movie review rumor has it

The Switched Family Robinson

Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Aniston in "Rumor Has It."

Now here is a curious thing. When I see Jennifer Aniston playing any halfway ordinary character, I have the same reaction: Hey, a friend of mine has somehow gotten into the same movie with all of those stars. I’ve never actually met Aniston, although once at Sundance I saw paparazzi fight to photograph her with Brad Pitt , in response to a tragic shortage of pictures showing them together. Most of these photos later appeared on the covers of gossip mags with the couple torn in two by a jagged line and Angelina Jolie leering over the bar code, but none of that has anything to do with how I feel when I see Aniston in a movie. It’s the damnedest thing. I don’t ever want to meet her, because then I might lose her as a friend.

In “Rumor Has It,” she plays a character named Sarah Huttinger, who unless she is vigilant may become the third woman in her family to sleep with Benjamin Braddock — you remember, the Dustin Hoffman character in “ The Graduate .” This of course is all based on rumor. In Pasadena, the movie explains, everyone knew the real Charlie Webb, who wrote the novel The Graduate , and rumor has it that he based his book on real people who really lived in Pasadena. There really was a bride who ran away with this guy three days before her wedding, and the guy had earlier slept with her mother, who was the original Mrs. Robinson, and so on.

Now another generation has passed. Sarah’s mother was the original of Elaine Robinson, and a guy named Beau Burroughs ( Kevin Costner ) was the original Benjamin Braddock, and the original Mrs. Robinson was therefore of course Sarah’s grandmother. Can you believe Shirley MacLaine as the original Mrs. Robinson? I can, with no trouble at all.

I could also have believed Anne Bancroft . Sigh. The movie was directed by Rob Reiner , a friend of Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks since he was a child, and at first I wondered if perhaps the role was intended for her before she’d become ill. But no: In the film’s logic, the characters have seen the 1967 movie with Bancroft and Hoffman, and discuss it. It wouldn’t make sense for the “real” Mrs. Robinson to be played by the same actress who played the fictional character.

The plot, written by Ted Griffin , sounds like a gimmick. That’s because it is a gimmick. But it’s a good gimmick. And “Rumor Has It” works for good reasons, including sound construction and the presence of Kevin Costner, who is posted sturdily at the balance point between Mrs. Robinson and her granddaughter. We can see him with either one. In fact, at times we seem about to.

As the film opens, Sarah (Aniston) is engaged to marry Jeff ( Mark Ruffalo ), but they are keeping their engagement a secret until after the wedding of Sarah’s sister Annie ( Mena Suvari ). In “reality,” we learn, the original Elaine dumped Benjamin, came back to Pasadena, married Earl ( Richard Jenkins ), had Sarah and Annie, and then died, which is a neat touch, because it sidesteps the Idiot Plot (if their mom is dead, she can’t tell them what really happened).

Jeff hears the rumors in Pasadena, does the math, and suggests to Sarah that it’s possible she was conceived during the three days her mother ran away with Beau. Obsessed with learning the truth, she tracks down Beau, who is a San Francisco dot.com millionaire, and finds herself attracted to him as a possible dad — and more than a dad, if you see what I mean. Beau is a very attractive guy, but if he’s her real father, then that would mean, like, yeechh! Try it out loud.

It’s for the movie to reveal who does (or doesn’t) do what, and with which, and to whom. I will observe that Costner has quietly been reminding us in recent roles (“ Open Range ,” “ The Upside of Anger “) that when he doesn’t play characters who stride astraddle the Apocalypse, he is a natural actor with enormous appeal. Mark Ruffalo has a good line in heartfelt sincerity, Richard Jenkins can turn on a dime as good pop/bad pop, and Shirley MacLaine plays Mrs. Robinson by just acting naturally.

This is not a great movie, but it’s very watchable and has some good laughs. The casting of Aniston is crucial, because she’s the heroine of this story, and the way it’s put together there’s danger of her becoming the shuttlecock. Aniston has the presence to pull it off. She has to maybe scuttle her sister’s wedding and her own, maybe abandon the guy who loves her, maybe break her official father’s heart, maybe (yeechh!) sleep with her (maybe) real dad, yet always retain our sympathy. Well, of course she does. She’s one of my closest friends.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

Jennifer Aniston as Sarah Huttinger
Shirley MacLaine as Grandma Catherine
Mark Ruffalo as Jeff
Kevin Costner as Beau Burroughs
Mena Suvari as Annie
Richard Jenkins as Earl Huttinger

Directed by

Ted Griffin

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Rumor Has It ... Reviews

And, as Jeff rather drolly notes, she manages to "make this sound like a police investigation", rather than a comedy...

Full Review | Aug 4, 2022

Rumor Has It... has the laughs and the cast to pull it off.

Full Review | Feb 6, 2022

...fares best in its briskly-paced and thoroughly entertaining first half...

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 12, 2021

Rumour had it that this was rubbish, and so it is.

Full Review | Feb 12, 2020

A romantic comedy with all the excitement of an AARP magazine cover story and negligible chemistry between Aniston and Costner. Given talk of infertility, let it be said "Rumor" is a series of rocky places in which comedy's seed can find no purchase.

Full Review | Original Score: .5/4 | Oct 8, 2010

Full Review | Original Score: 0/5 | Sep 8, 2007

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 14, 2007

Lacks depth.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Apr 23, 2007

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 30, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Nov 24, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 10, 2006

The movie shines when allowing the characters to just exist in their world together, without the forced and tired romantic comedy plot weighing on them.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 2, 2006

Rumor has it that Rob Reiner used to make really funny, often moving films. I have no doubt he will do so again.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | May 11, 2006

A lightweight Jennifer Aniston vehicle that's been rumored to pass for a feature film.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | May 6, 2006

As glazed and cooked as a Christmas ham.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | May 4, 2006

A pleasant little screwball comedy with some clever dialogue.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Feb 25, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Feb 11, 2006

Com o objetivo de conferir mais dinamismo e graa histria, Rob Reiner impregna o filme com um ar de artificialidade que boicota seus propsitos.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 27, 2006

It's a good thing that Jennifer Aniston is one of Hollywood's most likeable actresses because her character does some pretty unforgivable things here. Ruffalo, at least, gets to properly shout at her about it before the end, but that's not really enough.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 26, 2006

Rarely does a movie come with a homework assignment. Take it from me, though: Rumor Has It is a lot more fun if you've seen The Graduate.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 19, 2006

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DVD & Streaming

Rumor Has It…

Comedy , Drama

Content Caution

In Theaters

Jennifer Aniston as Sarah Huttinger; Kevin Costner as Beau Borroughs; Shirley MacLaine as Katherine Richelieu; Mark Ruffalo as Jeff Daly; Mena Suvari as Annie Huttinger

Home Release Date

Distributor.

