Novidades no Amor

Good May December romance movie. There are many funny laugh out loud moments in this movie. The jokes aren't clichéd and the dialog is original and fresh. Wish I could see more of Catherine Zeta Jones in movies these days. She is beautiful especially without too much makeup. Sometimes she looks too sophisticated to be in that situation but she is just a pleasure to watch on screen. It's also nice to see a woman not trying to be rail thin as she enters her forties. Justin Bartha is quite charming in this role. Although he isn't tall he can do romantic roles not just the sidekick stuff. Sometimes the dialog was a bit fast to catch. The story is feel good and not far fetched without being sentimental or predictable.

The REBOUND is a romantic comedy, that follows the story of Sandy (Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones – Chicago, The Mask of Zorro series, Entrapment, Traffic) as a happily contented wife and mother – that one day comes across a revealing video on her computer of her husband having an affair with another woman. She leaves the family home and takes her two children to start afresh in New York – looking for work within her favourite pastime (sports statistics) – and living in an apartment above a coffee shop.

At the same time, Aram (Justin Bartha) – who works in the coffee shop, is just getting over his new french bride dumping him - as soon as she's achieved her "green card" status.

Sandy and Aram lives get more and more interwoven when she needs a baby sitter and they gradually get closer and closer.

Her friends want Sandy to start dating again – and Aram's parents want him to make more of himself – all claiming that they are both on the rebound … but, there is much more going on ...

Adequately directed by Bart Freundlich, and very well acted by the Main leads – this story moves along well and is one of the better chick flicks out there – and, as always, it stands or falls on the chemistry of the main actors (which works in this case) – and as usual all the best one-liners come from the two children

"Sometimes you need to travel the world - to discover what you really needed all along was right here at home …"

I would say that for it class and genre, that this would be a successful movie and is recommended as a romantic comedy

Justin Bartha finally bags a lead role and what's better than teaming up with the ever green Catherine Zeta Jones Douglas. A decent drama comedy and romance with unexpected dialogs - reflection of reality is a bit scary. You don't get a lot of movies like this one these days. Every time you see something close to reality, you get grossed out or end up calling it "weird" and the romantic parts from this movie is nicely done as well. With a wide range of cast including ART GARFUNKEL have all done a great job. Highly recommended! I'm very happy for talented Justin Bartha as I've been waiting to see him in movies that offer him good roles and more screen time.

While the title may be a tad misleading, Bart Freundlich's 'The Rebound' is a refreshing romantic comedy that centres around a forty-something single mother and a 24-year old singleton. Unlike most traditional Hollywood movies of this genre, much of the humour here is subtle and it balances off well with the rest.

Freundlich also addresses the issue of age-stereotype and how it affects people. When Aram calls Sandy an ageist, it may appear petty but there is some truth to it as she just couldn't see him outside the stereotype even though her concerns are justified to an extent.

On the technical side, it's a decently made little film. The setting is New York and Freundlich cleverly steers clear of exposing too many postcard images of the city. Refreshingly paired Justin Bartha and Catherine Zeta-Jones form a very likable and convincing couple on screen. Zeta-Jones displays her growth as an actress in a mature performance and Bartha is excellent as the kind-hearted young man who's going through a lot (split up from his wife, unemployment etc) and yet decides to do the generous thing. The supporting cast is mostly adequate. Joanna Gleason is brilliant with her downplayed performance.

Overall, 'The Rebound' is a delight to watch while, at the same time it presents some interesting issues regarding age and gender stereotype. It's a great date movie and something worth considering for a rainy day.

Suburban mom Sandy (Catherine Zeta-Jones) finds evidence of her husband Frank cheating on her son's birthday party video. She takes her 2 kids to live in the city while she's getting a divorce. She takes a fact checking job on a sport channel. She's compulsively organized and had spent all her spare time compiling sports data. Aram Finklestein (Justin Bartha) is 24 and still recovering from the breakup of his marriage to a French girl who only wanted him for a green card. He's working at a coffee shop but his aimless lifestyle concerns his parents. Sandy moves into the apartment above the coffee shop. He babysits her kids. She starts writing sports stories. He starts working as her nanny. Eventually they date. Only they're both on the rebound or are they?

Both Catherine and Justin are perfectly nice actors portraying perfectly nice characters. There isn't much in terms of hurdles other than their age difference. Catherine is so hot that her age doesn't necessarily matter at least to the audience. Written/directed by Bart Freundlich, the movie shows more competence than anything extraordinary. The romance is as predictable as it gets. The comedy has a couple of charming chuckles. This is a mildly amusing rom-com.