Rumor Has It... (DVD)

I was not a fan of Rumor Has It when I saw it back in December. While there are some good ideas to be found in Ted (billed here as "T.M.") Griffin's screenplay, this labored "what if?" scenario just isn't very funny. Rob Reiner, brought on board after the writer-director was dismissed, apparently drained the humor out of the piece showing none of the touch or delicacy he brought to classics like The Princess Bride or When Harry Met Sally.... Even with spirited and witty performances by both Shirley MacLaine and Kevin Costner, the whole thing was about as winning and wonderful as being force-fed a bar of soap, and for anyone who has ever had that happen you know just how wondrous that particular experience really is.

Too bad, because the idea behind this movie is a good one, and for the life of me I can't figure out how the filmmakers mucked it up so badly.

Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston), on the eve of her sister's (Mena Suvari) wedding, discovers her family might be the inspiration for both the book and film versions of The Graduate. With wary backing from her fiancé Jeff (Mark Ruffalo) she sets out to find reclusive Internet entrepreneur Beau Burroughs (Costner). This man apparently slept with her grandmother Katharine Richelieu (MacLaine) and her deceased mother, but, in the ultimate irony, he just might be her real father and this thought is driving Sarah perfectly mad. Through it all the woman learns all about her family's sordid past and comes to grips with her own insecurities, all the while trying to figure out if mild-mannered Jeff is the man she really wants to marry.

Aniston is all wrong for this movie. She spends every moment with a hangdog look of moody indecision that becomes tiresome fast. Suvari is worse, and while she's thankfully in this for only a few fleeting moments these scenes are still enough to give a viewer an immediate headache. Worst of all, Reiner and company have drained every last witticism out of Griffin's screenplay, the flick so repetitive, dull and visually inert it could probably serve as a textbook example of how not to make a romantic comedy. Pros MacLaine and Costner provide the only energy this thing has, each so good, their characters so intriguing, I imagine watching a movie about the two of them would be far more fun than this box office and critical disaster ever could have dreamed of being.

Needless to say, Warner Bros. DVD of Rumor Has It is as bare-bones as they come. Released in both Full Screen and Widescreen editions, the only special feature is the picture's original theatrical trailer. While sound and picture quality are both excellent, those hoping for an audio commentary, or even a brief documentary that could explain the reasons behind the directorial shift from Griffin to Reiner, will be sorely disappointed. While multiple theories abound for his dismissal (depending on who you want to believe Aniston, MacLaine, Costner and the studio have all been blamed at one time or another for his leaving the project) those answers certainly aren't going to be found here.

Pity, because that mystery is far more interesting (and potentially more entertaining) than anything going on in the film itself. Rumor Has It isn't good, not by a long shot, and with no kind of supplements to make it a bit more appealing the DVD isn't worth the price of a rental let alone a purchase. For fans of the stars jonesing for a fix my advice is simple: Go see Friends with Money (Aniston fanatics), rent In Her Shoes (MacLaine aficionados), buy The Upside of Anger (Costner junkies) and leave this disaster alone.