Warner Bros.

Movie Review

Imagine that Charles Webb’s 1963 novel The Graduate was based on a true story involving a well-to-do Pasadena, Calif., family. Imagine that the famous Dustin Hoffman movie based on the book sprang from the actual experience of a confused young man seduced by an older, married women. Then suppose that young man did indeed fall for the woman’s engaged daughter but, in a departure from the established story, the daughter chose to go through with her marriage instead of running off with the film’s hero. Such imagining is what the writers of Rumor Has It… have done, opening their film with the caption, “Based on a True Rumor.”

Since the death of her mom when she was just 9, Sarah Huttinger has never really felt like she fit with her country club family. She dreads her sister Annie’s wedding, because it means bringing her new fiancé back home with her to Pasadena. She knows she loves Jeff, but she’s afraid of settling down and making a mistake. Her sarcastic grandmother, Katherine, suggests it runs in their family, letting slip that Sarah’s mom got cold feet before marrying her dad and ran off to Mexico with some guy.

Realizing she was conceived just before her parents’ wedding, Sarah worries that “guy” might be her real dad and sets out to find him. Eventually, she uncovers the truth: Her grandmother is Mrs. Robinson, and her mom’s pre-wedding affair was with Beau Borroughs, the inspiration for The Graduate ‘s protagonist. But is he her father? If not, should she sleep with him?

Positive Elements

Premarital and adulterous sex choke the family’s history, but the value of marriage is eventually upheld. Several characters describe the benefit of making a commitment to spend your life with someone you truly enjoy and care about, even if the relationship lacks the magical excitement and perfect happiness so many people expect marriage to bring. Sarah’s dad affirms that he and her mom shared a very loving marriage, in spite of her premarital affair, because of just such a commitment and a lot of forgiveness.

Speaking of clemency, a deeply hurtful betrayal is forgiven onscreen. And several characters make the choice to let go of unrealistic romantic expectations and commit themselves to healthy, married relationships.

Spiritual Elements

Annie’s wedding takes place in a church, and we overhear a brief homily on the nature of marriage. Sarah wonders if priests are allowed to watch TV as she looks for a way to view a tape of The Graduate in the church. In describing his history, Beau states that he “did a lot of drugs and joined a [Hindu] ashram” before learning to be “present in every moment.”

Sexual & Romantic Content

Sex is one of the movie’s central themes. A couple begins an attempt in an airplane bathroom before they both lose interest. (Nothing explicit is shown.) Sarah wears a small nightgown on a visit to Jeff’s room in her dad’s house, but she ignores his advances. When Sarah finds Beau—the man who slept with her grandmother and her mother and may, indeed, be her biological father—she asks if he wore a condom with her mom and much is made of the fact that he is sterile as the result of a high school trauma.

After a drunken night on the town with the much older Beau that involves kissing and dancing, Sarah wakes up naked in his bed the next morning. The camera glimpses her back and most of the side of her breast as she dons a robe. When Beau’s sterility is later called into question, Sarah freaks out saying, “I had sex with my father” and, “We are sick, sick people.” But he insists it isn’t so, and they resume their passionate kissing. Through a translucent wall, Sarah is viewed showering.

Violent Content

Beau describes the moment in a high school soccer game in which a player “kicked the wrong ball.” Jeff recalls a painful childhood car accident that cracked his head open.

Crude or Profane Language

In addition to about five uses of Jesus’ and God’s names for swearing, profanity includes a few s-words, vulgar slang for sexual anatomy and a handful of milder profanities. Sarah’s colorful grandmother, the inspiration for Mrs. Robinson, provides most of the crude content. She grabs her own crotch and a young dance partner’s buns.

Drug & Alcohol Content

Sarah’s grandmother smokes and drinks heavily throughout the story—in a manner reminiscent of Anne Bancroft’s Mrs. Robinson—and nearly everyone in the cast drinks at parties, weddings, dinners and while hanging out. Sarah and Beau get drunk together.

Other Noteworthy Elements

While Rumor Has It… might earn points for its unique concept, it loses most of them for execution. Once Sarah puts all the pieces together connecting her family to The Graduate , the movie tumbles into an oddly disconnected relationship drama.

A big part of the problem is that nearly all the characters grow less likable the more we get to know them. In spite of her obvious mommy-hunger, Sarah’s indecisiveness and fumbled choices slide from endearing to exasperating. Once jilted, Jeff turns into a pouting whiner, drawing a big unintentional laugh when comparing his emotional pain to a childhood car accident. Shirley MacLaine’s grumpy grandma gig wears thinner in the last act. And Kevin Costner’s charms feel sleazier the longer we’re given to ponder his choice to bed a much younger woman who also happens to be the daughter and granddaughter of past conquests.

In fact, trampling the film’s final positive messages about the need for forgiveness and commitment to make a loving marriage work, it’s the ick-factor of Beau’s quasi-incestuous multi-generational affairs that lingers as the credits roll.

Christopher Lyon

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Rumor Has It…

As muddled in most respects as its title, "Rumor Has It... " begins with an intriguing premise -- a young woman discovering that her mother and grandmother provided inspiration for the novel-turned-film classic "The Graduate" -- but it devolves into a bland romance spiced with too little comedy.

By Brian Lowry

Brian Lowry

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As muddled in most respects as its title, “Rumor Has It… ” begins with an intriguing premise — a young woman discovering that her mother and grandmother provided inspiration for the novel-turned-film classic “ The Graduate ” — but it devolves into a bland romance spiced with too little comedy. The one grand spark comes from Shirley MacLaine as the salty, boozing incarnation of Mrs. Robinson, but an older crowd curious about the nostalgic hook will be disappointed with the other aspects of the pic, while undemanding young femmes more likely to buy into the underlying true-love-versus-settling scenario could be a tough sell. Facing those obstacles, this “Rumor” should pass quickly.

