Susan Granger’s review of “Rumor Has It” (Warner Bros)
Here’s the holiday comedy you’ve been waiting for! Blurring illusion with reality, it’s about what happens when a young woman inadvertently discovers that her family may have inspired the 1967 film “The Graduate” – with her acerbic grandmother immortalized as Mrs. Robinson.
Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston) writes for the New York Times, albeit obituaries and wedding announcements, and is engaged to marry a terrific guy Jeff (Mark Ruffalo) – yet she feels she’s become trapped in a “pre-mid-life crisis.” Insecurity reigns as they fly to Pasadena for her sister’s (Mena Suvari) wedding, particularly when her “mother’s mother” Katherine (Shirley MacLaine) – “Don’t call me Grandma!” – reveals that Sarah’s not the first one to get cold feet, noting that her late mother ran off with a mysterious fellow (Kevin Costner) just days before her wedding to Sarah’s father, creating a huge scandal, eventually chronicled in “The Graduate.” The rest of this ruefully romantic tale delves deliciously into the family’s foibles and escapades.
Under the sorcerer’s wand of director Rob Reiner, who was brought in to replace idiosyncratic writer/director Ted Griffin, Jennifer Aniston is every inch a star and never anything less than delightful as her intriguing emotional journey unfolds. She’s wondrously gifted at conveying complex emotions. Relishing the salty humor, Shirley MacLaine carves a gleefully comic edge and Kevin Costner, radiating the genuine, unpretentious vitality of a relentlessly adventurous friend, oozes charm enough to convince three generations of women to adore him. On the Granger Move Gauge of 1 to 10, “Rumor Has It” is a captivating, amusing 8. A original and outrageously funny social satire, it’s helium-light fun for the holiday season.
Susan Granger's review of "Rumor Has It" (Warner Bros) Here's the holiday comedy you've been waiting for! Blurring illusion with reality, it's about what happens when a young woman inadvertently discovers that her family may have inspired the 1967 film "The Graduate" - with her acerbic grandmother immortalized as Mrs. Robinson. Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston) writes for the New York Times, albeit obituaries and wedding announcements, and is engaged to marry a terrific guy Jeff (Mark Ruffalo) - yet she feels she's become trapped in a "pre-mid-life crisis." Insecurity reigns as they fly to Pasadena for her sister's (Mena Suvari) wedding, particularly when her "mother's mother" Katherine (Shirley MacLaine) - "Don't call me Grandma!" - reveals that Sarah's not the first one to get cold feet, noting that her late mother ran off with a mysterious fellow (Kevin Costner) just days before her wedding to Sarah's father, creating a huge scandal, eventually chronicled in "The Graduate." The rest of this ruefully romantic tale delves deliciously into the family's foibles and escapades. Under the sorcerer's wand of director Rob Reiner, who was brought in to replace idiosyncratic writer/director Ted Griffin, Jennifer Aniston is every inch a star and never anything less than delightful as her intriguing emotional journey unfolds. She's wondrously gifted at conveying complex emotions. Relishing the salty humor, Shirley MacLaine carves a gleefully comic edge and Kevin Costner, radiating the genuine, unpretentious vitality of a relentlessly adventurous friend, oozes charm enough to convince three generations of women to adore him. On the Granger Move Gauge of 1 to 10, "Rumor Has It" is a captivating, amusing 8. A original and outrageously funny social satire, it's helium-light fun for the holiday season.