Up, Down and All Around

Rumor Has It

I never thought I'd be saying this, but I was disappointed by Rumor Has It.

Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had not been looking forward to it so much. I guess I had high expectations since I'm a Jennifer Aniston fan as well as a fan of Rob Reiner's previous movies.

*** Warning: spoilers below ***

Having said all that, here are the reasons why this movie failed to meet my expectations:

• I found it hard to empathize with the lead character. Sarah (Jennifer Aniston) had a lot of angst, which is fine, but I felt she was making too much of a big deal out of her situation. I couldn't bring myself to be very sympathetic whenever she wallowed in her self-doubts and theories.
• Scenes that were supposed to be funny weren't. There were several instances when I felt like the movie was building up to a punch line, but it didn't quite get to the point where it was actually funny. Case in point: that scene where Earl Huttinger (Richard Jenkins) was on the phone with Katharine Richelieu (Shirley MacLaine) while both Sarah (Jennifer Aniston) and Annie (Mena Suvari) were being distraught. This entire scene just felt off somehow... it was a scene just begging for a funny ending, and all we got was something rather sad.
  
• Character motivations weren't consistent. First, there's Annie, who went from ecstatic, gushing, and bubbly bride one day to having panic attacks the next. Then there's Grandma Katherine, who is a tough lady most of the movie, but reacts so violently when she and Beau (Kevin Costner) finally meet each other after all these years. I remember thinking -- What's up with that reaction? -- while watching that scene. Then there's Sarah's conviction throughout the movie that her diseased mother was unhappily married to her father for 10 years, only to be told by her father that they had been in love and happy. Well, gee... how am I supposed to believe that?
  
• The lead character does stupid things. My goodness, girl! You're engaged to be married to a great, supportive guy and what do you do? You go off and have a one-night-stand with a total stranger. And you justify it by saying "It meant nothing." Duh?!? How am I supposed to feel sorry for you when your fiance wants to call it quits?
• 'The Graduate' was just a blip in the background. Considering they hyped up the angle of "The Graduate" in the trailers, they really didn't do anything meaningful with it. It was used to generate interest in the movie more than anything else.

Overall, I really expected so much more given the cast, the director, and the the trailer.

But don't take my word for it. Watch it yourself and come to your own conclusions. :D

Tags: Movies

Posted by CF at 7:25 PM