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Pic started out as the helming debut of scribe Ted Griffin , who still gets writing credit, but he was replaced behind the camera early in the shoot by Rob Reiner. In any event, some of the deficiencies appear to stem from what didn’t make the final cut. Vital story elements — beginning with why the protagonist is so disenchanted with her life as a newspaper obit and wedding writer — are missing. In this case, with a 97-minute run time, a little more might actually have been more.

Popular on Variety

Billed as being “based on a true rumor,” pic opens with a preamble about old-money Los Angeles’ suburb Pasadena and how “The Graduate” was legendarily drawn from real events involving a 21-year-old man who was seduced by a 42-year-old woman, only to later indulge in a fling with her soon-to-be-married daughter. In this telling, though, the girl returned and married her fiance, instead of running off with her paramour.

Flash forward to 1997 (chosen rather arbitrarily to establish the requisite spacing from “The Graduate’s” 1963 publication), and Sarah (Jennifer Aniston) is traveling with her own fiance, Jeff (Mark Ruffalo), from New York to Pasadena for her sister’s wedding.

Alas, coming home stresses Sarah out, since she always feels out of step with her bubbly sister (Mena Suvari, in what amounts to an extended cameo) and laid-back dad (“Six Feet Under’s” Richard Jenkins). It’s only when her tippling grandma Katharine (MacLaine) begins spilling the beans about Sarah’s late mom that a thought dawns on her: Maybe she isn’t related to these people, but rather the love child her mom spawned on a reckless, pre-wedding excursion to Cabo.

At this point Sarah turns amateur sleuth, seeking out a friend of her mother’s (an uncredited Kathy Bates) and then tracking down her mom’s lover, Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner), whose initials even match those of Dustin Hoffman’s character in “The Graduate.”

Beau turns out to be a dreamy tech mogul, and once concerns about him being dad are dispatched, Beau and Sarah quickly segue from a few too many beers into an unlikely third-generation romance. (This might threaten to give too much away were it not all revealed, somewhat unfortunately, in the movie’s trailer.)

Suddenly, Sarah faces her mother’s dilemma: A safe but not terribly exciting marriage (after all, Jeff won’t even have sex in an airplane bathroom), or fleeing into the arms of the new (or rather, old) Beau.

There’s a germ of an idea here, but Reiner and Griffin race through the plot beats so rapidly that poor Sarah seldom has time to breathe, which also describes the movie. As such, Aniston comes off her femme fatale experiment in “Derailed” with a more comfortable version of her “Friends” persona, but other than showcasing an impressive array of frocks, she never settles down enough to offer more than a shrill whine and pained expression.

The earlier time frame feels equally rushed, dealt with via a series of off-hand comments about the prospects of the AOL-Time Warner merger or chatter regarding the Internet. Again, if these areas are going to receive such short comedic shrift, why even bother?

Costner brings a breezy charm to his crucial if relatively modest role (he doesn’t show up for 35 minutes or so), though there’s something vaguely creepy about how quickly things move from “Are you my dad?” to “Where are my clothes?” Moreover, the movie’s take-away message feels unconvincing, perhaps because so little foundation is laid in creating worthwhile relationships.

“Rumor Has It…” fares somewhat better on a technical level, as the manicured lawns and lavish parties evoke mild memories of “The Graduate,” along with its notion of secrets and betrayals lurking beneath the meticulous landscaping of suburbia.

Still, production design only goes so far, and when Katharine snarls, “You want more out of life? Get in line, kid,” an alternative version of that admonition applies to the film — that is, if you want more out of movies, perhaps it’s best to avoid this line.

Production: A Warner Bros. release presented in association with Village Roadshow Pictures of a Section Eight/Spring Creek production. Produced by Paula Weinstein, Ben Cosgrove. Executive producers, George Clooney, Steven Soderbergh, Jennifer Fox, Michael Rachmil, Len Amato, Robert Kirby, Bruce Berman. Co-producer, Frank Capra III. Directed by Rob Reiner. Screenplay, T.M. Griffin.
Crew: Camera (Technicolor), Peter Deming; editor, Robert Leighton; music, Marc Shaiman; music supervisor, Chris Douridas; production designer, Tom Sanders; art director, Thomas P. Wilkins; set decorator, Jay R. Hart; costume designer, Kym Barrett; sound (Dolby Digital/DTS/SDDS), Steve Cantamessa; supervising sound editor, Lon Bender; visual effects supervisor, Eric Durst; assistant directors, Capra, Mike Topoozian; casting, Jane Jenkins, Janet Hirshenson. Reviewed at the Warner Bros. studios, Burbank, Dec. 7, 2005. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 97 MIN.
With: Sarah Huttinger - Jennifer Aniston Beau Burroughs - Kevin Costner Katherine Richelieu - Shirley MacLaine Jeff Daly - Mark Ruffalo Earl Huttinger - Richard Jenkins Roger McManus - Christopher McDonald Scott - Steve Sandvoss Annie Huttinger - Mena Suvari

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Rumor has it....

Common Sense Says
Parents Say 5 Reviews
Kids Say 10 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

By Cynthia Fuchs , based on child development research. How do we rate?

Awkward, unfunny, and not meant for kids.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this film's premise has a young woman sleeping with a man whom she believes might be her father. Though he insists this is physically impossible, she worries about it more than once. Characters drink and smoke repeatedly (stereotypical signs of decadence).

Why Age 15+?

Much smoking by grandmother; sex initiated by two drunk characters; social drink

Grandmother repeatedly uses bad language (" bastard, "d--k '"

Awkward, inappropriate, ill-advised sexual situations (a young woman sleeps with

Any Positive Content?

Newly enaged woman seeks out man she thinks might be her father, and sleeps with

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Much smoking by grandmother; sex initiated by two drunk characters; social drinking by everyone, wih specific referencs to vodka and other liquors.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Grandmother repeatedly uses bad language (" bastard, "d--k '" ," f-word).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Awkward, inappropriate, ill-advised sexual situations (a young woman sleeps with someone she initially thinks might be her father); crude remarks by her grandmother; references to condoms and " testicular trauma."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Newly enaged woman seeks out man she thinks might be her father, and sleeps with him (he also slept with her mother and grandmother).

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

Parents say (5)
Kids say (10)

Based on 5 parent reviews

Welcome to a materialistic, morally bankrupt world

Sick demented demoralizing perversion, what's the story.

