Grade: D+ (1.5/5 stars)
In case you’re wondering why Catherine Zeta-Jones hasn’t been in a movie since 2007’s “No Reservations,” well, she actually has. It just hasn’t hit the U.S. until now. Several delays, including its distributing studio shutting down, have kept “The Rebound” in release limbo since 2010, when it was originally scheduled to hit American theaters. With all that delay, one would expect maybe a little tweaking of the film to actually make it, you know, good.
Zeta-Jones plays Sandy, a recently divorced mother of two who moves from the suburbs to New York City. Here, she gets an apartment above the coffee shop where she befriends Aram (Justin Bartha) one of the workers. Aram, himself, is also recently divorced. Go figure!
Sandy hires Aram to be a nanny for her two very obnoxious children, while she tries to find another man in her life. All the dates with which she’s been set up ended up being disastrous. With nowhere else to turn, Sandy goes to Aram for comfort and soon, the two start to get romantically involved. Oh, how predictable.
Here’s the thing. Sandy is in her mid-40s, while Aram is about 25. Yes, that makes her a cougar, and that makes people look at her in shame. But, hey, she can have who she wants, right? Besides, what 20-something newly divorced (or single) guy wouldn’t want to have the chance to hook up with Zeta-Jones?
“The Rebound” relies way too heavily on bodily function jokes, especially during the babysitting scenes. The boy says he feels sick, and the sister keeps on pressuring him to puke until he does, and it gets all over the sister. Then it tries to go for the cutesy type of romantic comedy humor, and it becomes uneven. It’s just disgusting, predictable, and bland humor that makes the viewer feel awkward rather than wanting to laugh.
Zeta-Jones and Bartha are two very likable people, but their connection doesn’t seem to work here. The script by Bart Freundlich (who also directed) is very dry and devoid of any romantic pizzazz these two could have brought to the film.
In an embarrassing performance, Rob Kerkovich, who has kind of a Jon Heder look going here, plays Aram’s co-worker and only friend, Mitch. He’s an actor who always thinks about sex, talks out loud about sex while at work, and even dry humps a few things when people are visiting his shop. How not one person complains about his lewd behavior is almost implausible.
Freundlich also gives the film one of the most bizarre and obtuse endings by showing the characters where they are prior to the film calling it quits. He spans this scene over five years in a strange and unnecessary montage. I don’t see the problem with doing a quick jump to “Five Years Later.” It certainly would have eased the pain of the previous 75 minutes, and we would have only had to have sat through about half of the film’s remaining 20.
Now available to rent or own on DVD/Blu-ray. Chico residents can find this film at the nearest All the Best Video or Blockbuster.
David also writes as the National Boardwalk Empire Examiner and for We Got This Covered.
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