The Rebound

When you think of a romantic dramedy, more often than not, it's about an unlikely couple, with the primary hurdle either being social status, distance, same-gender etc. The Rebound deals with age difference between the lead pair Sandy (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Aram (Justin Bartha).

If there are things that could have been done better for quality improvement, most of it definitely is the script. By no means Bart Freundlich's product here is bad, just that it's ordinary and heavily predictable. Scenes are okay for the most parts. There are some obvious verbal expositions, some literal dialogues and its share of fluff occasionally. The comedy does work sometimes, with the self-defence class being an example. The kid characters though, speak some truly horrible stuffs beyond their age limit; a lot of times with no emotions but simply spewing out dialogues written for them, and it's disturbing how most of it are played off for comedic purposes only without any ramification.

But, the strongest aspect of the story is definitely the main characters. Both Aram and Sandy are real. You can see their pain, where they are coming from and how their surrounding pressure is like. Sandy's fresh out of a separation / divorce, constantly regretting how her life became. Aram does odd jobs to support himself under the idea of contributing to the world around him, despite being qualified for professional desk positions. He's seen a heartbreak himself, and when the two come together, again, on unlikely circumstance, the sincerity, the understanding… everything clicked!

These, coupled with good performances, you are sold on their romance here. It's fairly well developed, and it is really mature of the writer-director to question the realistic nature aka practicality of this relationship, before growing their lives apart from each other and rekindling the spark once again as the plot ends. Mistaken pregnancy is a good reversal by the way.