RUMOR HAS IT... follows the romantic travails of writer Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston). Feeling like she doesn't "fit," she thinks her family is the source for The Graduate , she seeks the man who slept with her mother and grandmother, imagining he might be her father. The occasion for her search is her sister Annie's (Mena Suvari) wedding, for which Sarah and her fiancé Jeff (Mark Ruffalo) fly from New York to Pasadena. Sarah finds the model for Benjamin Braddock, Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner). Now an internet millionaire, he assures her that he can't be her dad (as he suffered "blunt testicular trauma" during a soccer game 39 years ago), and they promptly get drunk and sleep together. Proclaiming that he's enchanted by his single "pretty spectacular" night with Sarah – Beau pursues her to Pasadena.

Is It Any Good?

Rumor Has It... is awkward and unfunny. While Sarah's grandmother, the chain-smoking, haughty Katherine Richelieu (Shirley MacLaine), offers comic moments, the movie pretty much abandons her once Sarah finds the model for Benjamin Braddock. Never thinking just to ask her father, Earl (Richard Jenkins), about her dead mother's past, Sarah instead imagines her mom was happiest with this other man, as they spent a weekend in Mexico just before her marriage to Earl.

The film perks up briefly when Beau heads to Pasadena, where he encounters Katherine. Unimaginatively accompanied by Ennio Morricone's spaghetti Western theme, she stalks out to confront her erstwhile lover, and then, pfft. The film retreats from this sparky relationship, so full of raw resentment and regrets, to refocus on the terminally dull Sarah.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Sarah's consistently bad decisions concerning her fiancé, her family, and her one-night stand. Though she says she's "scared," how does her "search for herself" end up hurting other people? How would Sarah's entire situation be different if only she had talked with her father first ?

Movie Details

In theaters : December 25, 2005
On DVD or streaming : May 9, 2006
Cast : Jennifer Aniston , Kevin Costner , Shirley MacLaine
Director : Rob Reiner
Inclusion Information : Female actors
Studio : Warner Bros.
Genre : Comedy
Run time : 96 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : mature thematic material, sexual content, crude humor and a drug reference.
Last updated : March 6, 2024

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Rumor Has It... (2005)

Welcome to Vibes, TMDB's new rating system! For more information, visit the contribution bible .

Play Trailer

Based on a true rumor

Sarah Huttinger's return home with her fiance convinces her that the sedate, proper, country-club lifestyle of her family isn't for her – and that maybe the Huttinger family isn't even hers – as she uncovers secrets that suggest the Huttingers are neither sedate nor proper.

Ted Griffin

Top Billed Cast

Jennifer Aniston

Sarah Huttinger

Kevin Costner

Beau Burroughs

Shirley MacLaine

Katharine Richelieu

Mark Ruffalo

Richard Jenkins

Earl Huttinger

Christopher McDonald

Roger McManus

Steve Sandvoss

Mena Suvari

Annie Huttinger

Blake Burroughs

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Budget $70,000,000.00

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Review: rumor has it….

This “based on a true rumor” story about the real-life basis for Charles Webb’s novel and Mike Nichols’s The Graduate is a rhythm-less, laugh-less mess.

Christmas came early for Ocean’s Eleven screenwriter Ted Griffin when, having written and been hired to shoot Rumor Has It… —a pseudo-sequel to The Graduate —star Jennifer Aniston, in an act of unintended generosity, reportedly had him booted from the project. Now helmed by Rob Reiner, this “based on a true rumor” story about the real-life basis for Charles Webb’s novel and Mike Nichols’s film is a rhythm-less, laugh-less mess that mixes the big-screen Bewitched ’s post-modern nonsense with shades of Spanking the Monkey ’s interfamily attractions, resulting in a romantic comedy as clunky and awkward as its leads’ fruitless attempts to join the Mile High Club. Returning home to Pasadena for her sister’s (Mena Suvari) wedding, New Yorker Sarah Huttinger (Aniston) learns that her family is the template for The Graduate (cue Simon and Garfunkel’s coo coo ca-chooing!), a discovery that sends her in search of Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner), the real-life Benjamin Braddock who—now in the Internet business, not plastics—seduced both her mom and her Mrs. Robinson grandmother Katharine (Shirley MacLaine) 30 years earlier. Because the date of her conception coincides with her mom’s brief pre-marital affair with Beau, Sarah suspects that Beau might be her biological father, though when she meets him, she promptly gets drunk and screws the stud at his cliffside mansion. Stodgy opponents of incest, however, have nothing to fear, as Beau is actually sterile from a childhood soccer accident, and thus turns out to be not Sarah’s daddy but, instead, just a slutty horndog who can’t resist schtupping every generation of female Huttinger. Or is he? Or, rather, who cares? With Sarah also engaged to marry bland, devoted lawyer Jeff (Mark Ruffalo, seemingly stuck in rom-com boyfriend purgatory), what ensues from her history-repeating-itself dalliance with Mom and Grandma’s ex-lover is lots of hand-wringing and hysterical screaming, all of which is made excruciating by Reiner’s directorial ineptitude, MacLaine’s profane diva routine, and cutie-pie Aniston’s dithering vapidity. “I know you hate me,” Sarah apologetically tells Jeff after realizing that adventurous romance isn’t as desirable as marital stability, “I hate me right now too.” Me, too.

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Nick Schager

Nick Schager is the entertainment critic for The Daily Beast . His work has also appeared in Variety , Esquire , The Village Voice , and other publications.

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Rumor Has It... (2005)

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Rumor Has It... (United States, 2005)

Rumor has it that Rumor Has It… experienced a rocky production history. First-time director Ted Griffin was removed from his position just as production was beginning, necessitating an eleventh-hour change. The cinematographer was replaced, allegedly because he may not have been filming certain cast members in the most flattering manner. And some of the roles changed hands. With all of that instability, it's no wonder that the final production is an unfocused mess, with poor chemistry all around and an ending that's as firm and satisfying as an overcooked noodle. The film's few high points are outweighed and outnumbered by sequences that don't work and cast choices that should have been re-thought.

Although the rumor hasn't spread far and wide, it's suspected in Hollywood circles that the actor-turned-director known as "Rob Reiner" was abducted by aliens and replaced by a doppelganger in 1993. Before that fateful year, Reiner's resume shone with titles such as This Is Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery , and A Few Good Men . Afterwards: North, The American President, Ghosts of Mississippi, The Story of Us , and Alex & Emma. Rumor Has It… indicates that the extraterrestrials have not returned the real Reiner to us.

