For his next romcom, Hugh Grant has reunited with director Marc Lawrence to bring his foppish British charms to another light caper, The Rewrite. This collaborative duo are more prolific than you might think, having previously worked on Two Weeks Notice, Music and Lyrics and Did You Hear About the Morgans? Which leads to the inevitable question, will their next affair venture into new territory?
Ahead of its February release a new trailer has arrived online – so we can hazard a guess at how this might turn out. Keeping in the tradition of the roles he tackled in the aforementioned movies, Grant plays a stubborn, out-of-sorts type who rallies against ‘the man’ and pursues a woman who’s kooky and unorthodox (i.e. she’s probably got dreams.) This time he’s out-of-work screenwriter, Keith Michaels, who once won an award and has since fallen on his luck. So, when an opportunity arises to teach a screenwriting workshop, he leaps at the chance to reinvent himself.
Aside from the broad stroke comedy, The Rewrite makes use of its talented supporting cast – comedy aficionados J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney in particular – to deliver a dramedy that appears to lean more on the dramatic side of things. Grant is on top form as well, offering up his typical droll Englishman aboard schtick, that sits better on him now than it ever has.
Judging by this trailer, The Rewrite won’t break the mould, but it looks like quite an enjoyable ride, which, you can see for yourself when it opens in theaters, on VOD and on iTunes on February 13.
Once upon a time, Keith Michaels (Hugh Grant – About a Boy, Love Actually) was an Award-winning Hollywood screenwriter, but divorce and a string of unsuccessful films have left him with nothing but bad debts and blank pages. So when his agent arranges a job as guest screenwriting professor at a remote university in upstate New York, a desperate Keith can’t say no. Initially hoping to give minimal effort to actual teaching so he can focus on his next script, Keith unexpectedly finds himself becoming invested in his students lives, including Holly (Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler), a single mom looking to start her own new chapter. The Rewrite features an all-star cast, including J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), Allison Janney (“Mom”), Chris Elliott (Groundhog Day) and Bella Heathcote (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies).
