Hugh Grant goes with rom-coms like teenage girls and vampires. Like eggs and bacon. Like Hall and Oates. Like Kirk and Spock. You get the idea, pick a Valentine’s card, put Hugh Grant’s face on it, commence swooning. He may be getting a bit older and a bit less believable as the dashing, stuttering, male lead he’s become famous for playing, but well, if we know anything about Hollywood, it’s that the men are allowed to get older as long as their female love interests stay just as young. The Rewrite, the latest from Music and Lyrics and Did You Hear About the Morgans writer-director Marc Lawrence, does have a young love interest—AND a very age-appropriate love interest as well in the form of Marisa Tomei. But where the film bores isn’t in its coupling—indeed that only serves to make us quite nostalgic for an A-game Grant and Tomei rom-com that never was—instead it’s the film’s trite plot and over-gimmicked characters that would have amused ten years ago and are now too overplayed.

The Rewrite isn’t your usual rom-com, and that’s because it isn’t actually a rom-com. Not in the strictest sense of the genre. There’s sexy time, and single people, but no one is actually pursuing anyone in this film. Instead we have Hugh Grant playing washed up screenwriter Keith Michaels, his Oscar-winning hey-day long over, struggling to sell any of his ideas for a film. Producers want sexy female action films and he’s showing his age pitching nostalgic retrospective pieces. He begs his agent for a job of any sort and she suggests a teaching gig at an upstate New York college. He’s above such things, but when his electricity gets turned off he unsurprisingly rethinks the offer.

Upon almost instant arrival to his new gig Michaels makes the immediate mistake of shacking up with a student, impressing her with tales of his award-winning career. As a prospective for his screenwriting class, Karen (Bella Heathcote) gets into his class of course, but Michaels has a hard time shaking her off when he’s told that professor-student relationships are—surprise, surprise—strictly forbidden and grounds for dismissal.

Oblivious and narcissistic, Michaels picks almost his entire class based on their Facebook profile pictures. Which means older student Holly Carpenter (Marisa Tomei) doesn’t make the cut, she with two daughters, just trying to finish her education, and happy to simply receive some feedback from Professor Michaels on a script she’s written.

After proving how ill-fit he is for academia when he offends a fellow English department professor (Allison Janney) by (in an almost too naive way) poking fun at Jane Austen, Michaels finds himself on thin ice and, with no actual teaching experience, not especially sure what he’s doing. The middle of the film drags somewhat as Michaels begins to connect with his students, understanding more about them through their writing and letting them lead the class discussions to create the illusion he’s actually teaching. He and Tomei have a few candid conversations during office hours and around campus where she snoopily (though with a believable amiability) inquires into his personal life and offers advice around his estrangement to his son.

Additionally, his prying but friendly neighbor Jim (Chris Elliott) and the department head Dr. Lerner (J.K. Simmons) serve their particular purposes acting as Keith’s one-dimensional friends teaching him life lessons in accepting his life’s progression into an older man with a new career. Teachers might be slightly offended by the implications that not only do those who can’t do, teach, but that it’s not particularly requiring of talent.

The film ends predictably, though not believably, but this film never boasts believability as a goal. The title confused me at first, as Michaels doesn’t actually do any writing in the film, a more sentimental person had to point out it must refer to him rewriting his own life. There aren’t enough eye-rolls in the world. Altogether, I give credit to Tomei and Grant, who really do make a great pair with a believable chemistry. I only wish this script had opted for a rewrite as they are never allowed to be much more than friends until a rather awkward shift at the very end. Me-via-1999 was beyond disappointed in the lack of heart-swelling I felt, and modern me was just annoyed at how calculable everything felt.

Marc Lawrence has either lost some of his romanticism or hasn’t quite figured out how to allow it to age with his protagonists, not to mention the modern sensibilities and expectations of today’s audiences. Here’s hoping he figures it out, as he’s clearly very talented, as are both Grant and Tomei who I will gladly watch on-screen anytime. I hope someone thinks to put them in another film together, and this time give them something to bite into.

The Rewrite has a limited New York City theatrical release February 13.

Spare Parts follows four Hispanic high school students (three undocumented) from Carl Hayden Community High School in Phoenix, Arizona who in 2004 entered an underwater robotic competition and bested some of the best colleges in the country (including former champions MIT), winning first place with a robot made of PVC pipe and cheap car parts. It’s an incredible, classic underdog story, and you’d think transferring it to the big screen would be a lay-up. Sadly, that’s not the case here.