Rumor Has It… can boast a clever premise. Unfortunately, "clever" is not a word that extends to either the plot or the screenplay. With respect to the latter, one wonders how many of Ted Griffin's words remain. After Reiner replaced him as director, one could assume that some kind of re-write occurred, which could explain the confused and schizoid nature of the script. At any rate, the film postulates that The Graduate was based the travails of a real Pasadena family. Through a series of revelations to tedious to relate, Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston) learns that her grandmother, Katharine Richelieu (Shirley MacLaine) - presumably not related to Cardinal Richelieu - is Mrs. Robinson. Leaving her lame and clueless boyfriend, Jeff (Mark Ruffalo), in the lurch, Sarah goes in search of Benjamin Braddock. His real name is Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner), a lonely multi-millionaire who admits to Sarah that he slept with both her mother and grandmother. Doing some arithmetic, Sarah wonders whether he might be her father, but he assures her that he is sterile because of testicular trauma suffered while he was in his teens. This opens the door for Sarah to join in a family tradition and have sex with him.

Jennifer Aniston appears to be wandering through this film in a fog. Considering how close it was made to her separation with Brad Pitt, that could explain it, but she radiates no charisma and appears to be going through the motions. Equally lifeless is Mark Ruffalo, who has one scene in which he differentiates himself from the furniture. Together, these two couldn't generate sparks if they were doused in lighter fluid. Kevin Costner displays the same kind of unforced charm he exhibited in The Upside of Anger (as an actor, there's no doubt that he has grown with maturity), but his scenes with Aniston are equally devoid of chemistry. Another bright point is Shirley MacLaine, whose acerbic turn as Katharine offers plenty of attitude and barbed one-liners, but she's only in about a third of the movie.

In the end, I couldn't figure out what the movie was about or what it was trying to do. Was it about Sarah's voyage of self-discovery? If so, she appears no better off at the end than at the beginning, still unable to be by herself. Is it a romance? If so, why are the pairings so lifeless? The most intriguing characters, Katharine and Beau, are left half-developed. We get the sense that both have unhealed wounds. Sarah comes across as a whiner and a manipulator. By the closing credits, we don't really want her to find happiness, not even that of the pseudo-reality that seems to come her way.

Rumor Has It… offers a few laughs to go along with fine performances by Costner and MacLaine, but those are all the bullets it has in the chamber. It's a waste of time, although not a painful one. Warner Brothers claims to be releasing the film during the Christmas movie season because it's the perfect time of the year for this kind of story. Actually, this feels more like a theatrical dump, designed to get another high-profile dud off the shelves. Rumor has it that this title will be on DVD around the time that the spring thaw arrives.

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Rumor Has It...

Time out says.

Rumors had it that this romantic comedy might actually be a witty and heartwarming romp, but guess what, folks? Turns out that any positive tittle-tattle associated with this sitcom episode writ large is totally unsubstantiated. It's not the movie's overall lack of inspiration that makes this story of a neurotic woman (Aniston) who discovers her family history was the basis for The Graduate so galling. That honor goes to this limp bedroom farce's notion that slapping together stars doing their usual shtick— Aniston's pert everywoman, Kevin Costner's middle-aged Midwestern hunk, Shirley MacLaine's foul-mouthed crusty broad—and putting the whole thing on autopilot somehow makes up for the complete dearth of comic spark. Never mind Joe DiMaggio—where have you gone, Mike Nichols, or even Blake Edwards?

Cursed during its early production phase with unhappy executives, a near-mutinous cast and the ousting of original director Ted Griffin, Rumor Has It... was supposed to have turned its luck around once Rob Reiner ( When Harry Met Sally... ) came on board. But the veteran rom-edy filmmaker adds little to the mix, and his insistence on liberally quoting lines and shots from the 1967 classic that fuels the premise doesn't help this retread one bit. Even MacLaine's bitchy "bons mots" (sample: "I'm freezing my balls off out here!") arrive DOA, and the last act's inevitable slide into mushy pathos just hammers this desperate crowd-pleaser's coffin lid shut. —David Fear

(Now playing; see Now playing for venues.)

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Eye For Film >> Movies >> Rumor Has It (2005) Film Review

Rumor has it.

Reviewed by: Sarah Artt

Rumor Has It tells the story of Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston), a newly engaged aspiring journalist who goes home to Pasadena for her sister's wedding, only to become obsessed with the following: 1. Ascertaining whether or not her mother was happy during her lifetime 2. Discovering why she does not resemble her family members 3."Getting more out of life."

Bear in mind, this is supposed to be a comedy.

Her quest drives her to seek out her mother's former lover Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner) and confront him with his past indiscretions, as well as coming to terms with her own - I use this term in full knowledge that Helen Fielding's ears are burning - commitmentphobia.

The film has the misfortune to be based on a good movie, or at least the story behind a good movie, The Graduate (1967). Sarah's grandmother is the Mrs Robinson character, Beau Burroughs the Benjamin Braddock character and Sarah's mother is Elaine Robinson. After that it all goes a bit meta, and not in a good way.

As a side note, if you have not yet seen The Graduate, run - do not walk - to your nearest video store and rent it immediately, particularly if you are trying to seduce a younger lover. It's not life changing cinema, but Anne Bancroft 's performance as Mrs Robinson is just so delicious, and the film itself so stylish and of its era that it remains a modern classic.

Rumor's best performance belongs to Shirley Maclaine, as Sarah's grandmother Katherine, who does a mean job as an ageing playgirl. She has somehow managed to unearth a role that is refreshingly rude and funny for a woman over 50 and Bancroft, who immortalised Mrs Robinson on screen and was at one point considered for Maclaine's role before her death from cancer last year, is undoubtedly smiling down at her from the leopard-print cocktail lounge in the sky.

Maclaine has all the good lines, such as "I should never drink these things without a mixer," as she reveals too much at the rehearsal dinner, and Aniston's poor comic timing pales in comparison to this legend. There is also a charming and hilarious cameo appearance from Kathy Bates, as Sarah's Aunt Mitzi, a classic ageing deminondaine in a silk Pucci kaftan, who drinks Bloody Marys and lavishes affection on her small yappy dog.

