![The Rewrite [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91-vDm4XZ6L.jpg)
Once upon a time, screenwriter Keith Michaels (Hugh Grant) was on top of the world – a Golden Globe Award and a hit movie to his name, a beautiful wife and son, and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of sexy British wit and charm. But that was fifteen years ago: now, he’s divorced, approaching fifty, hasn’t written a hit film in years, and is going broke. Luckily, his agent has a gig for him – albeit far away from Hollywood. A university in upstate New York is looking for a writer-in-residence to teach a course on screenwriting, and with an empty wallet as his motivation, Keith can’t say no. In bucolic Binghamton, he quickly discovers that his celebrity status hasn’t faded and he finds himself in a compromising position with a star-struck pupil, Karen (Bella Heathcote), who is enrolled in his class, and his other students seem naïve and simple. Hoping to give minimal attention to his duties and focus on writing a new script, Keith inadvertently gets off on the wrong foot with a ranking faculty member (Allison Janney), a humourless Jane Austen scholar; though he does quickly befriend two eccentric faculty colleagues who promise to show him the ropes (Chris Elliott, J.K. Simmons). Keith’s attitude begins to turn when he meets Holly (Marisa Tomei), a single mom working two jobs to earn her bachelor’s degree. Though Holly has a new boyfriend – and Keith isn’t very savvy about covering up his romance with Karen – the two find themselves connected by their mutual need for a second chance. When one of his pupils comes up with a screenplay that Keith knows will sell, he sees an opportunity to get out of teaching and go back to living the good life. But he’s also discovered that teaching has given him that second chance at becoming a better man – and finds himself equally tempted to stay and see where his new talents take him.
R**Y
Great Rom Com. Grant st his sleazy best
Very enjoyable. A great way to spend Saturday night at home. A different High Grant, more “Music & Lyrics” than “4 Weddings”. Great script with laughs & pathos. Recommended.
B**E
Typical Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant at his comedy best. You get the sense that he wishes he wasn't this good at being the bumbling English rogue (not roguish enough) that we all love, but he is! Enjoyable, simple, uncomplicated watching. Just what I needed to unwind
P**N
Hugh Grant is perfect for this role
A collection of fine actors, Hugh Grant, Marisa Tomei, Allison Janney and JK Simmons, make this fine screenplay come alive. The premise that a screenwriter who has no work could, in desperation, teach screenwriting at a university is unusual and rewarding.
A**R
Enjoyable
Love anything with Hugh Grant in. Enjoyed this uncomplicated story.
C**A
A Bit of Fluffy Escapism
The Rewrite is nothing terribly new or exciting, but it's a perfectly watchable little romcom starring Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei. If you like Hugh Grant, you'll be happy to know he has plenty of screen time here in the kind of role he has done a few times before: a playboy and womanizer, once successful and well off, now forgotten and hard up for money. This time around he is a one hit wonder Hollywood screen writer reduced to lecturing at a very minor New England college. If you don't like Hugh Grant, you shouldn't be looking up the film the first place. Marisa Tomei is lovely as a mature student in Grant's class. She is impossibly upbeat and positive, but hey, it's a romcom and you know where this is going.Besides the obligatory romance there are variouis plotlines involving a feminist staff member and a movie script. It's a bit of fluffy escapism for an evening in on your own or with the girls. Make yourself comfortable in front of the TV and enjoy.The DVD has subtitles for those who may need them and by way of extra features there is an interview with Hugh Grant.
K**I
I liked this movie
I liked this movie. I went in with the mind-set that is a movie my wife would enjoy and I could sit through. This is a refreshingly nice movie to watch, without being sickly sweet. The characters seem to be real people, this always appeals to me personally. I hate watching a movie and screaming at the screen saying nobody could be that stupid or nobody would say that. The other thing about the movie is that there are genuinely funny moments in it.Hugh Grant plays Keith Michaels a one shot wonder of a screen play writer, now is forced to take a teaching job to pay the bills. This is nice story about discovering what makes you happy and learning from teaching. The movie is about Keith's journey as much as his students. The movie is a bit slow, but that is the genre, at best entertaining at worst refreshingly good. I would recommend it.
J**H
Gentle Fun, Worth a Watch
Lightweight, but good fun. The leads act it well and the story delivers more than it promises - Hugh Grant really is good at this sort of thing (the character has elements of his roles from Words & Lyrics Music and Lyrics and Bridget Jones Bridget Jones's Diary , without them being a parody). The comedy is quite gentle, but fun enough. Although obviously not "realistic", there is no single particular incident which is so unbelievable as to really stretch one's ability to suspend disbelief. And some of the themes - about how, and in what ways creativity can be taught, for example - are treated in an interesting way. It is hardly a tearjerker, and it is engaging rather than passionate, but it connects just enough emotionally to make it worthwhile.Recommended viewing for fans of romantic comedies and recommended as watchable for those who have to include such things occasionally in the family viewing rotation...
R**N
Not incredible but amusing enough
I wasn't expecting a great deal and ended up enjoying this a little more than I thought I might. Yes it's a pretty familiar version of a Hugh Grant rom com and yes Hugh Grant is essentially playing the same familiar Hugh Grant role but if you sign up for a rom com starring Hugh Grant then that's pretty much what you'd expect.In this one, Hugh plays a briefly successful screenwriter who's fallen on harder times and is quickly packed off to the grey, rainy town of Binghamton, New York to teach a screenwriting course. Romantic entanglements follow (of course).It's not the speediest of films but patience is rewarded by a decent script which has enough good lines to keep things above water. A game supporting cast bring a touch of wit and charm also - Marisa Tomei, Allison Janey, JK Simmons and Chris Elliott all chip in.Some of it's pretty predictable but it's not too heavy on the schmaltz and Grant makes for a watchable, amusing leading man. On a side note, writer/director Mark Lawrence has teamed with Grant on three previous efforts - Two Weeks Notice, Music and Lyrics and Did You Hear About the Morgans? That probably explains the familiarity then......
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