Novidades no Amor

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.

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.

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.

Every movie has its specific set of audience, and this one too has a particular set. It is a sensitive but sexy movie about a woman in her forties and her post-divorce encounters with different feelings like hatred, low self-esteem, domestic problems and her personal life. Amidst all the things going wrong with a woman who is in a situation where she had been cheated by her husband, she finds something which perhaps is the most important thing in this world, "Friendship". Catherine Zeta Jones looks lovely throughout. I literally fell in love with her after watching the movie. Not just because she is beautiful but the emotions portrayed by her are extremely believable and life like. She portrays the role presented to her with perfection and looks plausible as a single mother raising two kids. Moreover, No matter what others say, I feel the chemistry between her and Justin Bartha (The Hangover Groom), if not tremendously magical, was just right for the movie. The movie is never uninteresting and did keep me glued to the screen. It makes you smile in places with some witty and amusing scenes and also imparts some wisdom about life and any relationship. I wouldn't say that it is something worth not missing but if you are a planning on watching it, I guarantee you that your ninety minutes would not be wasted.

This is one of the best romantic comedies I have seen in years. I went to see this with a friend of mine who's in his upper thirties and I'm in my mid twenties and we both laughed so hard. There's none of the commercial, fake feel some romantic comedies have, or the ones that try to be funny and are not, this is a daring romantic comedy, really in tune with our times that breaks with some stereotypes.

Great acting, both by the adults and the kids (you can't help falling in love with Justin Bartha and this is some of the best performances I've seen from Catherine Zeta Jones, like a million times better than Intolerable Cruelty), interesting storyline, nice imagery of New York City and a movie I want to see again!

I hope it gets a wide release soon.