The Rebound (2009)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Romantic Comedy	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2009
Running Time	90:47 (Case: 95)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Bart Freundlich
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Catherine Zeta-Jones Justin Bartha
Case	?
RPI	$34.95	Music	Clint Mansell

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Whilst it may be a lucky co-incidence that married couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones share the same birthday, it is a less happy co-incidence that they should both have films released to DVD by Roadshow in the same month; in the case of the latter with only a blink-or-you-miss-it theatrical run. Solitary Man, featuring Douglas, saw him receive some of his best notices of recent times yet it dribbled into Region 4. It was an opposite fate to Zeta-Jones' latest rom-com, The Rebound, which comes to DVD here prior to a December cinema date in the US. Although Solitary Man is the better film, both could be seen as victims of the GFC where it is cheaper to just get the film out rather than lavish millions on promotion.

     The Rebound is no great shakes but is as good, if not better, than some recent fare like The Bounty Hunter. This DVD is probably a rental one for the fans. Zeta-Jones plays Sandy, a 40 year old hottie who finds out, during the opening credits, that her husband is cheating on her. She packs her two pre-teen kids, a boy and a girl, into the car and makes for New York City. Sandy has been out of workforce for a while, raising the kids, but a zen-like devotion to sports trivia sees her score a job at a sports TV station. She is a success and her hours get longer. A babysitter is needed for the kids and in steps Aram Justin Bartha (The Hangover), a 25 year old who has completed Women’s Studies at College and now works at a local coffee shop. Aram is getting over an unfortunate divorce when he got tricked by a French woman who was only after him for the Green Card. He is an immediate hit with the kids and he and Sandy begin to get closer and closer. The cougar factor rears its head, with Sandy getting guilty and Aram's parents including an ageing Art Garfunkel raising their eyebrows. Will the relationship survive the social stigma of a young man and an older woman. If you can remember the movie Prime dealt with similar issues, albeit in more of a comedy context.

    The film has much to recommend it. Catherine Zeta-Jones divides viewers like the Red Sea. In this film I found her sufficiently cougarish to sell the part. Justin Bartha is a good comedy actor and he is perhaps the strongest part of the film. The supports are a little unmemorable, except perhaps for a couple of the men including Art Garfunkel. In fact they are part of what is wrong with the film. Garfunkel says little but is earmarked as the inappropriate father. Poor John Schneider (ex-Bo from the Dukes of Hazard TV show) has a small role as the date from hell that starts out bad and gets over directed into embarrassment. Director Bart Freundlich, better known as Mr Julianne Moore, hasn't made a film since 2005s Trust the Man, reviewed here . When I reviewed that film I thought it had some good ideas and fun moments but that the writer/director had a strange way with tone. This film is no different.

     Fans of the romantic comedy genre will probably find enough to like in the film and fans of Zeta-Jones will certainly get to see her strut her stuff. This is a light and likeable film for a Friday night.

Video

     IMDB doesn't list the original aspect ratio of The Rebound. The DVD comes in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and there is no reason to suppose the original was anything other than this widescreen ratio. The film has been 16x9 enhanced.

     The Rebound looks very good on DVD. The credits are a little pastel in nature and give the impression that the colours may be overwhelming but this is soon swept away. The colours are strong and the blacks nice and inky. The flesh tones are accurate. There is no evidence of compression, but why would there be as the film is on a dual layer DVD and has no extras. There are no technical defects with the transfer. This is a clear bright transfer that will please fans.

     There are subtitles in English for the Hearing Impaired which give a good account of on-screen action.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The Rebound features two soundtracks, both English, being a Dolby Digital 5.1 track running at 448Kb/s and a 2.0 track running at 224Kb/s. There is also the option of a descriptive audio track for the vision impaired.

    The soundtrack is clear and clean and the dialogue is easy to understand. There are no technical problems with the soundtrack. Audio sync appears fine. The surrounds give a pleasing ambience to the picture and the sub-woofer cuts in to give weight to the music. Otherwise this is a front and centre film.

     The score, by former Pop Will Eat Itself member Clint Mansell is a good accompaniment to the film and there is a selection of songs thrown into the mix, sometimes roughly - Desmond Dekker’s Israelites as a montage tune for modern New Yorkers?

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    There are no extras. No doubt the desire was to get the film out as soon as possible.

  The film has not had a Region 1 release as yet.

    The Rebound is perfectly acceptable fare but won't decide the issue of whether romantic comedy is dead. The performances really save it from being a dire experience, particularly the genuine performance of Justin Bartha. The video and sound transfer is pretty good but the lack of extras will no doubt disappoint fans of the movie.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall