writer who became very famous after writing an Oscar winning script earlier on in his career. Now that he's unable to find work in his field, he gets offered a job in a school to teach screen writing. From there it turns into a school drama were Grant is getting to know his students and has an affair with one of them. I found the film one toned and I'm getting a bit fed up with Hugh Grants mannerisms and expressions. His sarcastic English voice which is mixed with cynicism becomes annoying after a while and I felt sorry for the students who was really serious about becoming screen writers. He does show some emotion, like when he talks about his relationship with his son, which shows a human side to his character but his sarcastic tone always seem to get the best of him. When he finally becomes serious about teaching, the movie abruptly ends but I personally think that the movie would have been better if it actually started from there. Anyway, it's not a total disappointment because I did want to see were the storyline was going, but it's nothing amazing. Average! Round-Up: After watching this movie, I have definitely noticed that Hugh Grant hasn't got a wide range to his acting skills. He seems to play the same type of parts in all of his movies which is why I think that he's slowed down on the amount of work that he takes on. In this film his performance isn't that much different than the one in Music & Lyrics or About A Boy but it's always the storyline that saves his movies which is due to good choices. I find him very similar to Colin Firth who hasn't stopped acting since he got his Oscar but Grant seems a bit more dashing. Marisa Tomei has played a lot of love interest roles lately, like in the Wrestler and Crazy, Stupid Love and at the ripe age of 50, I personally think that she pulls of the sexy roles quite well. Anyway, I doubt that there's going to be a sequel called Rewrote, but it's a watchable movie but not that memorable. I recommend this movie to people who are into their comedy dramas about a out of work screen writer who takes a job to teach screen writing in a school. 4/10

Marc Lawrence (Miss Congeniality, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, Two Weeks Notice, Music and Lyrics, etc) both wrote and directed this light hearted comedy and while its focus is on comedy, the film has a lot to say about midlife crises, career choices, student life, and learning to be optimistic. An Oscar-winning writer, Keith Michaels (Hugh Grant) is on hard times – poor followup films, no interest from the industry, bad debts, a divorce, and writer's block – and his agent finds him a screen writing teaching job in Binghamton, NY at SUNY. Arriving in the town he is put off by the incessant rain, drinks in a local bar and picks up a student (Bella Heathcote) who wants to be in his screen writing class and his bed, and makes a fool of himself at the faculty welcoming reception when he angers the Jane Austen expert Mary Weldon (Allison Janney), embarrasses his boss Dr Lerner (JK Simmons), and has a wretched start with his first class (instead of reading the 30 screenplays from which he is to select his class he instead goes online and selects the most attractive girls). He encounters Holly (Marisa Tomei), a single mom taking classes there and that develops slowly into a meaningful, life changing relationship. Despite the efforts of friends he has made, his affair with a student nearly dismisses him from his job, but he stays because of his unexpected growing interest in his students and in teaching – and Holly, of course. The movie is light but good hearted and Hugh Grant, Marisa Tomei et all make it very worth watching.

source: The Rewrite

*Spoiler alert* If you are female, or care about females, skip this title. While the film initially seems to be aware of it's own misogynistic leanings, it quickly just trails off into blatant, unapologetic and common sexism. In a class filled with all but two female students, the only student whose script was decent was male. The female students all wrote variations of stereotyped garbage, including Marisa Tomei's character, whose endearing qualities were being sweet, optimistic and a good mom (but not a good writer; she made the amateurish mistake of writing a script that was just a thinly veiled retelling of her life). There were no complex female characters in the film. As far as notable female characters went, we had the sexually manipulative, spiteful undergrad with daddy issues; Tomei's ever-smiling single mom/non-traditional college student (the easy opportunity for complexity was missed here), and the overly severe teacher with a mock-worthy Jane Austen obsession. This film was trash, and the fact that the main character was somehow supposed to be considered a good guy after behaving like a total ass throughout the film, simply because Hugh Grant is good at playing lovable men, is a depressing indication of the state of Hollywood.

