REBOUND (film review)

Review by Elizabeth Weitz

Rebound (written, directed and produced by Megan Freels) is all about a bad day…like a REALLY bad day…I’m talking about the kind of day that includes you accidentally farting on a first date, but instead of just noise it also contains squishy lumps, the smell of death, your date puking…and no call for a second date.

Yeah, that kind of day.

The bad day in this case belongs to Claire (Ashley James), a pretty, struggling actress from L.A who catches her boyfriend of three years (Brett Johnson) in bed with another woman (Ali Williams) and falls completely apart.

To counteract the definite binge-eating that will take place, Claire makes the reasonable decision to return home to Chicago into the warm, safe embrace of her parents via a hopefully head-clearing road trip that starts off horrible and only gets worse from there.

Seriously, this chick would have been better served by staying in L.A., buying a case of Nutella and settling in for a Netflix marathon while wearing expandable pants.

Her bad luck begins with losing her phone at a rest-stop and ends with a showdown in a faux Jiffy Lube (the middle part involves her car pretty much treating her like her ex-boyfriend, ending up in a town that is seemingly populated by ornery men-folk- who have no problem with the concept of Roofie-ing a young woman- and a bizarre therapy session that insurance definitely won’t cover).

I don’t want to get too into the minutia of the film, otherwise that would ruin it for you but let’s just say that if you happen to enjoy women-in-distress torture flicks with a side of a psychoanalytical maniac/car mechanic (Mark Sheibmeir) mixed with just a hint of film-noir, then you are going to like Rebound.

After a career producing projects associated with her late grandfather, the inimitable Elmore Leonard, Freels’ first film as a writer/director provides plenty of tension as the ramifications of one bad decision will haunt forever.  The brief running time keeps things tight, but the film overall could use a little more breathing room.

Yep, just an enjoyable, low-budget (but well structured) movie that teaches you that sometimes the best thing you can do after a truly broken heart is watch TV and eat Chocolate Hazelnut Butter straight from the jar can…it’ll save you from making the biggest mistake of your life.