A sweet & light romantic flick.

Grade: B+

The Rebound

Indian Release Date: 06/11/09
CBFC Classification:  A
Running Length: 1 Hour 35 Minutes

Cast: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Justin Bartha, Andrew Cherry, Kelly Gould, Rob Kerkovich, Sam Robards, Kate Jennings Grant, Art Garfunkel, Joanna Gleason
Director: Bart Freundlich
Screenplay: Bart Freundlich
Cinematography: Jonathan Freeman
Music: Jim Black

The clichéd adage “Never judge a book by its cover” holds very true in the case of Catherine Zeta-Jones latest ‘The Rebound’ which is releasing in India even before an American release date has been set. From the posters that I saw it looked like one of those pedestrian romantic comedies being churned by Hollywood with almost a mechanical precision lately, I barely expected anything, but I was in for quite a pleasant surprise.

Sandy (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is newly divorced forty year old with two kids & has moved to the city from the suburbs. She has just started her life afresh so after getting a new house & a new job, her friend suggests jumping into a quick relationship to get her mind off the messy divorce. She does date a few men who aren’t really too different from what her husband was but the one whom she slowly starts falling for is the 25 year old Aram (Justin Bartha). Aram too has been nursing a broken heart over his French wife who married him just to get a green card & then left him for another guy. He’s the kind who wouldn’t want to ruin his ex-wife’s chances of getting a green card by divorcing her because he just doesn’t see the point in hurting her & extracting revenge, he’s a real softie. In spite of having plenty high paying job offers Aram chooses to work at a coffee shop to get over the emotionally stagnant period in his life & when asked to by Sandy to babysit her kids, he reluctantly agrees. Aram grows attached to the kids & vice-versa, while Sandy gains back her confidence at work & when he provides her enough nerve to unleash her long over-due tirade against her ex-husband, their relationship is more or less sealed. Aram provides all the unrequited love she ever wanted but never got from her ex-husband & she provides Aram the family life he so desperately fantasized about with his ex-wife and never got. But as time passes, the question arises in Sandy’s head, is the entire relationship a rebound?     

The movie has an almost infectious ‘feel-good’ factor about it which never seems fabricated but rather natural. It doesn’t have the best writing or the most interesting characters but what it does well is to create a simple yet affectionate tale about two people in love which pulls in the audience effectively. Giving the characters a semblance of normalcy grounds them & makes it easier for the audience to identify with them. Plus their bond is given a natural time to grow which keeps us invested in the characters even when an unconvincing plot device is brought in to break the relationship towards the ending.   

The humor & romance ratio is competently balanced such that they complement each other rather than existing as two distinct entities in the same film. The usual over the-top-antics & forced comic gags are thankfully toned down. The shenanigans of Sandy’s kids are some of the funniest bits of the movie.  

Catherine Zeta-Jones looks ravishing & gives a splendid performance. She literally has a torrent of emotions brewing inside her. Her sometimes vulnerable & insecure demeanor conceals a dormant anger waiting to burst out. It’s fueled by her unexpressed feelings in regards to her ex-husband’s infidelity & the scenes where she does let go are admirably acted. Even when she does fall in love with Justin Bartha’s character, her acting perfectly reflects how deeply she adores him & is grateful for having him in her life yet she has a constantly lingering insecurity about their huge age gap. Justin Bartha plays a quiet yet confident character who in a few ways reminded me of John Cusack’s role in Say Anything (1989). He’s a perfect foil to most of the more humorous characters like the kids & his worrisome yet eccentric parents much like he was in his limited role in The Hangover (2009) as Doug. Rob Kerkovich plays staple the lead man’s comic friend role & has one pretty funny part in a theatre group performing a scene from Top Gun (1986). The two kids Andrew Cherry & Kelly Gould are an absolute blast. If you can identify him, music legend Art Garfunkel plays Aram’s father.

Be warned, if a glossy & bubble-gum love story is what you desire then you may not enjoy this, because its “magic” moments are far more subdued than the flights of fantasy that they we have grown accustomed to in movies lately. Even with a weaker plot in the last twenty minutes, the movie is bolstered by the fine chemistry displayed by the two leads which helps it coast through admirably & is sure to leave you with a smile on your face.

Final Verdict: Don’t be fooled by the lackluster marketing campaign, watch this adorable little gem of a movie.

Grade: B+

 

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