And So It Goes (2014)
Directed by Rob Reiner
Nobody likes self-centered realtor Oren Little, and he prefers it that way. He's deliberately mean to anyone who crosses his path and wants nothing more than to sell one final house and retire. His life turns upside-down when his estranged son drops off a granddaughter he never knew existed. Suddenly left in charge of her and with no idea how to take care of a child, he pawns the girl off on his neighbor, Leah -- but he eventually learns how to open his heart.
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The late-in-life romantic comedy, starring Michael Douglas as a curmudgeonly real estate agent and Diane Keaton as the sweet-natured lounge singer who wins his heart, has been directed by Rob Reiner in a clear effort to re-bottle the lightning of such hits as Nancy Meyers’s “ It’s Complicated ” and James Brooks’s “ As Good as It Gets .”
(Andrus is best known for the Oscar-nominated script for “As Good as It Gets,” which he co-wrote with James L. Brooks.
His latest, from "As Good As It Gets" writer Mark Andrus, isn't going to break that streak, but it has its charms, buoyed by the performances of two old pros and a delicious turn from "Misery's" Frances Sternhagen as Oren's long time colleague Claire.
In that sense, And So It Goes—written by Mark Andrus (As Good As It Gets)—occasionally feels like a breath of fresh air.
The film is breezy and innocuous for the most part, but most of the jokes in the screenplay by Mark Andrus (As Good As It Gets) are forced and stale.
I kept thinking that this thoroughly pleasant, and utterly tepid, romcom was likely written for Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, and sure enough, checking the credits, screenwriter Mark Andrus also penned “As Good As It Gets.”
Douglas may be paying Reiner back for “The American President,” a so-so political comedy that nevertheless did well for the actor.
There was a time when the new Rob Reiner film was something get excited about: “Stand By Me,” “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” “Misery,” “A Few Good Men,” “The American President.”
Though he hasn’t delivered a superior effort in decades, this is his least-embarrassing outing since 1995’s “The American President,” which first teamed him with Douglas.
Reiner excels at relationship humor, of course, peaking with “When Harry Met Sally” and the still-sterling “The American President,” starring Douglas.
Director Rob Reiner made some terrific films across a variety of genres in the 1980s and 1990s – This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A Few Good Men, The American President.
Variations on these ideas echo throughout the history of the medium, but even if you’ve only been paying attention to recent cinema, then you may catch traces of Little Miss Sunshine, The Royal Tenenbaums, Gran Torino, and Up in Reiner’s premise.