50
As muddled in most respects as its title, Rumor Has It... begins with an intriguing premise...but it devolves into a bland romance spiced with too little comedy.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
50
The story, though initially intriguing, is dicey. A seminal social satire has been spun off into a passionless romance and a wan comedy.
30
The New York Times by Dana Stevens
I suppose Rumor Has It could be worse, though at the moment I'm at a loss to say just how.
50
This Rob Reiner comedy jogs along pleasantly enough to the finish (Costner is charming as always in over-the-hill-ruin mode), which entails a less-than-shattering insight about love and marriage.
38
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
A lump of coal, sculpted from the kind of high-concept idea screenwriters find scribbled on bar napkins after nights of heavy drinking.
50
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
An unfocused mess, with poor chemistry all around and an ending that's as firm and satisfying as an overcooked noodle.
60
The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt
Aniston gets marooned here: Her comic instincts are muted by all the identity angst, yet there isn't sufficient dramatic material into which she can sink her teeth. Costner strolls through this role with disarming ease.
10
Dallas Observer by Robert Wilonsky
Stay away: Everything about the movie is rinky-dink, from its phony, lifeless dialogue to its drab, shabby sitcom look to its choppy editing, all of which can wear on you after 95 minutes that come to feel like an eternity.
75
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
This is not a great movie, but it's very watchable and has some good laughs. The casting of Aniston is crucial, because she's the heroine of this story, and the way it's put together there's danger of her becoming the shuttlecock. Aniston has the presence to pull it off.
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer by William Arnold
T. M. Griffin's script is imaginative and clever.