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Rumor Has It...Originally to be the directorial debut of screenwriter Ted Griffin, who penned the screenplay, Rumor Has It... is a remarkably apt title, given that Griffin was replaced just several days into the shoot by Rob Reiner with no explanation. Whatever the disagreements, Reiner - a master of the romantic comedy if When Harry Met Sally is anything to go by - found himself dealing with a story that is more a premise than a fully fleshed-out script.
As the convoluted intro explains, a rumour circulated in Pasadena that once upon a time, just days before her wedding, a young woman ran off with a young man. Not only that but he had already been seduced by the young woman's mother. Sound familiar? Rumour has it that this idle piece of gossip became the focus of Charles Webb's 1963 novel 'The Graduate', which in turn became a cinematic sensation via Mike Nichols' film adaptation four years later. When 'New York Times' obituary writer Sarah Huttinger (Aniston) hears the story, she becomes convinced her family was the inspiration for the tale.
Her late mother, it emerges, had a brief fling with a classmate named Beau Burroughs (Costner), now an Internet billionaire, before she married Sarah's father (Jenkins). Not only that, but it turns out that Sarah's spiky grandmother (MacLaine) also enjoyed a liaison with Beau. Scared rigid of commitment to her own boyfriend (Ruffalo), Sarah seeks out Beau to uncover the truth. As Beau tells her, "I didn't exactly graduate from college. But I suppose the 'drop-out' would make a lousy title." No prizes for guessing that Sarah falls for his charms as well - or, at least, his private jet, mansion house and monogrammed pillowcases - making her domestic situation all the more complicated.
Everything about Rumor Has It... feels obvious, from the use of The Graduate's signature tune, 'Mrs Robinson', on the soundtrack to the uninspired casting. From MacLaine delivering her barbed one-liners ("Ah, you are a lawyer," she says to Ruffalo. "Full of shit!") to Costner's oily-smooth patois, not one actor offers us any surprises. Aniston conveys none of the charm that won us over in 'Friends', nor any of the courage shown in films like The Good Girl. This is by-numbers stuff all the way, as demonstrated by Mena Suvari's anonymous turn as Sarah's younger sister.
While Reiner arguably hasn't made a great film since 1993's A Few Good Men, it would be unfair to blame him for picking up the pieces of what began as a formulaic romantic comedy. Attempting to deal with difficulties engaged couples must overcome before they take the big step towards marriage, in the end the film comes off as patronizing and uninspired. As one character notes, "Life is short but marriage is long, so drink up and it will make it go a hell of a lot faster" - a sentiment you may find yourself thinking about Rumor Has It...
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