Aniston plays Sarah as a tiresome neurotic, who spends much of the picture grimacing and stroking her stomach, rather as if she is about to be ill. Perhaps this is because she realised she was now contractually obligated to finish the picture. Five minutes in, after worrying to her fiance (Mark Ruffalo) about the upcoming family visit, she inexplicably announces. "Hey, do you wanna go have sex in the bathroom?" Now, the logistics of having sex on a plane in the daytime have always mystified me. Also, isn't becoming a member of the Mile High Club supposed to be distinctly sleazier? Not only is this the cleanest airplane bathroom ever, but I've watched films where the male co-star is openly gay and there's more sexual chemistry between him and the leading lady. In Anniston's kissing scenes, her performance can only be described as "workmanlike." When she first kisses Beau, it is a quick peck on the lips, reminiscent of the more embarrassed efforts of your local high school play, hardly the prelude to a "rite of passage", as she later describes their night together.

In the scenes that follow, Beau displays his wealth and new age manhood to Sarah. He's shown in the middle of a yogic head stand the morning after and flies her to the wine country for lunch where, inexplicably, they do not drink, or even discuss wine or food, a key component in any chick flick I am prepared to like. For this is precisely what Rumor Has It is, a chick flick of the worst type.

There is even a scene of what can only be described as barking female hysteria when Sarah turns up on her grandmother's doorstep and confesses her affair with Beau. In the midst of this, Sarah's father calls to seek advice regarding his other daughter Annie (Mena Suvari), who has just had a panic attack on her way to Belize for her honeymoon. In amongst all this screeching that persumedly signifies genuine distress, it was a wonder I didn't commit myself to sterilisation then and there.

Needless to say, Sarah soon realises the error of her ways and attempts to patch things up with her fiance, while Annie adjusts herself to the idea that it is perfectly fine to marry someone because they're good at tennis and Beau faces up to his status as ageing playboy. So, all the various threads and neuroses become untangled in the end, but not without a comic version of the theme tune from The Good, The Bad And The Ugly , as Katherine faces off with Beau.

Sadly, Rumor Has It lacks even an ounce of The Graduate's irreverence.

Movie Review

Rumor has it.

US Release Date: 12-25-2005

Directed by: Rob Reiner

Starring ▸ ▾

Jennifer Aniston , as
Sarah Huttinger
Kevin Costner , as
Beau Burroughs
Shirley MacLaine , as
Katharine Richelieu
Mark Ruffalo , as
Richard Jenkins , as
Earl Huttinger
Christopher McDonald , as
Roger McManus
Steve Sandvoss , as
Mena Suvari , as
Annie Huttinger
Mike Vogel as
Blake Burroughs

Jennifer Aniston and Shirley MacLaine in Rumor Has It .

Rumor Has It features a great cast doing some terrific work with a so-so script. While even they can't raise the material much, they do help to create a light and amusing film that does entertain.

Sarah Hettinger (Aniston), recently engaged and having a bad case of cold feet, flies home to Pasadena for the wedding of her younger sister. While there she learns that her family was the basis for the movie The Graduate . Always feeling as though she never quite fit in with her family, she seeks out Beau Burroughs, the man whom Dustin Hoffman's character was based on, to see if he might be her real father. When Beau (Costner), tells her that there is no way that he could be her father, because he's been sterile since his youth, Sarah ends up sleeping with him following a drunken night. Like her mother and her grandmother before her, Sarah must now deal with the consequences of that act.

Aniston, who seems stuck in the romantic comedy mold, does a fine job in the lead role. And Costner, whose career seems to be on the rise again, is equally good as Burroughs. His charm has aged as gracefully as he is doing. And Ruffalo, who is an actor whose star should be on the rise, does a terrific job in the thankless role of the long suffering fiancée. However, it is Shirley MacLaine, as the tough talking grandmother and the inspiration for Mrs. Robinson, who steals every scene that she is in. Not only is she hilarious, but she looks damn good for a 71 year-old.

While the movie does try to throw in some drama, the story definitely works best as a comedy. This isn't do to a lack of talent from the cast, but rather the weakness of the script, which fails to draw you in enough to make you care seriously about the characters. They work best as comedic characters rather than dramatic ones. And that's the movie's biggest problem. It's not funny enough. The premise and the previews, which feature the movie's best jokes, promise a very funny movie, but in reality it's only amusing at best.

The movie also fails to capitalize upon its Graduate connections. This should have been another source of comedy, if only by recognition, but this is another avenue that it fails utilize.

In the end, Rumor Has It is a lightweight comedy that almost works. However, there's nothing compelling about it to make it a must see film. You'd do just as well with it if you waited until it was available on DVD.

Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner in Rumor Has It .

Rob Reiner seems to have lost his touch. I can't remember the last good movie he directed. This one sure as hell ain't it. Like Scott said it is only mildly amusing at best. Every joke and plot wrinkle can be spotted a mile away. And the feel good ending has about as much emotional kick to it as a bad sitcom.

I do agree that the cast is much better than the material. Although to be honest I have never appreciated Aniston's charm. She is too bland to be charismatic and too tame to be truly funny. I agree that Shirley MacLaine steals the movie hook, line and sinker. It's just too bad she has to deliver lines like, "Go away and play with your dick." or "I'm freezing my nuts off out here." Still she is a true movie star and it is great to see her continuing to work.

Bottom line: For hard core Jennifer Aniston fans only.

Mark Ruffalo has less screen time, but is more convincing than Aniston.

Just as in The Graduate , it is the older woman who gives life to the movie. I like Maclaine's first line to Jeff, “You are a lawyer. Full of shit!” Unfortunately, Maclaine is only in a few scenes, leaving the beautiful, but charmless, Aniston to carry the movie.

For so long, audiences have waited for Aniston to break out of her shell and become a real movie star with that magical quality that lights up a screen when she is on it. Alas, I have stopped waiting. She is attractive and pleasant enough to watch but she does not have IT. Her best work may very well have been on Friends. She certainly does not have the charisma to carry a movie. Even with such great support as Maclaine, Costner and Ruffalo, she is still unable to make us care about Sarah or her situation.

The best relationship in the movie is the one between Beau and Katherine, but they only get one scene together. Katherine walks out of the house to confront Beau. Spaghetti Western music plays as to foreshadow a showdown. However, Reiner cuts the scene short when he should have let them spar several more rounds. It is the most sparks this movie generates.




























	YEARS-THE MUSIC & MYTH OF TOM WAITS" BY Jay S. Jacobs

PopEntertainment.com > Reviews > Movie Reviews > Rumor Has It

Movie reviews.