There are two ways to make a movie like this: you can make an artful interpretation of the true story that elevates it and provides new insight, or you can make a clichéd, basic movie and hope the true story’s built-in drama carries you through to the other side. Unfortunately, director Sean McNamara chose the latter route. Though some of its elements are very good, Spare Parts is a mostly adequate, formulaic team-building movie where every single scene and line feels overly familiar, as if you’d seen them before in another feel-good kids movie. (That’s probably because McNamara is best known for directing Disney Channel movies like The Suite Life Movie and The Even Stevens Movie, though I don’t hold that against him.)

The film’s script, penned by Elissa Matsueda, uses a wonderful 2005 Wired article written by Joshua Davis as a guideline and is anchored by George Lopez, who plays the boys’ mentor and instructor, Fredi Cameron (a composite of the boys’ two real-life coaches). After quitting his longtime job as an engineer (for troubling reasons later revealed), he comes to Carl Hayden in hopes of landing substitute teacher position. He’s met by the school’s no-nonsense principal (an overblown Jamie Lee Curtis), who gives him the gig because the school is in desperate need of teachers.

Oscar Vazquez (Carlos PenaVega) is a straight-laced pretty boy whose dreams of joining the Army are shattered when his undocumented status prohibits him from enlisting. Determined to apply his talents in another arena, he finds information about the underwater robotics competition and convinces Fredi to be their supervisor, provided he can put together a team of kids. He recruits Cristian Arcega (David Del Rio), a nerdy, brilliant engineer; Lorenzo Santillan (Jose Julian), a talented, sorta slimy mechanic; and Luis Arranda (Oscar Guitirrez), a big kid who can…lift heavy stuff (that’s literally the only reason he’s on the team).

The characters are so archetypal that even the marketing for the movie acknowledges it (there’s a promotional picture of Cristian fiddling with electronics with “THE BRAIN” written underneath him in big, heroic letters). Each kid has drama to deal with at home (except Luis–he just doesn’t want to be pigeonholed as the “big dumb guy”), and they all don’t get along at first, but eventually they learn to work together and…need I go on? You know all the moves. If you’ve seen The Mighty Ducks, or any underdog sports movies of the same ilk, Spare Parts is going to be déjà vu all over the place.

Lopez is an underrated, versatile actor and keeps the film alive with his sharp humor and earnest delivery. He has great chemistry with the boys, though doesn’t gel quite as well with Curtis or Marisa Tomei, who plays a fellow teacher he has a soft romance with. He’s excellent in an intense scene where he’s forced to intervene in Lorenzo’s home life and confront his abusive father (Esai Morales), and he’s even better in a later scene in which he reveals to Tomei’s character the real reason he quit his job. The younger actors do fine with what they’re given, but what they’re given is run-of-the-mill, so none of them stand out. They’re best in scenes with no dialogue, where we see them just hanging out and bouncing around on hotel beds, being boys. Alexa PenaVega (who just recently married co-star Carlos PenaVega and combined their last names to make a last-name baby) plays Oscar’s girlfriend, Karla, who vows to stick by her man, threat of deportation be damned. She’s a fine actor, but again, the script fails her.

The final act of the film is its most successful. Watching the team show up to the competition with their DIY robot (they call him “stinky”) and outperform the college kids (and MIT’s super-expensive robot) is a treat. Each team has to navigate their robot through an underwater obstacle course to perform difficult tasks like measuring wall-to-wall distance and extracting liquid from a container (without contaminating it with pool water), and it’s a lot of fun to watch (Lopez’s reactions are hilarious). Spare Parts will likely be a crowd-pleaser, especially to those familiar with the story, but those expecting something new to be brought to the table are out of luck. The real story is unbelievably inspirational, but McNamara’s film doesn’t come close to capturing that same magic.

George Clooney directs and stars in his latest film, The Ides of March, which focuses on people involved in American politics and the scandals that often come with them. The film also shows how people evolve in politics from a passionate driven nobody who legitimately believes in what they are doing to a position climber who only cares about gaining power. These are all things most already know so you are not likely to walk away with anything new but thanks to the excellent cast giving strong performances it is not a deal breaker.

It is one week from the Ohio Democratic primary, which is one of the most important primaries because normally it puts the winner in a position to win the party and thus in the running for president in the general election. Mike Morris (George Clooney) is a Democrat governor who is looking to win this primary. Along his sides are his senior campaign manager Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his press secretary Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling).

An example of how brilliant Stephen is, he comes up with a plan that would mandate 18 year olds to do 2 years of service of some kind whether that be in the army or the Peace Corps and in return their college will be paid for. They know that is a bold plan to announce but they also know the voting demographic will be for it since it does not affect them and the age group it does affect is too young to even vote.

Stephen makes the mistake of agreeing to meet with Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), who is the running mates campaign manager. Tom tries to lure Stephen into jump ship from his current position and work for his guy Senator Pullman. Stephen declines and that is when Tom lets him know that the race is much closer than he thinks. Tom informs him that they are in position to capture North Carolina’s delegates from a deal with the governor.

