A sloppy comedy that ultimately goes nowhere.
Rumor Has It... (2005)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:106
Fresh:21
Rotten:85
Average Rating:4.4/10
Consensus: This riff on The Graduate has a solid cast, but is too lightweight to fully register.
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Genre: Comedies
US Box Office: $42,747,869
Synopsis: With the romantic comedy RUMOR HAS IT, director Rob Reiner (WHEN HARRY MET SALLY) attempts the tricky task of creating a film based on an already celebrated classic, 1967's THE GRADUATE. Starring... With the romantic comedy RUMOR HAS IT, director Rob Reiner (WHEN HARRY MET SALLY) attempts the tricky task of creating a film based on an already celebrated classic, 1967's THE GRADUATE. Starring Dustin Hoffman and based on a novel by Charlie Webb, the original film revolved around the love triangle between a recent college-graduate, his girlfriend, and her famously seductive mother. Here, Reiner casts a chain-smoking Shirley MacLaine as the supposed real-life inspiration for Mrs. Robinson, and Jennifer Aniston as her granddaughter. Set for the most part within the gossipy community of Pasadena, California, the film follows Sarah Huttinger (Aniston) and her fiancé (Mark Ruffalo) as they travel home for her perky sister's (Mena Suvari) wedding. Having nothing in common with her family, Sarah is intrigued upon learning that she may actually be the secret love child of her deceased mother and Beau Borroughs (Kevin Costner), the man whose affairs with both Sarah's mother and grandmother supposedly inspired Charlie Webb, a classmate and friend of Beau, to write THE GRADUATE. From here, Sarah seeks out Beau, interested in him as a father-like figure and possibly more. Aniston brings a Rachel-like (FRIENDS) comic vibe to her character, frequently expressing her neuroses by talking to herself out loud in a sitcom-ish style. Costner is plenty capable in his role, but even with Beau's riches and charm, viewers may find it hard to understand why a young woman would embark on a romance with the same man who bedded her mother and grandmother. Reiner's script veers away from the classic romantic comedy formula by keeping Ruffalo's character at the sidelines. Rather, RUMOR HAS IT focuses on one woman's journey towards adulthood, self-realization, and acceptance of her origins via a path that while strange and potentially incestuous, seems to be family tradition. [More]
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine, Mark Ruffalo
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine, Mark Ruffalo, Mena Suvari, Kathy Bates, Richard Jenkins, Christopher McDonald, Steve Sandvoss, Mike Vogel
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Screenwriter: Ted Griffin
Composer: Marc Shaiman
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for Rumor Has It...
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.
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.
This is not a terrible movie. I've certainly seen a lot worse this year. It just could have been so much better.
An easy comedy that will please some audiences but disappoint those who seek the cinematic road less traveled.
Rumor Has It is a lightweight comedy that only works thanks to a fantastic cast.
Contrived to the max and surprisingly unfunny, Rumor Has It is this year's theatrical Christmas turkey.
An original and outrageously funny social satire that blurs illusion with reality, it's helium-light fun for the holiday season.
While there are high points here and there, in general the film moves ploddingly, with individual scenes that don't 'build,' and an overall story that doesn't, either.
These are shallow, vacuous people who have somewhere along the way confused narcissism with introspection, [and] we the audience are forced to watch them struggle across the vast wastelands of their titanic egos
This would have been a fairly fun movie had the focus been on the film's most entertaining character, played by the inimitable Shirley MacLaine, rather than Jennifer Aniston and the rest of the gang.
The movie never gets enough comic traction to take off into what it apparently wants to be: a personal odyssey of self-discovery mixed in with an examination of a genuine American movie classic.
Reiner seems to have lost his touch with comedy--or any genre for that matter. Though Rumor isn't as bad as The Story of Us or Alex and Emma, it's particularly disappointing since its premise--a take on The Graduate--seems potentially funny.
Even if it never quite jumps out of the tried-and-true mould, the sharp cast and clever script spice things up.
Latest News for Rumor Has It...
December 28, 2006:
Box Office Guru Preview: "Dreamgirls" Sing Goodbye to 2006
The final weekend of 2006 will see moviegoers catch up on a jam-packed slate of holiday leftovers as no new films open on Friday. More...
December 21, 2006:
Box Office Guru Preview: Museum Open For Business Over Crowded Christmas Weekend
Moviegoers will have plenty to choose from over the long Christmas holiday weekend as four new star-driven wide releases hit the marketplace adding to an already crowded marquee. More...
September 28, 2006:
Critical Consensus: 'Tis Not The "Season," "Guardian" Lacks Defenders, And "School" Flunks
This week at the movies, we've got jive talking woodland creatures ("Open Season," with Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher). We've got a school for Coast Guard rescue... More...
June 01, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "The Break-Up" Gets Dumped
This week at the movies brings us "The Break-Up," a hotly-anticipated dark comedy featuring two actors whose faces are criminally under-documented by the paparazzi.... More...
More Movies
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Up in the Air | 14/1 |
| | The Tooth Fairy | 14/1 |
| | Bran Nue Dae | 14/1 |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Rumor Has It... at Rotten Tomatoes
- Rumor Has It... at IGN
- Rumor Has It... at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!
Competitions

We're giving away copies of Judd Apatow's latest.



Top Critic


