The Rebound (2009)

45% of critics liked it
(22 reviews)
47% of users liked it
(27,831 ratings)

Catherine Zeta-Jones stars as a fortyish mother of two who must start her life over when her husband wants a divorce. She moves to New York City with her two children and hires a nanny (Justin Bartha), but eventually the younger man proves to be a genuine romantic possibility for the lonely… More Catherine Zeta-Jones stars as a fortyish mother of two who must start her life over when her husband wants a divorce. She moves to New York City with her two children and hires a nanny (Justin Bartha), but eventually the younger man proves to be a genuine romantic possibility for the lonely divorcee. Directed by Bart Freundlich. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By: Bart Freundlich
Written By: Bart Freundlich
Genres: Comedy, Romance

On DVD: Feb 7, 2012
Studio: Momentum Picutres

Critic Reviews

Jon Frosch, Hollywood Reporter
Saddling two game actors with a tone-deaf, charmless script, the film makes recent J.Lo vehicle The Back-up Plan look like Billy Wilder in comparison.
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com
Although it bears the marks of studio intervention, much of the blame remains firmly with Freundlich, who's incapable of arranging a single honest moment in this uncomfortable, frightfully strained creation.
Don Groves, sbs.com.au
An unromantic comedy that gets down and dirty.
Katina Vangopoulos, Cut Print Review
The Rebound is largely character-driven, which is more than a lot of romantic films can vouch for.
Henry Fitzherbert, Daily Express
The Rebound offers up surprisingly nice characters (too nice, you could argue) and a modest charm that compensates for a lack of big laughs or much suspense.
Alistair Harkness, Scotsman
Another faintly insulting rom-com promoting a marketing man's idea of what women really want from movies...
, Daily Mail [UK]
Laughs are in short supply, and Mr Freundlich resorts to gross-out lavatory humour that's an unnecessary concession to youthful audiences who wouldn't like this movie anyway.
Alex Zane, Sun Online
These are characters who seem very real. It's their imperfections, not contrived plot points, that drive the story.
Sukhdev Sandhu, Daily Telegraph
Why is a movie that's trying to evoke some of the cool metropolitanism of late-'70s Woody Allen so rammed with hoary gags about New York being awash with transvestites and homeless flashers?
Anna Smith, Empire Magazine
Thanks to a mischievous humour and charming leads, it's surprisingly enjoyable. More Zeta-Jones rom-coms, please.
Catherine Bray, Film4
There is much about The Rebound that does not work, but you can't help giving it some credit for attempting to roam slightly outside the scope of most rom-coms, even if it can't entirely pull it off.
Tom Huddleston, Time Out
The romantic trials of two wealthy, good-looking people, whose only barriers to happiness are their own petty insecurities, become tedious, and it's not helped by some stilted dialogue and awkward, mannered performances.
Roz Laws, Birmingham Post
There are a few funny lines - especially when she goes on a cringey date with a slimy chiropractor - but there are also too many unlikely scenarios and clunky dialogue.
Ben Rawson-Jones, Digital Spy
The positives of The Rebound vastly outweigh the minor criticisms. It's also not afraid to adopt a sudden tonal shift at a key juncture of the plot, which works fairly well.
Robbie Collin, News of the World
ven slap-bang in the middle of the worst year for romcoms in living memory, The Rebound deserves a special boot up the backside for its raging incompetence.
Trevor Johnston, Radio Times
It's not side-splittingly funny, or exactly emotionally trenchant, but Zeta-Jones and Bartha are both decidedly charming, even if there's a notable lack of sexual chemistry between them.
Elliott Noble, Sky Movies
Zeta-Jones is always fun when she's bad, but she still hasn't found the right leading man to bring out her cuddly side.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Watchable romantic comedy, enlivened by good dialogue, strong performances and likeable characters, though it occasionally struggles to find the right tone and is let down by a hideously contrived ending.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
A charming and observant tone helps lift this above most romantic comedies, at least until the formula kicks in during the final rather contrived act. But until then, it keeps us happily smiling and sighing along.
Simon Weaving, Screenwize
An utterly predictable entrant in the Cougedy genre sees a yummy-mummy (Zeta-Jones) and her 25 year-old babysitter (Bartha) tumble into love after she takes her two young children to a new life in New York.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dean !

An average Rom-Com, has a few funny moments, and likable characters.
Anatoliy D

wts
Manu G

This movie was pretty enjoyable and funny. Basically the message of this movie is that no matter what time heals and cures pain and suffering, also that you never know who you gonna end up until you do, probably the person you least expected. Sandy, upon discovering her… More
This movie was pretty enjoyable and funny. Basically the message of this movie is that no matter what time heals and cures pain and suffering, also that you never know who you gonna end up until you do, probably the person you least expected. Sandy, upon discovering her husband's infidelity while watching her son's birthday video, leaves the suburbs and moves into the city. She gets an apartment that's above a coffee house where she befriends one of the workers, Aram, a guy whose wife only married him so she could get a green card. Aram's family thinks he's wasting his life and education by working in the coffee house. Soon after moving into the apartment, Sandy hires Aram to be her nanny while she takes on work for the first time since her children where born. It isn't long when Aram and Sandy find they get along wonderfully and start to date. But the question is: is their relationship real or is it, in fact, just a rebound for both of them?
Dean M

Great fun romantic-comedy, it's a welcome surprise to see '60s pop legend Art Garfunkel in a rare movie role as Aram's father eager to share the news of his upcoming surgery and new body part. I like the chemistry of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Justin Bartha. They're… More
Great fun romantic-comedy, it's a welcome surprise to see '60s pop legend Art Garfunkel in a rare movie role as Aram's father eager to share the news of his upcoming surgery and new body part. I like the chemistry of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Justin Bartha. They're so romantic, especially how Aram (Bartha) compliments Sandy (Zeta-Jones). I think most women love to be complimented by their no matter what. The children were cool and have extreme interrogation skills. The flow of the story was really good. Every scene was in perfect timing. TWO THUMBS UP!
Sanjaya &

Well, after her Oscar winning performance in 'Chicago', Catherine Zeta-Jones was wrapped out in more romantic-comedy movies like in 'No Reservations' with Aaron Eckhart, and this one with Justin Bartha... And the result was the same, just a decent romantic… More
Well, after her Oscar winning performance in 'Chicago', Catherine Zeta-Jones was wrapped out in more romantic-comedy movies like in 'No Reservations' with Aaron Eckhart, and this one with Justin Bartha... And the result was the same, just a decent romantic comedy... Both Catherine and Justin shows a good performance in here, but it just the story that is truly standard, so this movie turn out to be less interesting to me... But overall, I enjoy watching this movie...
Jose Z

The Rebound is a movie that tells the story of Sandy (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a woman that after knowing about her husband infidelity, decides to move on and tries to make a new life with her 2 kids in the city. She moves to an apartment where captivates her new neighbor, a much… More
The Rebound is a movie that tells the story of Sandy (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a woman that after knowing about her husband infidelity, decides to move on and tries to make a new life with her 2 kids in the city. She moves to an apartment where captivates her new neighbor, a much younger man. It is the typical love story about the older woman falling in love with a younger man but with a not so typical ending. The first hour of the movie is ok with some funny moments but the last 15-20 minutes it turns a little boring a with a very slow pace. The cast is good Zeta-Jones delivers a very good performance and Justin Bartha was also very decent, the two kids are very funny. In conclusion, it is a movie you could wait for it to be in dvd, nothing special about it
Deb S

I thought this was a sweet romantic comedy starring Catherine Zita-Jones who looked incredibly beautiful with great acting by both adults and the kids and Justin Bartha was so adorable, you can't help falling in love with this guy. Loved the song "Everytime u go away"… More
I thought this was a sweet romantic comedy starring Catherine Zita-Jones who looked incredibly beautiful with great acting by both adults and the kids and Justin Bartha was so adorable, you can't help falling in love with this guy. Loved the song "Everytime u go away" by Hall and Oates that played in the closing credits......
Andrew P

I didn't know much about this film to begin with, I just went into the cinema and watched it. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it actually is. Both leading roles are funny, charming and sexy (especially Zeta-Jones wow). Their relationship is believable in this more grown up… More
I didn't know much about this film to begin with, I just went into the cinema and watched it. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it actually is. Both leading roles are funny, charming and sexy (especially Zeta-Jones wow). Their relationship is believable in this more grown up rom-com. The idea isnt for everyone but I was surprised to find myself actually like it, and with a bit of a silly long ending it still brought a smile to my face.
Rose G

I was practically dragged inside the theater to see this movie but I guess it wasn't such a waste of money (or time) at all. Yes, it was cheesy...i thought there was little chemistry between Justin Bartha and Catherine Zeta-Jones...Bartha doesn't seem ready to make that… More
I was practically dragged inside the theater to see this movie but I guess it wasn't such a waste of money (or time) at all. Yes, it was cheesy...i thought there was little chemistry between Justin Bartha and Catherine Zeta-Jones...Bartha doesn't seem ready to make that transition from being Nic Cage'...s sidekick in NT to a leading man...and that Paul Young (?) song seem out of place...but I actually did enjoy watching it. It must be something I ate, then. *dumbfounded*

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Lisa Paige Robinson

The Rebound (2009)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

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