Customer Reviews

Rumor Has It...

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(33)
2 star:		(31)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

The Graduate is a classic cult film, and since this movie was based on it, I was hoping for the best, but not expecting much. I was never more wrong! Jennifer Aniston was refreshing, but I had dry heaves when she slept with a man her mother and grandmother did especially when she thought at first he could be her father. That is just not entertaining in any situation. Kevin Costner was good in his role, but the ewwww factor was too much. Mark Ruffalo gave probably his best performance to date. The most surprising performance was from Shirley MacLaine, and she was absolutely fabulous. She held her own in every scene. It didn't matter who she shared screen time with, she stole the limelight.

I know that the critical reception to "Rumor Has It" was very chilly, but something about the idea of the film really appealed to me. The concept, the plot conceit, is a genuinely clever notion. Being a fan of "The Graduate," I was interested to see how well they would integrate the "characters" of that film with the "real life" counterpoints in this film. I mean, come on, Shirley MacLaine representing Mrs. Robinson and Kevin Costner as Ben Braddock--seems like a great idea! But, alas, when all is said and done--an amusing and well conceived setup did not equal a satisfying movie experience, for me.

Jennifer Aniston returns to her Pasadena homestead with her new fiance, played by Mark Ruffalo. Plagued with doubts about her engagement, and seemingly disengaged from any real affection for her own family, she hears a rumor that leads her to suspect that the book and film of "The Graduate" were based on her deceased mother's experiences. Confirming that her grandmother (MacLaine) was indeed the "Mrs. Robinson" character, she deduces that her mother had a fling prior to marrying her father. Thus, with the notion that she might be the daughter of this man--she sets off to find the truth. Encountering Costner, as the potential daddy and "Ben Braddock" character, she discovers truths about herself and her family.

All of this plays out very routinely, but the supporting actors are engaging and comfortable. It's always great to see MacLaine, but she offers nothing new or inventive in this performance--it's the standard brassy MacLaine persona we've come to expect. Costner continues to embrace his middle-aged status and has, thus, developed into a far more interesting actor than he used to be. (But for a more nuanced and astute role, check him out in "The Upside of Anger" with the luminous Joan Allen.) And Mark Ruffalo, a great serious actor, continues to play lightly as a romantic leading man. Recently cast with Witherspoon, Garner, and now Aniston in lightweight fluff--I do miss the more challenging roles he used to take on.

But it is Aniston's character, to me, that is a despicable movie creation--one that I've seen all too frequently, but this one is supposed to be endearing. Born into a life of privilege, she has accomplished nothing in her 30+ years and has become a self-involved and unpleasant "Woman-child." She floats through her sister's wedding as if it's all some great inconvenience. She doesn't think twice about mistreating a man who loves her. She never acts on anything that doesn't blatantly promote her own self-interest. I'm just so tired of it--it's not charming. Don't get me wrong--there are plenty of "Man-child" movies too (more so, even) about men who still act as if they were adolescent. But, think about those movies--the "Man-child" is an object of scorn and ridicule, we laugh at him. But "Rumor Has It" doesn't ask you to laugh at Aniston's social ineptitude and selfishness--far from it--we're supposed to embrace it and identify with her as a real person. Well, frankly, I wished everyone in Aniston's life would abandon her because of her behavior so that she'd learn to grow up. But, of course, this is wish fulfillment--and she learns about life while retaining everything of value--there is never any consequence to being a nasty person.

This gender double standard really bothers me, and the fact that I genuinely disliked the central character--obviously, I didn't care for this film. Otherwise it would have been a fairly generic picture, but these two things caused me to feel strongly and negatively. I am giving it an extra star for a good idea, but unfortunately, it didn't pan out for me. KGHarris, 01/07.

I went to see this for Mark Ruffalo. Forget about Jennifer Aniston. I think Mark Ruffalo is the next big thing. This is a decent movie, but it's kind of slow and, well, just plain boring some of the time. And some of the time, you might just want to gag at the thought of a girl who sleeps with the same playboy that her mother and grandmother have also slept with. Yuck! I don't care if the playboy is played by Kevin Costner!

Aniston plays Sarah, who is engaged to Jeff (Ruffalo) and living in NYC. Sarah has always felt like the oddball of her family. She's not quite blonde. She hates tennis. She has nothing in common with the people of her hometown, Pasadena. Her little sister is getting married, and even though Sarah is happy for her, she still feels out of place. That's when she begins to piece together the biggest mystery of Pasadena: Who exactly was the inspiration for the movie The Graduate? When she discovers that it was HER family, she goes on a wild goose chase to find the real life Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman's character in The Graduate). Turns out, that Benjamin Braddock is actually Beau Burroughs (Costner), and Sarah begins to wonder if there are genetic reasons for her familial displacement.

