Rob Reiner is, like his prospective audience for the upcoming “And So It Goes…,” perhaps a little past his best. Spool back to the mid-nineties, and he is to be found on top of his game, with a diverse portfolio of smash hits which not only brought home the bacon but endured (to 2013 at least) in the pop psyche of a generation. This is the guy behind “Stand by Me,” “This is Spinal Tap,” “When Harry Met Sally…” and “A Few Good Men.” ‘Nuff said.
The picture today, though, is a little different. Reiner has presided over a string of nonentity releases, the latest of which, “The Magic of Belle Isle”, pulled off the formidable achievement of both starring Morgan Freeman and flopping colossally at the box office. In a valiant effort to recover some of his old form, however, Reiner has signed to direct the retirement-age romcom “And So It Goes…,” subbing in for PJ Hogan (“Muriel’s Wedding“), who had been long attached despite Reiner’s Castle Rock standing as producers.
Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton star as two star-crossed sixtysomethings thrown together in some convoluted plot that finds the daughter of the former’s estranged son left on his doorstep. But good thing Keaton is his neighbor who decides to help him out. The result will, in all likelihood, be a big cheer from the ‘Marigold Hotel‘ demographic, and a big cringe from everyone else. Harry and Sally this ain’t. [Showbiz 411]