(2005)

Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine, Mark Ruffalo, Richard Jenkins, Kathy Bates .

Rumor Has It

This movie is all about high-concept � but what a concept. An unhappy and confused New York journo (she does weddings and obits for The New York Times ) goes back home to Pasadena for her sister's wedding and finds out the family secret � that her grandmother and mother were the inspirations for the characters of Mrs. Robinson and Elaine in the book The Graduate. Always feeling out of place with her family, she decides to track down the man who inspired Ben Braddock to find out if he might be her father, and instead falls into an affair with him.

It's a fascinating idea, done pretty well, but not exactly as good as it could or should be.

Jennifer Aniston plays the main character in this version � Sarah Huttinger, a beautiful Pasadena-raised woman who seems to have the world by a string. She has a loving fianc� who is a lawyer (Mark Ruffalo), a doting father (Richard Jenkins) and a job at the most prestigious newspaper in the world, (though, granted, a very low-level position.) Yet, somehow, Sarah is completely, utterly miserable. She considers her career a dead-end. She has always felt disconnected from her father and sister (her mom died when she was nine) because she doesn't play tennis, drives fast, votes Democrat and hates Pasadena � making her a complete black sheep. And while she loves her boyfriend, the idea of marrying him makes her break out in the cold sweat.

The family secret comes out when Sarah returns home for her little sister's (Mena Suvari) wedding. (The film takes place in early 1997 � I assume because the characters would all be too old if it took place in the modern day � but it makes the Titanic reference a bit of clairvoyance on one of the characters' part as that film wouldn't come out until the end of that year.)

Sarah's hard drinking, hard smoking, fast talking grandma (Shirley MacLaine) lets it slip at the wedding that Sarah's mother had cold feet before her wedding too, going to Cabo San Lucas with another man less than a week before her wedding. Sarah gets more facts from her mother's best friend (played extremely broadly by the normally rock-solid Kathy Bates) about a guy her mother had a crush on before marriage, a high-school-jock-turned-dot-com-millionaire named Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner). Sarah becomes certain that there is validity to the rumor. After all, his initials were B.B., just like the character's. It must be true.

Sarah becomes obsessed with the idea that this mysterious man was her real father. When Sarah finally tracks down Beau, she asks him what happened with her mother � and her grandmother. "You read the book. You saw the movie. That's pretty much how it was," Burroughs acknowledges to her. It does make you wonder if Rumor screenwriter Ted Griffin has read the book, though, because anyone who has read it knows that the storyline of the novel was significantly different than the one that was used in the screenplay of The Graduate.

This all leads to a series of misunderstandings and misadventures, not the least of which has Sarah sleeping with the same guy who has had sex with her mother and grandmother. This becomes particularly kinky when she realizes the excuse he gave her that he was not her father may not be completely true. The complications swirl and cause Sarah to reexamine her life � but they also take the movie's eye off the ball and take it in a totally different direction than it started out towards.

Rumor Has It is far from a perfect film, but it sometimes comes down to the simple question; did you like it or not? The answer for that is a yes. It doesn't quite live up to its central idea, but it is a light, fun romantic romp, anchored by some fantastic performances. I may never think of the movie again after I write about it, but while I was watching it I had fun. (12/05)

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Rumor has it... review.

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Movie title	Rumor Has It...
Release year	2005
MPAA Rating	PG-13
Our rating
Summary	What could have been another forgettable romantic comedy is bolstered by a uniformly charming cast and, in particular, a slam-bang performance by Shirley MacLaine.

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Rumor Has It...

Sarah Huttinger is a woman who learns that her family was the inspiration for the book and film "The Graduate" -- and that she just might be the offspring of the well-documented event.
Hunky NY lawyer Jeff Daly finally got engaged to fickle Sarah Huttinger, who presents him to her Pasadena family, who all soon take to him, for her sister's wedding to Scott. However, Jeff's clever counting makes Sarah realize her dad Earl may not be her biological father. As more clues from family point toward a suspect - successful author Beau Burroughs - she insists on meeting him. Only like her mother and grandmother, she has a one-night stand with Beau, which may well cost her Jeff. — KGF Vissers
Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston) is coming back to her hometown to attend her sister's wedding, bringing along her lawyer boyfriend Jeff (Mark Ruffalo). She expected to spend another visit with the family she doesn't feel equal to. She didn't expect to uncover the family's greatest secret: an affair her mother (Shirley MacLaine) had decades ago was the basis for the world-famous book "The Graduate". This news sends her on a whirlwind, leading to a passionate relationship with Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner), the very man that Sarah's mom got involved with.
Sarah Huttington, recently engaged, goes home to Pasadena with fiancé Jeff for a family wedding. She hears a rumor that "The Graduate" (book and movie) is based on her family. Did her grandmother and her mom have flings with the same man just before her parents married? Is she a strange man's child? Does this explain why she doesn't fit in? Was her mother happy? Is she also facing a loveless marriage? Where can she seek answers: her mother's dead, her father's a pleasant naïf. Ask her salty grandma? Better to ask the man in the triangle, the real Benjamin Braddock. With Jeff's blessing, Sarah heads for San Francisco, looking for the key to her past and to her future. — <[email protected]>
Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston) is a New York Times journalist who is stuck writing the obituary column. Sarah has just got engaged to Jeff Daly (Mark Ruffalo), and she is not sure she is ready for marriage. They fly to Pasadena to attend her younger sister's wedding, and Sarah wants to keep the engagement quiet. Sarah tells Jeff that her family it a typical Pasadena tennis-playing family that is obsessed with the City of Pasadena and NFL football. Sarah has never fit in with her family, and she wonders why? She uncovers a secret about her family involving Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner), a wealthy internet business genius. Rumor has it that "The Graduate" (book and movie) was based on his life. Sarah searches for the truth and becomes an addition to the tale. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)

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Rumor Has It Parent Guide

Rumor has it Sarah's (Jennifer Aniston) family was the inspiration behind the film The Graduate. To find the truth, she questions her Grandmother (Shirley Mclean), the possible Mrs. Robinson and a wealthy womanizer (Ken Costner) she suspects is the infamous Benjamin Braddock.

Release date December 24, 2005

Why is Rumor Has It rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Rumor Has It PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content, crude humor and a drug reference.

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kerry bennett.

