The Rewrite (2014)
Certified: 12A
Duration: 106 minutes
Directed by: Marc Lawrence
Starring: Hugh Grant, Marisa Tomei, Bella Heathcote, Allison Janney, J. K. Simmons, Chris Elliott
KRS Releasing Ltd
After his serious turn on Cloud Atlas (2012), Hugh Grant returns to familiar territory with The Rewrite a romantic comedy that does not reinvent the genre but, with a strong central pairing and a likeable cast, manages to be quite a likeable addition to it.
Here Hugh Grant once again teams up with director Marc Lawrence who had already worked with him on the movies Music and Lyrics (2007) and Did You Hear About The Morgans? (2009).
Hugh Grant here has been surrounded with a supporting cast that is simply spot on
The Rewrite confirms once again that on screen Grant is one of the most likeable screen presences that a film can have as he adds charm aplenty.
It’s very easy to see why Grant has always been sort of either taken for granted or not taken too seriously as an actor.
His celebrity status marriage to Elizabeth Hurley, his tousled hair, young naughty-boy image and that flawless British charm hides his tangible screen presence and comic timing that is so well-honed.
Today Grant is at a point where he is no longer the young gun with a thirst for success and in The Rewrite this is very much in evidence.
The good thing here is that the actor’s mix of charm, sarcasm, self-irony and comic timing makes The Rewrite a perfect film for a good time out without it ever resorting to over-the-top or overdone antics to hold the audience’s attention.
Ironically enough, The Rewrite (one would wonder how many rewrites were actually needed!) has a good script that sees Grant as Keith Michaels, a British scriptwriter.
It has been 15 years since Keith had written Paradise Misplaced, a script that has won him accolades and cash aplenty and he has been living on that fame ever since.
In his private life he is at an emotional crossroads as his marriage is over and his teenage son is not on good terms with him.
However, he needs a return to form, and some cash flow and so decides to go into teaching at a university that is not so famous in upstate New York.
Soon he has a class full of young and beautiful female students, as well as a few male ones. Here he realises that life is not what he had always made of it.
Holly (Marisa Tomei) is a single mother who will show him how much life can be different for him.
The Rewrite is an interesting film also due to the fact that Grant is here playing his age in a film that does not shirk from raising a few questions about relationships between older men and much younger women.
It also helps that Grant is not above playing his role to the hilt, even beating himself up with his own laconic style and wry imagery.
To the film’s benefit, Grant here has been surrounded with a supporting cast that is simply spot on.
Marisa Tomei is an excellent comic foil. She brings presence, rough-edged charm and a well-rounded portrayal of what could have been just another stock stereotype of a character.
It’s easy to see that she could be such a catalyst for someone to actually take a look at oneself and one’s own life.
J.K. Simmons is hilarious as the college principal while Allison Janney brings fervour to the script.
Young Bella Heathcote is a screen beauty that makes it very easy for us to understand why Grant’s attention is so drawn to her.
The Rewrite is schmaltzy, charming, but most of all is fun for fans and accompanying others.