"The Rebound" starts with a lame, double-meaning title, ventures into the cringe-worthy territory of romantic comedy, and then somehow finds two characters that are not overdone. Catherine Zeta-Jones is Sandy, fresh off a divorce, starting a new job as a sports writer, and trying to meet a man. (Have you figured out the cleverness of the title?) Justin Bartha is Aram, a twenty-something trying to find himself under the annoyance of his wealthy, conservative parents.
I didn't mean to imply that the characters had never been done before, just that they haven't been done too often. As you can guess, despite how attractive Zeta-Jones is, she can't find a decent guy. And despite how smart Aram is, he's comfortable just being the nanny to Sandy's kids. Oh, and of course, they eventually realize that they want each other.
The problems are numerous. Including montages that are so poorly edited you have no idea how much time was supposed to have passed, jokes delivered by the supporting cast fall flat, and the tediousness of knowing where they are going but they are taking forever to get there.
However Zeta-Jones and Bartha are able to add likability, freshness and a fun factor to their characters that you find yourself rooting for them and generally enjoying yourself when you're in their presence. With any other actors, "The Rebound" would have been unbearable, but as usual, when you find Oscar-winning actors in a straight-to-DVD indie it can be worth watching.
I didn't mean to imply that the characters had never been done before, just that they haven't been done too often. As you can guess, despite how attractive Zeta-Jones is, she can't find a decent guy. And despite how smart Aram is, he's comfortable just being the nanny to Sandy's kids. Oh, and of course, they eventually realize that they want each other.
The problems are numerous. Including montages that are so poorly edited you have no idea how much time was supposed to have passed, jokes delivered by the supporting cast fall flat, and the tediousness of knowing where they are going but they are taking forever to get there.
However Zeta-Jones and Bartha are able to add likability, freshness and a fun factor to their characters that you find yourself rooting for them and generally enjoying yourself when you're in their presence. With any other actors, "The Rebound" would have been unbearable, but as usual, when you find Oscar-winning actors in a straight-to-DVD indie it can be worth watching.