This movie might not mean that much to you if you haven't seen The Graduate. Too much emphasis is put on this other movie, rather than the writer, directors, whatever actually focusing on THIS movie. Hell, it might not mean much to you if you have. It's an intriguing premise, but the whole let's-use-the-movie-The-Graduate-as-a-tag-to-get-people-to-see-this-movie, isn't that great of an idea. But still, if you like Aniston, Costner, Ruffalo, or MacLaine (who is the best part about this movie, aside from Ruffalo's goofy cuteness), check it out. RECOMMENDED.

There are moments in this inconsequential 2005 comedy when I can see a bright future for Jennifer Aniston's light comedic talents, even though this movie does not stretch her much beyond her likeably insecure "Friends" persona. She plays Sarah Huttinger, a likeably insecure New York Times obituary writer going home to Pasadena to attend her younger sister Annie's wedding. Sarah is picture-pretty, 33 and engaged to a nice, unflappable guy named Jeff who accompanies her. At the same time, she's unhappy about her career and wondering why she always feels out-of-sorts with her well-to-do family. A ray of light comes from her only kindred spirit in the family, her feisty, tart-tongued grandmother Katherine, who tells Sarah about her late mother's pre-wedding tryst in Mexico that gives rise to questions about Sarah's paternity.

All the domestic shenanigans that ensue would probably be enough to fill this comedy's blessedly brief 96-minute running time, but screenwriter Ted Griffin hangs it all on the idea that Sarah's family may have been the inspiration for the Robinsons in Charles Webb's 1963 novel, "The Graduate", which of course, is the basis of Mike Nichols' classic 1967 movie. The tie-in must have sounded like a creative idea on paper, but something happened on the way to the screen that has taken most of the comic invention out of it. In fact, there is a pervasive lethargy throughout this movie, and director Rob Reiner is unable to overcome it because Sarah's dilemma of choosing between adventure and predictability never feels that emotionally resonant. The dialogue never feels sharp, perceptive or funny enough to pull off the inevitable comparisons with the earlier film. Moreover, the story is set rather arbitrarily in 1997 to make the timelines make sense with the stars' ages.

Beyond Aniston, a strong cast has been set adrift. Playing Katherine like an even more embittered variation on Aurora Greenway, Shirley MacLaine crackles with aplomb as the possible inspiration for Mrs. Robinson, even when her lines are not as snappy as she thinks they are. As the aging but still magnetic Benjamin Braddock doppelganger, a high-tech mogul named Beau Burroughs, an overly sedate Kevin Costner barely registers in a smallish role. When he does, there is an insinuating, almost creepy quality in the way Beau's relationship with Sarah evolves. Until the end, Mark Ruffalo has little to do as Jeff but wait patiently for Sarah to resolve her personal dilemma. Richard Jenkins and Mena Suvari have even less time to make an impression in the underwritten roles of Sarah's passive father and bubbly sister, respectively. The 2006 DVD provides the original theatrical trailer (which gives away most of the plot) as its sole extra.

Do you really care about another 30-something coming to grips with adulthood? Grow up. What a waste.

The movie, with all of the big name talent behind it - Jennifer Anniston et al (and even George Clooney as one of the producers) - certainly was a let down. For anyone who is familiar with The Graduate (and who isn't these days), the movie will pique your interest if only because it revisits much of the myth behind the movie and whether or not what took place was based on a true 'rumor' if you will. The movie seemed to bank on too many cliches, especially those we find in the romantic comedy genre and the end, where Mark Ruffalo is waiting for Jennifer outside the elevator after she leaves his apartment in tears is as done and as flat as a climactic scene can get. Go out and rent something else because this movie will surely disappoint you.

A non-stop flight across country presents at least one big problem for the airlines: keeping the passengers reasonably happy and reasonably inert. Mass sedation is attractive but has other problems, and sometimes it's too early in the day for alcohol. The airlines' solution is to show movies like "Rumor Has It." It's amusing enough, safe enough for a cabin full of people with widely varying sensitivities, and 100% guaranteed not cause excitement of any kind. And it's available without a prescription.

The premise is goofy, in a chick-flick kind of way. Sarah (Aniston), Katharine (Shirley MacLaine, and "don't call me grandma") and the family get together for the wedding of Sarah's neurotic sister. Somehow, Sarah digs into enough of the family girl-gossip to discover that Katharine was the original Mrs. Robinson, the one in the movie "The Graduate." She also comes to think (and hope) that the man who bedded both her grandmother and mother might be her biological father - and thus begins the quest.

