Blu-ray Review: The Rewrite

The Rewrite

Director: Marc Lawerence

Starring: Hugh Grant, Marisa Tomei, Bella Heathcote, J.K. Simmons, Chris Elliot

Studio: Image Entertainment

Release Date: March 31, 2015

Retail: $29.97

ASIN: B00RDCMR9U

Runing Time: 107 minutes

Rated: Not Rated

Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Now available to own on DVD & Bluu-ray from Image Entertainment is The Rewrite. Directed by Marc Lawerence (Music & Lyrics and Two Weeks Notice), the film stars High Grant, Marisa Tomei, Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows), J.K. Simmons, Chris Elliott and Alison Janney.Special Features include The Making of "The Rewrite" and deleted scenes.

The Rewrite centers on a washed-up screenwriter, Keith Michaels (played by High Grant), who has had a rough time trying to write a decent script ever since he won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay in 1998. He's now divorced and is estranged from his son, which he hasn't been in contact with in quite some time. All of his new movie pitches keep getting rejected and his bank account is almost empty.

His agent recommends that he takes a teaching job at Binghamton University in upstate New York. Teaching is the one thing that he has never wanted to do, but until he can come up with a great idea for a new script, he is stuck with this new job.

Upon arriving, Keith meets Dr. Lerner (played by J.K. Simmons), who informs him that he'll have to be choose which students he wants to participate in his screenwriting classes and of course he mostly picks out the cute, young female students, including Karen (played by Bella Heathcote), whom he slept with the night before.

For the first several weeks, he just steps into the classroom and dismisses everyone for the day, but this catches the attention of one of the universities advisers, Mary Weldon (played by Allison Janney). So he has to actually teach the students, which he slowly starts to enjoy.

Eventually, he lets a middle-age single mother, Holly Carpenter (played by Marisa Tomei), into the class and his life starts to change for the better.

It's been awhile since I've seen a Hugh Grant vehicle; actually I believe the last movie was Music & Lyrics, which was also directed by Marc Lawerence. The Rewrite isn't your typical romantic-comedy, as it's more of coming-of-age story about a middle-age man; if that makes any sense to anyone that hasn't seen the film. The entire cast does a pretty good job in their roles. Overall, The Rewrite is a likeable romantic-comedy (more like a drama) that is worth seeing on Blu-ray.