Sarah Huttinger is a woman who learns that her family was the inspiration for the book and film "The Graduate" -- and that she just might be the offspring of the well-documented event.Sarah Huttinger is a woman who learns that her family was the inspiration for the book and film "The Graduate" -- and that she just might be the offspring of the well-documented event.Sarah Huttinger is a woman who learns that her family was the inspiration for the book and film "The Graduate" -- and that she just might be the offspring of the well-documented event.
Rob Lanza
- New Year's Eve M.C.
- (as Robert Lanza)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaShirley MacLaine was originally offered the role of Elaine in The Graduate (1967), but turned it down.
- GoofsWhen Sarah looks at her mother's picture in her bedroom, the pink 8-Ball "Date Ball" is to the picture's left, next to the stack of books. In the next shot, it's clearly moved to the shelf above the books. Returning to the close-up of the picture, it's next to the books again. Next shot, it's again up on the shelf.
- Crazy credits"No real people are portrayed in this film. This is a fictional film, inspired by something that supposedly happened a long time ago."
- ConnectionsFeatured in MsMojo: Top 10 Creepiest Romance Movies (2017)
- SoundtracksTheme from 'A Summer Place'
Written by Max Steiner
Featured review
Resuscitating a Classic Movie with a Lacking, Lethargic Sequel Three Decades Later
There are moments in this inconsequential 2005 comedy when I can see a bright future for Jennifer Aniston's light comedic talents, even though this movie does not stretch her much beyond her likeably insecure "Friends" persona. She plays Sarah Huttinger, a likeably insecure New York Times obituary writer going home to Pasadena to attend her younger sister Annie's wedding. Sarah is picture-pretty, 33 and engaged to a nice, unflappable guy named Jeff who accompanies her. At the same time, she's unhappy about her career and wondering why she always feels out-of-sorts with her well-to-do family. A ray of light comes from her only kindred spirit in the family, her feisty, tart-tongued grandmother Katherine, who tells Sarah about her late mother's pre-wedding tryst in Mexico that gives rise to questions about Sarah's paternity.
All the domestic shenanigans that ensue would probably be enough to fill this comedy's blessedly brief 96-minute running time, but screenwriter Ted Griffin hangs it all on the idea that Sarah's family may have been the inspiration for the Robinsons in Charles Webb's 1963 novel, "The Graduate", which of course, is the basis of Mike Nichols' classic 1967 movie. The tie-in must have sounded like a creative idea on paper, but something happened on the way to the screen that has taken most of the comic invention out of it. In fact, there is a pervasive lethargy throughout this movie, and director Rob Reiner is unable to overcome it because Sarah's dilemma of choosing between adventure and predictability never feels that emotionally resonant. The dialogue never feels sharp, perceptive or funny enough to pull off the inevitable comparisons with the earlier film. Moreover, the story is set rather arbitrarily in 1997 to make the timelines make sense with the stars' ages.
Beyond Aniston, a strong cast has been set adrift. Playing Katherine like an even more embittered variation on Aurora Greenway, Shirley MacLaine crackles with aplomb as the possible inspiration for Mrs. Robinson, even when her lines are not as snappy as she thinks they are. As the aging but still magnetic Benjamin Braddock doppelganger, a high-tech mogul named Beau Burroughs, an overly sedate Kevin Costner barely registers in a smallish role. When he does, there is an insinuating, almost creepy quality in the way Beau's relationship with Sarah evolves. Until the end, Mark Ruffalo has little to do as Jeff but wait patiently for Sarah to resolve her personal dilemma. Richard Jenkins and Mena Suvari have even less time to make an impression in the underwritten roles of Sarah's passive father and bubbly sister, respectively. The 2006 DVD provides the original theatrical trailer (which gives away most of the plot) as its sole extra.
All the domestic shenanigans that ensue would probably be enough to fill this comedy's blessedly brief 96-minute running time, but screenwriter Ted Griffin hangs it all on the idea that Sarah's family may have been the inspiration for the Robinsons in Charles Webb's 1963 novel, "The Graduate", which of course, is the basis of Mike Nichols' classic 1967 movie. The tie-in must have sounded like a creative idea on paper, but something happened on the way to the screen that has taken most of the comic invention out of it. In fact, there is a pervasive lethargy throughout this movie, and director Rob Reiner is unable to overcome it because Sarah's dilemma of choosing between adventure and predictability never feels that emotionally resonant. The dialogue never feels sharp, perceptive or funny enough to pull off the inevitable comparisons with the earlier film. Moreover, the story is set rather arbitrarily in 1997 to make the timelines make sense with the stars' ages.
Beyond Aniston, a strong cast has been set adrift. Playing Katherine like an even more embittered variation on Aurora Greenway, Shirley MacLaine crackles with aplomb as the possible inspiration for Mrs. Robinson, even when her lines are not as snappy as she thinks they are. As the aging but still magnetic Benjamin Braddock doppelganger, a high-tech mogul named Beau Burroughs, an overly sedate Kevin Costner barely registers in a smallish role. When he does, there is an insinuating, almost creepy quality in the way Beau's relationship with Sarah evolves. Until the end, Mark Ruffalo has little to do as Jeff but wait patiently for Sarah to resolve her personal dilemma. Richard Jenkins and Mena Suvari have even less time to make an impression in the underwritten roles of Sarah's passive father and bubbly sister, respectively. The 2006 DVD provides the original theatrical trailer (which gives away most of the plot) as its sole extra.
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- EUyeshima
- Apr 11, 2007
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
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- Otherwise Engaged
- Filming locations
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $55,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $43,000,262
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,473,155
- Dec 25, 2005
- Gross worldwide
- $88,933,562
- Runtime1 hour 37 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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