She of course finds him: Beau Burroughs (Costner). And finds him attractive, as did the two generations of women before her. And beds him, as did her mother and don't-call-me-grandmother. By screwing him, she also screws up her own relationship. After some inept running around, everyone ends up back where they belong, in a forgettably happy ending.

There are a few amusing moments in the banter, including:
-- "Does every girl in my family have to go to bed with you?"
-- "They don't have to, they just do."
Aniston also delivers a bit of physical comedy that was almost enough to rouse a real laugh out of my torpid mind. (Don't worry, you'll recognize it when it comes.) Mostly, though, it's a two hour movie built around a ten minute joke. The almost-incestuous side of Sarah's affair with Beau creates some amount of tension, defused safely through humor and atoned for by Sarah's eventual contrition.

On the whole, this movie delivers the three Ss that it was selected for: it's safe, silly, and sedative.

--wiredweird

OK. We all know that this movie is a speculation as to what it would be like if the book and movie, The Graduate, was real and how Jennifer Anniston's character, Sarah, deals with it. There is actually a tiny bit more meat to it. Sarah feels lost and unsure about life and her place in it and feels she has nothing in common with her dad and sister (mom having passed away years ago). When she discovers that this man who slept with both her mom and grandmother (Shirley MacLaine in all the only real bright spots in the movie) slept with her mom 9 months before she was born she goes on a search for him thinking the answer to this quest could explain her feelings.

Now you could make a decent movie out of that concept. Too bad this isn't it. Instead after it being proven (or is it?) that Beau (Kevin Costner) cannot be dear old dad Sarah ends up in the same night kissing (Ewww) then sleeping with (EWWWW!!!!) this man she was just asking if he might be her dad. I don't care how it ends up, that ain't right!

If that's not enough, while she's dining and dancing it up with the man who, if not her dad is obviously old enough to be (and slept with her mom and grandma by the way), her super fiance played entirely likable by the entirely likable Mark Ruffalo is worried sick about her as she ignores his calls (with no real explanation other than she's too busy tying to find herself by kissing and sleeping with old men). When he flies cross country just to check on her safety because he hasn't heard from her in days and catches her kissing the man who would be dad you only feel crushed for him and want her to get dumped.

I don't think I'm being harsh when I say by the end of the movie I don't care if Sarah gets her fiance back and hope he kicks her to the curb. Who would want to marry someone so flaky that she hopes someone else is her dad to explain her empty feelings (hey, we all get those from time to time lady!) then kisses and sleeps with the old codger, cheating on her fiance, when he's not.

There are a couple of funny moments, sure. The grandmother is a hoot and Jennifer Anniston and Mark Ruffalo pull off a couple of funny bits each. To bad I just end up intensely disliking the main character and the Ewww factor is pretty high.

This was an okay semi-chick-flick way to kill an hour and a half.

What I liked about it:
A few funny moments
A slightly different idea, not exactly what we've seen a million times.
Probably most people can identify with the feeling that you don't "fit" with your family, or they all seem strange.

Here's what I didn't like:
The movie was a 1/2 hour idea padded to be a movie.
The idea of sleeping with someone you know slept with your mother AND grandmother - ick!!
A few extremely improbably coincidences.
I didn't get all the stuff about Pasadena, must be LA in jokes, not meant for us "outsiders".

This is another one I wouldn't recommend buying, but might rent on a rainy Saturday afternoon. I ended up doing some work and cooking dinner while watching because it didn't feel like you had to pay close attention every minute.

I normally strongly dislike Costner, but he wasn't too bad in this.

This film is about a woman from Pasadena named Susan (played by our favorite friend, Jennifer Aniston). As an adult, she's moved to New York and gotten engaged to a guy named Jeff (played by the ubiquitous Mark Ruffalo). She and Jeff fly back to Pasadena to attend her little sister's wedding. Very soon she finds herself getting entwined with the mysterious relationship that took place in the 1960s between her deceased mother and a man named Beau Burroughs (played by Kevin Costner). She is further shocked when she discovers that Burroughs might be her real father, and that his exploits with her mother and grandmother might have been the inspiration behind the story of The Graduate.

This movie disturbed me to my very soul. I really don't want to give away what happens, but there is a somewhat incestuous undertone that is being passed off as a funny, unfortunate circumstance. I am very sorry, but there is NOTHING funny or entertaining about incest, especially when it is placed in a movie that is supposed to be lighthearted and clever.

Another thing that irritated me is the ending. Once again, I don't want to give too much away, but there are absolutely no consequences for the horrible deceit someone commits against someone else. I don't see how this movie could have ended as happily as it did when disgusting and deceitful things took place.

The only thing that saved this movie from just one star is the fact that it took place in Pasadena, my favorite city in L.A.