With its particularities in place, it does feel at times that "The Rewrite" might be willing to pull some punches, stand by some unexpected statements and push the envelope a little bit. But ultimately it changes its mind and goes down the route of rom-com-iness, which it executes well enough. The story looks at a washed up Hollywood writer who seems at present to be far more capable of putting together a string of vices rather than a string of words. And this frustrated, disinterested, self-absorbed character gets the morality treatment, in a very blunt manner at times, balanced with spurs of wit and charm to make up for it. Unfortunately, there's little beyond the stereotypes of the supporting cast, to make for a more interesting experience. It's funny to see Hugh Grant's mannerisms at work, which seem to suit his old(er) age quite well, although perhaps more on a caricaturist level. And Tomei resolves herself to be the happy-go-lucky type that has too little bite to help you get really involved emotionally. What I did enjoy, was the particular pace the movie had, in no rush to get anywhere in particular and yet particularly abrupt once it got there. Like admitting to the audience that yeah, you know what's happening here. There's value in familiarity, when things fall into place reasonably well. And despite its shortcomings, The Rewrite does come together with a pinch of distinctiveness that makes it worth a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Thought this was just OK in the first half - but then the chemistry comes good, the soundtrack pays off, and it ends well. The lead actor is channeling Roger Moore these days, but he carries the story well. Lead actress is as ever a joy, with her reactions and knowing looks - plus she got rhythm. Overall a lovely cast that hits all the right notes - full characters, minimum fuss. And every conundrum sorted out satisfyingly, with no overblown confrontation. I've seen a couple of script-writing movies recently and none of them (including one with Tomei) uses the proposed script to develop the theme. This one falls back on a finished script. Wonder if there's a technical difficulty running the story in parallel with a developing story. The out-takes at the end might have added to the enjoyment - maybe tighten the first half to make space? Simples - just rewrite it.

The Rewrite could have used another rewrite, possibly making it a bit longer to give the characters some depth and feeling. As usual Hugh Grant plays Hugh Grant, a fading Hollywood screenwriter who takes a teaching job at an East Coat university. He quickly falls prey to one of his students charms...but that's as far as it goes. We never see any semblance of a relationship or even closeness. Marisa Tomei plays his eventual love interest but we never see that either and any chemistry between the two. This could have been a much better story if it strove to be less a comedy and more about a budding teacher and budding students, i.e., Dead Poet Society, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Mona Lisa's Smile.

At least we have Marisa Tomei and Alison Janny. And the Pathetic Casting Award Resulting In Complete Lack Of Chemistry Between Leading Actors goes to ... whoever cast Hugh Grant opposite Marisa Tomei. Grant looks like twelve miles of bad road whilst Tomei looks like the last hundred yards of the pathway to Heaven and there, in a nutshell, is the main problem. Grant would arguably be more convincing as a Thoracic surgeon than as a screenwriter of Ed Wood standard let alone an Oscar winning screenwriter and the bashful, hang-dog, slightly bemused look just makes him look like Diana with a deeper voice. In fact you could lose his half-drawn character completely and just let Tomei and Janney slug it out and you'd still wind up with something light years better than this.

I'll keep this introduction short, so I can save you the time of reading further to know what to expect of this movie: this film is absolutely pointless. Let me explain: Hugh Grant keeps acting the same exact way in every movie of him I have had the misfortune of watching over the last two decades. All his characters have the same indecisiveness, the same fragility, and the same nervousness. He keeps on repeating the same faces, the same gestures. He is so one dimensional, you'd think this was his character from Notting Hill" now living in the US. Now Marisa Tomei: She keeps copying herself too! She only seems able to play the role of a woman who has had a hard time with men. Don't believe me? Check "Only you", "What women want", "The Wrestler", "Untamed Heart", etc… Why do I feel it is important to speak about the actors? Because in a movie of this caliber, I think their names is the only reason you'd have any minuscule desire to watch it. And if there's nothing positive to say about them, imagine how little there's to say about the movie!! So, I hope you get my point, and spend the movie time doing something else. Anything else! PS: By the way, I almost forgot J.K Simmons!! Has he ever played any role in which he wasn't a marine, an ex marine or behaved like one? pfff

Grant's a lesson in urbanity and wit in most of his movies but never as convincingly as here in this low budget but perfectly cast and beautifully written light comedy set in Binghamton, New York. The movie is about a Hollywood screenwriter who hasn't had a hit in years whose agent gets him a paying 'gig' as a college instructor teaching screen writing. Marisa Tomei gets into his class, J.K. Simmons is Head of his department, and Chris Elliott also teaches at the college and lives next door. Allison Janney plays a pivotal part as the fearsome Professor Weldon, the Head of the Ethics Committee, in front of which Grant is taken for having an innocent affair with one of his students. All in all I thought the comedic timing and direction near perfect and more than a little enjoyable. Clearly the stars here read the script and thought it delightful. With one caveat, that I've taught and live in a college town, I highly recommend. Hugh Grant fans will be especially enthralled but this should be a good choice for any guy too.