The Rebound (2009)

In New York City, a single mom captivates her new neighbor, a much younger man.

Director:

Bart Freundlich

Writer:

Bart Freundlich

Stars:

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Justin Bartha, Andrew Cherry

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Sandy
Justin Bartha	...	Aram Finklestein
Andrew Cherry	...	Frank Jr. - Age 7
Kelly Gould	...	Sadie - Age 9
Lynn Whitfield	...	Laura Reilly
Kate Jennings Grant	...	Daphne
Rob Kerkovich	...	Mitch
Sam Robards	...	Frank
John Schneider	...	Trevor
Joanna Gleason	...	Roberta Finklestein
Art Garfunkel	...	Harry Finklestein
Stephanie Szostak	...	Alice Marnier
Marcel Simoneau	...	Henri
Eliza Callahan	...	Sadie - Age 13 (as Eliza Barry Calahan)
Rehan Yadav	...	Zeke Finklestein - Age 5

Storyline

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 were 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?

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Plot Keywords:

older woman younger man relationship | new york city | seeing a parent have sex | bad date | self defense class | 

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Taglines:

She's still got it. He's just getting it.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Japan] (Japanese)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 September 2009 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Untitled Bart Freundlich Project

Filming Locations:

Istanbul, Turkey

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,790,414, 13 February 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Film Department, A&F Productions, Dillywood

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 97 min (European Film Market)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (as Datasat Digital Sound)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's subject of an older woman with a younger man is close to writer-director Bart Freundlich's heart - his wife Julianne Moore is 10 years older than he is. Conversely, lead actress Catherine Zeta-Jones is also 25 years younger than her husband, Michael Douglas.

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Goofs

When Sandy and Aram leave the clinic after finding out she is suffering from and ectopic pregnancy, it is snowing but some of the people crossing the street behind them are wearing shorts.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sandy: [driving kids to school] Same thing, every fucking morning.
Sadie - age 9: I heard that.
Sandy: No, you didn't.
Sadie - age 9: Yes, I did.
Frank Jr. - age 7: I did, too.

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Connections

Referenced in Nostalgia Critic: The Haunting (2011)

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Soundtracks

Crazy World
by J Majik and Wickaman featuring Kathy Brown

User Reviews

Nice flick, funny & sweet, but has some risqué banter and situations

Sandy (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is a very organized, type A mother who adores her two kids. However, she catches her husband in an act of infidelity on a webcam and decides to change her life in a major way. Instead of the suburbs, she moves her family into an apartment above a Manhattan coffee shop & starts a job search. Meanwhile, getting-a-divorce Aram (Justin Bartha) is a barista at the cafe, despite having a college degree, which displeases his extremely pushy parents (Art Garfunkel and Joanna Gleason). On their advice, Aram tries a part time stint at a woman's issues agency, where he has to dress up in a protected suit and let the women vent their angers on him! One of them happens to be our Sandy, naturally. All too soon, these two meet again when she returns to her department. Needing a babysitter one day, she asks Aram to help her out. The two children, a boy and a girl, adore him so before long Aram is installed as the nanny. Also, despite the decade of age difference between S and A, they have eyes for each other. Something may be approaching, in terms of a relationship, but how can it survive when it is more of a "rebound" coupling? This is a nice flick, written and directed by a respected indie filmmaker, Bart Freundlich. He himself is married to Julianna Moore, who is a few years older than her husband. Therefore, he has good insight into a May-September relationship. Zeta-Jones and Bartha, who seem an odd couple at first evaluation, give nice performances as the afflicted twosome while all other cast members do a nice job, too. Sets, costumes, and photography are likewise quite attractive. The resolution is admirable, as it strikes a balance between a ride into the sunset and an unhappy finish. The only minor criticism is that there is some salty dialogue and scenarios that won't please the G-rated crowd, so stay away from it, if this applies to you. That said, most romcom fans will like it just fine.