Movie Review: The Rewrite

 

Movie Review: “The Rewrite”

Reviewed by Gerti 

A movie that has gotten no attention but deserves a look, at least by Hugh Grant fans, is “The Rewrite.” Grant stars as Keith Michaels, a Hollywood screen writer who has fallen on hard times. His desperate agent has finally gotten him a job teaching screen writing at a college in Binghamton, New York. But Michaels nearly ruins that as well, first by sleeping with a co-ed (even before he teaches a single class), and then by insulting another teacher from the English Department. Allison Janney does a great job playing an old maid, Jane Austen-loving professor. She also serves on the college ethics committee, which soon gets wind of Michaels’ affair with the student.

For his second strike, Michaels has never read the 70 screenplays which were submitted by students to gain entry into his class. He simply checked on the school web site and chose the students in his class based on their looks. So he has a bevy of beauty queens in his class, and 2 nerds. And yes, the teacher on the ethics committee figures this little trick out, too, and is none too pleased.

Among these female students is Marisa Tomei, who plays Holly, a single mother of 2 girls who is trying to get a second chance by going back to college. How she manages her time is the most fictional aspect of the story, as she works 2 jobs, one at the school book store and another at a fancy restaurant, to pay for school. With going to classes and sleeping, I’d be surprised if she had any time to see her kids! But she is a bold lady, and shames Michaels into actually reading her screen play, and their interaction thaws his heart. After a few classes (he’s been forced to meet with his students more than once a month) he is interacting with all of them, and actually trying to teach them something about writing.

Wonder of wonders, one of the male students is actually a gifted writer, and turns in a screen play that Michaels sends on to his Hollywood agent. Ironically, the same studio execs who rejected his recent works are thrilled by the modern take on story telling Michaels’ student has. Michaels is also instrumental in helping the other nerdy male student who has been hazed and practically killed while trying to join a fraternity. Michaels stays with him in the hospital until his parents arrive. Witnessing this act of humanity, the female student who was going to bring charges against him for sexual harassment changes her mind, as does the ethics-loving Jane Austen professor.

All right. So I know there is something wrong with a teacher who hits on his students, but Hugh Grant is charming here (as always), and he does break the relationship off as soon as he realizes the school doesn’t allow such a thing. His relationship with Tomei also blossoms (ah, a relationship with an age-appropriate woman!) so his evolution as a man and a teacher is complete. The overall affect, thanks to good writing and charming actors, is a delight. “The Rewrite” is a quirky, heart-warming film on the order of Grant’s “Two Week’s Notice.”