Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Shirley MacLaine, Mark Ruffalo, Kevin Costner, Mena Suvari

Director: Rob Reiner

Summary: Travelling home to Pasadena, California for her sister's wedding, Sarah Huttinger learns some startling truths about her family and herself. Romantic comedy based on the 1967 classic THE GRADUATE.

With the romantic comedy RUMOUR HAS IT, director Rob Reiner (WHEN HARRY MET SALLY) attempts the tricky task of creating a film based on an already celebrated classic, 1967's THE GRADUATE. Starring Dustin Hoffman and based on a novel by Charlie Webb, the original film revolved around the love triangle between a recent college-graduate, his girlfriend, and her famously seductive mother. Here, Reiner casts a chain-smoking Shirley MacLaine as the supposed real-life inspiration for Mrs. Robinson, and Jennifer Aniston as her granddaughter. Set for the most part within the gossipy community of Pasadena, California, the film follows Sarah Huttinger (Aniston) and her fiance (Mark Ruffalo) as they travel home for her perky sister's (Mena Suvari) wedding. Having nothing in common with her family, Sarah is intrigued upon learning that she may actually be the secret love child of her deceased mother and Beau Borroughs (Kevin Costner), the man whose affairs with both Sarah's mother and grandmother supposedly inspired Charlie Webb, a classmate and friend of Beau, to write THE GRADUATE. From here, Sarah seeks out Beau, interested in him as a father-like figure and possibly more. Aniston brings a Rachel-like (FRIENDS) comic vibe to her character, frequently expressing her neuroses by talking to herself out loud in a sitcom-ish style. Costner is plenty capable in his role. Reiner's script veers away from the classic romantic comedy formula by keeping Ruffalo's character at the sidelines. Rather, RUMOUR HAS IT focuses on one woman's journey towards adulthood, self-realisation, and acceptance of her origins via a path that while strange seems to be family tradition.

WIN DVDs by rating this DVD

Average User Rating:

WIN DVDS by being amongst the first to review this DVD. Reviewing DVDs earns you bonus entries and lets you WIN DVDs!Please login before reviewing this DVD. If you're a new user, register for free and enter to WIN FREE DVDs!

Rumour Has Itbrings together several people whose film career could usefully use a jolt. Kevin Costner, the excellent and pretty much unseen The Upside Of Angeraside, is long in need of a hit. Director Rob Reiner is some distance away from the heights of his big successes such as When Harry Met Sallyand A Few Good Men. And the calibre of Jennifer Aniston's movie CV has her still mainly regarded as Rachel from Friends.

Sadly, Rumour Has Itdoes none of them any favours. It follows Aniston's quest to dig into her family history, believing as she does that her mother and grandmother inspired the book of The Graduate. It's a fun premise, yet the film does little with it. The script is lightweight, the humour is thin on the ground, and only good performances from Costner and the scene-stealing Shirley Maclaine lift it in any way.

As for Rob Reiner, he's very much a director for hire here. He's considerably far off his best work, and while Rumour Has Itisn't, ultimately, a poor film, it is an entirely unessential and sparse one. A waste of all the talents concerned, each of whom is easily capable of bettering this.--Simon Brew

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region B
Year:	2005
Release Date:	November 20, 2006
Runtime:	97 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B D 82950
Keywords:	English, Comedy, Graduate, Romantic, Rumour
Genre:	Comedy