The Rewrite
Directed and written by Marc Lawrence
Hugh Grant, Marisa Tomei, J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney, Chris Elliott, Caroline Aaron, Bella Heathcoate
Running time: 107 minutes; opens today at AMC Veterans 24; rating: 2 1/2 out of 5 stars
Hugh Grant is back with another low-key feel-good movie about life's surprising opportunities and spiritual renewal (read: cocky jerk withdraws head from rear). In The Rewrite, Grant's flawed protagonist Keith Michaels deals with some humorous culture shock and colorful personalities, made all the more entertaining by a first-rate cast — including Grant, who effectively conveys the nuances of his alternately a-hole and idealist lead role.
The film is the fourth collaboration between writer-director Marc Lawrence and Grant, who previously teamed up on Two Weeks Notice, Music and Lyrics, and Did You Hear About The Morgans?. Its story follows an award-winning Hollywood screenwriter who, after several flops and a divorce, takes a job as guest screenwriting professor at a remote university in Binghampton, N.Y.
Michaels starts out with a blatant plan to slack (recruiting mostly attractive female students to serve as eye candy) so he can focus on his next script. Some time passes and an inappropriate brush later, he has a change of heart and becomes inspired and taken with a middle-aged student played by Marisa Tomei. J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) is delightfully typecast as an ex-Marine department chair. Coworkers include a persnickety Austinite lit professor played by Allison Janney and a lovably goof Shakespeare prof portrayed by bumbling but sweet Chris Elliott.
Considering that it's a film about a screenwriter, you'd think more complexity would have gone into Lawrence's script itself, but the story arc is barely a speed bump and sticks, for better and worse, to an organic, relatively uneventful flow. Conflicts do arise but they lack oomph — which one might argue is permissible because life isn't always all that interesting and eloquent. The film could have benefitted from a little more zazz and some surprises. Despite a close call, you know Michaels is going to fall in love with the university and the town — and a working mom with spunk (Tomei in yet another lovable cute-but-gritty role).
The subtle, month-in-a-life story offers intimate cinematography and thespian candy, virtues, unfortunately, that will not prevent it from being boring to many (maybe, the majority of) viewers.
Only go see this low-budget indie dramedy if you need a cozy film to wind down with and like low-key indies with formidable actors. Don't see it if you are craving an exhilarating escape and gut-busting guffaws.
This article appears in Feb 12-18, 2015.