Vizi di famiglia

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.

I walked out of "Fun With Dick and Jane" fuming. I went into this other "comedy" and I stayed. I even laughed a couple of times and smiled a great deal, thanks , mostly, to Shirley MacLaine. The idea was fun, to meet the real characters that inspired "The Graduate" and, in fact, the best moment is the confrontation between Mrs. Robinson (Shirley MacLaine) and Benjamin (Kevin Costner) There is a lavish party and some spectacular travelogues of Northern California but Jennifer Aniston, my dear, take a sabbatical. She was so good in "The Good Girl" But here, a sub Rachel infuriating thing. What's with her mouth? She twitches and bites her lips and represses her smiles and it's dizzying and annoying and anti-comedy. Look at Shirley MacLaine for goodness sake! Has Jennifer Aniston seen "The Apartment"? I know I'm not making much sense but it's not my fault. I blame Rob Reiner really and his scriptwriters and his producers. How many jokes can you make about Pasadena? Please guys, listen to Shirley.

I like to have an idea of what the public thinks about a movie before i go and see it. This movie in particular definitely wasn't bad like people were saying. I really enjoyed it and I don't know If i can agree with what people have been saying about the movie. Its not every day I go out and see a movie like this, so it was something different for me. I do recommend the movie to people to see. After the countless love stories and such, I was starting to lose hope that there was a movie out there that could keep my interest. I was surprised by this movie and enjoyed it all the way through. It was a story that really hasn't been driven into the ground like so many recent movies. I like the twists and turns in the movie and I have always enjoyed Kevin Costner and Jennifer Aniston. It was a different sort of combination that really hit the spot.

It was fun. This has been panned by many, but heck, it's not supposed to be Shakespeare. It has a great cast -- Shirley McLaine and Kevin Costner have a great scene together. I liked Jennifer Aniston -- especially in the blue dress. Mark Ruffalo was the nice guy. I laughed a lot. It wasn't all fluff, either. I thought the characters grew a little. Jennifer and her sister and father grew closer. I think if you saw the original The Graduate, this movie might be more interesting to you. There were some great shots of Pasadena and the California coast. Definitely is a chick-flick. I went with a girl friend of mine and we both enjoyed it.

Jennifer Aniston plays Sarah Huttinger, a journalist about to get married to her boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo) when she's called back to Pasadena for her sister's wedding. There, she meets millionaire playboy Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner) who had relations with both her mother and grandmother, an incident that might have influenced the '60s movie "The Graduate."

"Rumor Has It" is a lackluster film from Jennifer Aniston that fails to take advantage of its interesting premise. The movie had all the right ingredients to be an entertaining ride. Good cast, good director, engaging premise and a talented screenwriter. So, what went wrong? Rob Reiner tried to make a character driven dramedy that just didn't work. The film was not very funny and they recycled the same jokes over and over again. How many jokes about Pasadena can you have in the first twenty minutes? Apparently not enough for Mr. Reiner. The more serious scenes were deathly dull and this has a lot to do with the fact that all the characters were unlikable and uninteresting. The actors all appeared bored on screen and only one person gave a good performance.

Shirley MacLaine gives an engaging and funny performance as Katherine. She saves the movie completely though she doesn't get a lot of screen time. Jennifer Anniston was pretty bland, nothing special from her. That is two flops in a row for her with this and Derailed. Mark Ruffalo was okay, again nothing special. Mena Suvari gave a decent performance but doesn't get a lot of screen time. Kevin Costner was a complete dud. His performance was very mundane and he shared zero chemistry with everyone on screen.

The appeal between Costner and Aniston seemed force and there was nothing interesting about it at all. The scenes with Aniston and Ruffalo were much better and seemed more real. The family aspects of the movie were okay. There were a few engaging scenes like the bedroom scene between Aniston and Suvari. Those two played sisters and their conversation about their mother was nice to watch. Still, they weren't as good as Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette from "In Her Shoes". The ending was expected and a little unbelievable actually. I still don't understand why he took Sarah back considering she cheated on him and her speech seemed really force. In the end, "Rumor Has It" is simply a weak film that's not really worth watching. Rating 5/10