6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
An Oscar-winning writer in a slump leaves Hollywood to teach screenwriting at a college in the East.
Starring: Hugh Grant, Marisa Tomei, Bella Heathcote, J.K. Simmons, Chris ElliottRomance | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Rewrite is a romantic comedy with Hugh Grant, which has become such a recognizable brand that it's practically its own sub-genre. Whether in the stammering, bumbler mode that first endeared him to audiences in Four Weddings and a Funeral or as a full-on cad in Bridget Jones's Diary or About a Boy, Grant can't seem to stop playing emotionally challenged British men with a dry wit and a tendency to blurt out uncomfortable truths at the wrong moment. Even when portraying the Prime Minister in Love, Actually, he played the head of Britain's government as a Hugh Grant romantic lead. Despite occasional detours such as his shy parson in Sense and Sensibility (which becomes an inside joke in The Rewrite) or his upcoming turn as Mr. Waverly in Guy Ritchie's remake of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Grant has spent the last twenty years returning to romantic comedy like a homing pigeon. No writer/director has supported Grant more reliably than Marc Lawrence, who, with The Rewrite, has made his fourth Hugh Grant comedy. Their first two collaborations, Two Weeks Notice (2002) and Music & Lyrics (2007), were successful, thanks in part to pairings with Sandra Bullock and Drew Barrymore, respectively. Then came the 2009 disaster, Did You Hear About the Morgans?, which reunited Grant with Sarah Jessica Parker, his co-star from the 1996 drama, Extreme Measures. Few went to see it, and those who saw it didn't laugh. If one can accept the premise that romantic comedy occurs in a fairy tale world where nothing is real, then The Rewrite represents something of a return to form. The script is close to Lawrence's heart, since much of it is set (and was shot) on the campus of his alma mater, the State University of New York (or "SUNY") at Binghamton, a little known and rarely seen college in the vast regions of the Empire State that are usually ignored. Grant's character finds himself exiled there after discovering that he's too old for Hollywood—a theme that seems age-appropriate for a romantic comedy star in his mid-fifties. Returning to familiar ground seems to have inspired Lawrence, whose writing seems lighter and less forced than in some of his previous scripts. In a further sign of the entertainment industry's "it!" mentality, Grant takes second billing to recent Oscar winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), even though Simmons has only a supporting role. The fading star of Grant's character also echoes his own diminished stature, which probably explains why The Rewrite is being released by Image Entertainment, instead of Warner, whose Castle Rock Entertainment division was the film's lead producer.
The Rewrite was shot by cinematographer Jonathan Brown, a frequent collaborator of director Shawn Levy (The Internship). Specific information about the shooting format was not available, but post-production was completed on a digital intermediate, which, in today's DI suites, tends to erase much of the distinction between film and digital capture. The image on Image Entertainment's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, which was presumably derived by a direct digital path from the DI, has very good sharpness, clarity and detail, with a color palette that emphasizes cool blues and grays for most of the film under overcast skies in Binghamton. Even the opening in L.A., where the blues are darker and more saturated, seems chilly, reflecting Keith's situation in a town that no longer warms to him. Only toward the end of the film does the palette shift toward warmer tones, as both Keith's emotional temperature and the seasons improve. Noise, interference or artifacts were not an issue. Image has mastered The Rewrite at an average bitrate of 29.99 Mbps, which is excellent for this type of material.
There is nothing showy about The Rewrite's 5.1 track, encoded on Blu-ray in lossless DTS-HD MA. It provides a general sense of ambiance for the film's various environments, but dialogue remains the primary focus, and it is clearly and cleanly rendered. Musician Clyde Lawrence, the director's son, has contributed to several of his father's previous films, but this is his first feature-length film score, and it captures the tone nicely.
For all his efforts and the occasional big hit like Notting Hill, Grant has yet to surpass the romantic comedy that first put him on the map, which was Four Weddings and a Funeral. If only he would make more of an effort at serious drama, where he has proven surprisingly adept when matched with the right script and director. In the meantime, fans of both Grant and romantic comedy should find The Rewrite a minor but reasonably satisfying entry in a genre that the major studios have largely abandoned (and no longer do well). Mildly recommended.
1987
2018
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2015
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2006
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1937
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1948
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1934
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1973
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