Rumor Has It...
Directed by Rob Reiner
- comedy
- romance
The story
Sarah Huttinger 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.
What it’s like
Bright, sun-washed Southern California and a leafy Pasadena-style suburb give this one the polished, comfortable look of a mid-2000s studio romantic comedy: warm daylight through big windows, pastel interiors, tidy framing on two-shots and reaction close-ups, and a bouncy, easy score that keeps the mood light. The rhythm is brisk and conversational, with dialogue doing most of the work and scenes cutting quickly between wry family banter and the blossoming of a new romance. Its vibe is breezy and mildly flirtatious, a little nostalgic for old Hollywood, with the gentle absurdity of a family discovering its past is tangled up with a famous movie. Intensity is low: there is no violence or gore, fear is almost absent, and the sexual content is talked about more than shown, with the central infidelity handled as comic gossip and a source of wry, mostly good-natured tension. Its emotional arc follows a restless woman sorting out her feelings about family, marriage and love, and it lands on warm reconciliation. It suits a lazy weekend afternoon, a comfort rewatch, or a light evening with company, and it is made for people who want charming, low-stakes romance with a sharp family-comedy edge.
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