In 1967 The Graduate released in movie theaters and sparked the careers of actors Dustin Hoffman and Richard Dreyfuss. The story recounts the unsanctioned, intimate relationships a graduate student engages in with a girl and her mother.

For years, rumors abounded about the source of the story. But for Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston), it is only part of a colorful, Californian history until she goes home to Pasadena for her younger sister’s (Mena Suvari) wedding.

Leaving her fiance, Jeff (Mark Ruffalo), in the airport, she takes a detour to San Francisco where the man in question is speaking to a group of Internet entrepreneurs. Finally getting a moment alone, she presents her paternity query to the multi-millionaire, Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner).

However, the answer isn’t quite what she expects. Distraught, Sarah allows herself to be comforted by the businessman. Meanwhile, Jeff is alone in New York waiting for word from his errant girlfriend.

Matrimony and commitment appear to be unnerving concepts for the women in this film. Convinced that her mother lived a loveless existence before passing away, Sarah struggles with the idea of settling down with Jeff. And the side trip to uncover her past ends up looking more like an avoidance tactic than a fatherhood inquiry. Fortunately, the men in this mess are blessed with an abundance of mercy and patience. (Maybe a little too much.)

For those familiar with the 1960s film, Rumor Has It… is a creative stretch of the original script, taking the tale of lustful interactions to a whole new generation of graduates. However for family audiences, the movie is plagued by profanities and sexual dialogue. The intimation of incest and other unsavory affairs also presents a storyline inappropriate for younger viewers.

Uncovering the truth behind the gossip proves to be an important endeavor for Sarah. But tossing aside all the good things in life in pursuit of a rumor can also be a dangerous enterprise.

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Kerry Bennett

Rumor has it rating & content info.

Why is Rumor Has It rated PG-13? Rumor Has It is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for mature thematic material, sexual content, crude humor and a drug reference.

During a flight, a couple attempts to get intimate in a restroom. Numerous characters have candid sexual discussions including a conversation about condom use and there are several sexual solicitations as well. Nudity is limited to a brief shot of a woman taking off her top and the side of her breast is seen. At a wedding celebration and in other locations, drinking to excess is depicted. One woman becomes so drunk she is unable to account for her actions during the previous evening. Another woman repeatedly smokes and a brief comment is made about drug use.

Page last updated April 3, 2009

Rumor Has It Parents' Guide

How does the death of their mother seem to affect Sarah and her sister Annie? What challenges do they appear to face in their adult interactions?

Why does Jeff say that “engagement” involves more than a passing commitment? What does it mean to him? Do you think he makes the right decision in the end?

How important is forgiveness in a successful relationship?

The most recent home video release of Rumor Has It movie is May 11, 2006. Here are some details…

There’s not a lot of gossip included on the DVD release of Rumor Has It . Presented in either wide or full screen, both feature the theatrical trailer, audio tracks in English (Dolby Digital 5.1) and French (Dolby Digital 5.1), as well as subtitles in English, Spanish and French.

They May Have Been Gone, But They’re Still Classic

By isa barnett.

Dec 27, 2005

Rumor Has It (A PopEntertainment.com Movie Review)

RUMOR HAS IT (2005)

Starring Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine, Mark Ruffalo, Richard Jenkins, Mena Suvari, Christopher McDonald, Kathy Bates, Steven Sandvoss, Mike Vogel, Robert Lanza, Lisa Vachon, Trevor Stock, Jennifer Taylor, Marcia Ann Burrs and George Hamilton.

Screenplay by Ted Griffin.

Directed by Rob Reiner.

Distributed by Warner Brothers Pictures. 96 minutes. Rated PG-13.

This movie is all about high-concept – but what a concept. An unhappy and confused New York journo (she does weddings and obits for The New York Times ) goes back home to Pasadena for her sister's wedding and finds out the family secret – that her grandmother and mother were the inspirations for the characters of Mrs. Robinson and Elaine in the book The Graduate. Always feeling out of place with her family, she decides to track down the man who inspired Ben Braddock to find out if he might be her father, and instead falls into an affair with him.

It's a fascinating idea, done pretty well, but not exactly as good as it could or should be.

Jennifer Aniston plays the main character in this version – Sarah Huttinger, a beautiful Pasadena-raised woman who seems to have the world by a string. She has a loving fiancé who is a lawyer (Mark Ruffalo), a doting father (Richard Jenkins) and a job at the most prestigious newspaper in the world, (though, granted, a very low-level position.) Yet, somehow, Sarah is completely, utterly miserable. She considers her career a dead end. She has always felt disconnected from her father and sister (her mom died when she was nine) because she doesn't play tennis, drives fast, votes Democrat and hates Pasadena – making her a complete black sheep. And while she loves her boyfriend, the idea of marrying him makes her break out in a cold sweat.

The family secret comes out when Sarah returns home for her little sister's (Mena Suvari) wedding. (The film takes place in early 1997 – I assume because the characters would all be too old if it took place in the modern day – but it makes the Titanic reference a bit of clairvoyance on one of the characters' part as that film wouldn't come out until the end of that year.)

Sarah becomes obsessed with the idea that this mysterious man was her real father. When Sarah finally tracks down Beau, she asks him what happened with her mother – and her grandmother. "You read the book. You saw the movie. That's pretty much how it was," Burroughs acknowledges to her. It does make you wonder if Rumor screenwriter Ted Griffin has read the book, though, because anyone who has read it knows that the storyline of the novel was significantly different than the one that was used in the screenplay of The Graduate.

This all leads to a series of misunderstandings and misadventures, not the least of which has Sarah sleeping with the same guy who has had sex with her mother and grandmother. This becomes particularly kinky when she realizes the excuse he gave her that he was not her father may not be completely true. The complications swirl and cause Sarah to reexamine her life – but they also take the movie's eye off the ball and take it in a totally different direction than it started out towards.

Rumor Has It is far from a perfect film, but it sometimes comes down to the simple question; did you like it or not? The answer to that is a yes. It doesn't quite live up to its central idea, but it is a light, fun romantic romp, anchored by some fantastic performances. I may never think of the movie again after I write about it, but while I was watching it, I had fun. (12/05)

Jay S. Jacobs

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Kerry Bennett

Rumor Has It Parents' Guide

The most recent home video release of Rumor Has It movie is May 11, 2006. Here are some details…

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They May Have Been Gone, But They’re Still Classic

Rumor Has It (A PopEntertainment.com Movie Review)

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