Not surprisingly, our headline above refers to The Rewrite, written and directed by Mark Lawrence back in 2014 and starring Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei. No, we don’t know who rewrote it. But that doesn’t mean a rewrite or three didn’t happen, yeah?
by Pinar Tarhan
Marc Lawrence’s The Rewrite (2014) is absolutely delightful. Of course, your chances of enjoying it are higher if you like Hugh Grant and/or Marisa Tomei, romantic comedies that aren’t like every other romantic comedy and movies about writers. Not to mention, the cast includes J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney. J.K. Simmons’ loving but tough/sentimental (you need to see it) character provides a hilarious contrast to his Oscar-winning, ruthless role in Whiplash.
I’m a fan of the genre, director/writer (Mark Lawrence) and the cast. And as a screenwriter (aspiring, but still), I do have a weakness for movies featuring screenwriters and their world.
Isn’t it also great the 50-something protagonist is only 4 years older than the love interest?
So why do I recommend the movie to (screen)writers in particular? Let’s start with the plot:
The Rewrite Plot Summary
Oscar-winning screenwriter Keith Michaels (Hugh Grant) is far from his glory days. He hasn’t been able to sell something in ages and is forced to take a screenwriting teaching gig in a cloudy, small town to pay the bills.
Moreover, he seems totally wrong for the job: He doesn’t believe great writing can be taught, starts a relationship with a young student (not Marisa Tomei) before his first day and pisses off the head of the ethics committee Mary Weldon (Allison Janney). Not to mention, he doesn’t even read the scripts of the students….