Rumour Has It

In 1967, The Graduate - the story of how Benjamin Braddock was seduced by older woman Mrs. Robinson but then ran away with her daughter - was released to international acclaim. But rumours were rife that the story was based on a real life family living in Pasadena, California. Now, almost forty years on, Sarah (Aniston) suspects that the film was based on her family and that her fiery grandmother (MacLaine) is the real Mrs. Robinson. On the brink of a marriage she's not sure she wants, Sarah reunites with her family for the wedding of her younger sister (Mena Suvari) but is more concerned in tracking down the 'real' Benjamin (Costner), believing he is her biological father. Allaying Sarah's fears of her parenthood, Costner sets about wooing the impressionable Sarah. Does she choose the man who loves her or the man who slept with her mother AND her grandmother? What's a girl to do?

What seems now a long time ago, Rob Reiner made great comedies. From Spinal Tap to The Princess Bride to When Harry Met Sally, Reiner was on top form in the '80s with his quirky and witty movies. But that was twenty years ago now and, with Rumour Has It, Reiner finds himself aiming squarely for the middle of the road - and missing. Not entirely his fault, perhaps, as he only came on board when writer⁄director Ted Griffin was shown the door, but Reiner wasn't helped by a plot that looked bad on paper and worse on screen. His cast didn't help either. Aniston, relying heavily on her 'Rachelisms' to get the laughs, shows once again that she is no leading lady and cannot carry a film. Ruffalo hangs around until spoken to, and must do something fast or be forever condemned to light comedies like these. Costner does nothing to halt the tide of a drowning career and the only one who has fun is MacLaine, who seems to be the one member of cast who knows how ridiculous the plot is and hams it up accordingly. If old laughs like doors opening in faces, testicle jokes and getting caught in a toilet with a fat man (a cameo from Reiner himself) float your boat, then this is the best movie ever made. If you've any kind of common sense or taste, it's not.