Synopsis
An Oscar-winning writer in a slump leaves Hollywood to teach screenwriting at a college on the East Coast, where he falls for a single mom taking classes there.
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Cast
- Hugh GrantKeith Michaels
- Marisa TomeiHolly Carpenter
- Bella HeathcoteKaren Gabney
- J.K. SimmonsDr. Hal Lerner
- Chris ElliottJim Harper
- Allison JanneyMary Weldon
- Caroline AaronEllen
- Steven KaplanClem Ronson
- Annie Q.Sara Liu
- Emily MordenAndrea Stein-Rosen
Recommendations
- 63
New York Post
Lawrence’s script for The Rewrite could have used one, and his direction is uneven, but it’s still rewarding watching Grant dispensing his dithery charm surrounded by old pros. - 60
The Hollywood Reporter
While it’s neither a masterpiece of gender politics or contemporary romantic relations nor designed to elicit belly laughs, it is a pleasant diversion for fans of the form. - 60
The Telegraph
There’s no question The Rewrite is underpinned by the same story mechanisms it draws attention to... But there are moments here when sunlight breaks through the shtick. - 60
Empire
It would be easy to dismiss this as a plastic Hugh Grant rom-com but it has enough smarts, laughs and feel for its likeable characters to make it worth your while. - 50
Variety
It’s a rare pleasure to see Tomei in a lead role, and she fills out the short cuts in Lawrence’s characterization with wry warmth and a hint of swallowed disappointment. - 50
Movie Nation
It probably never had a prayer of being a wide release, with Lawrence and Grant’s co-mingled careers shrinking in ambition and appeal. But there’s charm here, and Grant is engagingly disengaged playing somebody who knows the fickle finger of Hollywood fate no longer points his way. - 42
The A.V. Club
It’s poised to become one of the biggest rom-coms of 1998. But barring the invention of time travel, The Rewrite remains tethered to the realities of film releasing in 2015, which means it will get most of its play as a VOD simulation of earlier hits. - 40
The Guardian
Perhaps any screenwriting teacher could explain why romantic comedies such as this frontload it with all the jokes in the first act, and then get progressively sentimental and humourless. This one becomes gooier and squishier until the comedy has entirely gone.