Stephen lets his team know of the situation and Paul comes up with a plan. Walk away from Ohio immediately and take a loss and head over to North Carolina to offer the governor a higher position if Morris is elected for his endorsement vote. Morris does not go for it and decides to stick it out in Ohio.

Meanwhile, a young intern named Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood) takes interest in Stephen. They meet up outside of work where it is admitted that she has wanted him for some time now. He knows that they must keep this a secret but what he does not know is that he will soon discover a secret that could end the campaign in a heartbeat.

The ensemble cast is comprised of a collection of well-seasoned actors and actresses. A group that you would expect great performances from and they fulfill those expectations. With a cast of; George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei, you just cannot go wrong in terms of performance.

Although the entire cast was great, the obvious stand out was Gosling. Watching his character development was my favorite quality of the film. You see Stephen changed from a guy who just wanted to win the polls to a guy that just wanted to get ahead in power.

If there is one thing you take away from The Ides of March it is that all politicians are dirty, even the ones you think are the good guys. Scandals are just the nature of being in politics, being under the microscope on everything you say and do does not help. It is nothing that most people did not already know which is why the storyline is fairly compelling but ultimately one that is not hard to predict how the scene would end once it had started.

Cyrus is not quite the comedy the trailers have you believe it is. This indie film is much more than your typical John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill slapstick you are accustom to seeing in Judd Apatow films, it adds a touch of dark creepiness. Written and directed by upcoming indie superstar duo Mark and Jay Duplass, Cyrus takes cues from their previous films such as, The Puffy Chair and Baghead. In other words, it is wonderful. I would be lying if I said I was not excited when it was announced they were doing this film.

John (John C. Reilly) is socially inept who openly admits is lonely, depressed and desperate after being separated from his wife for seven years now. Just days away from his ex-wife getting married, she feels bad for John and wants him to move on with his life. She knows he needs a relationship for this to happen, so she drags him to a party.

At a party that he not only was not thrilled on going to, let alone meet someone at, he finds a girl named Molly (Marisa Tomei). Even though John is completely drunk beyond reason, for which he can thank his ex-wife for, Molly looks past that. She is in a lot of ways like John, lonely and single for far too long.

He is overly excited when she comes over for the first date, someone that every male can probably empathize with. He purchases condoms, wine, makes dinner and even puts in a few last minute sit-ups. What John lacks in confidence, which is a lot, he more than compensates in honestly. As in this case, sometimes the two are not completely unrelated. The date goes well but ends mysteriously when she tries to sneak out but is caught by John.

John suspiciously follows her home and accidentally falls asleep in his car. The next morning he discovers that she has a son named Cyrus (Jonah Hill). The two oddly hit it off being completely and sometimes too open with each other. Cyrus being overly welcome, invites him to stay for dinner, which John eagerly agrees to.

Something strange happens the next morning as he is about to leave, his shoes are missing. He becomes a little paranoid that something is up. He consults his ex-wife whom which is also his co-worker it turns out. She tells him to forget about it and pretend it never happened. Partly, because she does not believe they took the shoes but mostly because she wants him to be in a relationship more than anyone.

John, as well as the viewer, begins to question whether or not Cyrus is trying to sabotage their relationship or if the bizarre and overly welcome encounters are legit. The film then shifts it’s focus around Cyrus. Hence, the title of the film. The romantic comedy takes a sharp turn and reveals a darker side.

We see John go through an amazing character development as he transforms into a new person. He goes from the timid and lonely, depressed person, to a smart and tactful one. In many ways, his character is a reprise from his character in Magnolia. I am not only talking about him being in a more serious role in general but specifically similar personalities. I missed that John C Reilly. Apparently, so did others as he was nominated for Best Male Lead at Independent Spirit Awards.

Cyrus does not rely solely on John C. Reilly to carry the film though, nearly equally as impressive are Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill. Tomei is plays a lovable character that is hard not to like. Hill shows that he can play an unlikeable, dark and creepy character instead of the usual pure comedy role. I am not putting down his typical roles, because I find them, and subsequently him, to be hilarious. It is delightful to see this different side of him.

For better or worse, the film was shot in a typical Duplass style. Which feels very amateur, almost home movie style with random snap-zooms. Personally, I think it works here but others may not agree. The dialog between characters was very natural and believable. The film as a whole is completely realistic. Which is tends to be a recurring trademark of the Duplass brothers and what has become known as the mumblecore movement. They achieve this by less script and rehearsal and more improvisation on the set.

Cyrus is a straight forward and incredibly honest film, two simple qualities that big budget films should take note of. It proves that you do not need an overly complicated plot with unrealistic situations in order to make a film interesting. Throw in terrific acting performances by the cast and you have yourself one very superb indie film.