A cinematic sponge cake?

Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine, Mark Ruffalo, Mena Suvari, Richard Jenkins, Mike Vogel, Christopher McDonald

Jennifer Aniston films are the equivalent of a sponge cake. They’re light, they’re fluffy, and they’re reasonably appetizing – but a spread of sugary icing on top would make it so much better.

From the outset, “Rumor Has It” looks as if it has a nice top of sweet spread, but upon closer investigation you realise it’s merely the artificial type – worth a look, not a lick.

It is an easy mistake to make, especially with a film with as pretty packaging as this has. Not only is the cast to-die-for – Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine, Mena Suvari and Mark Ruffalo also feature – but also the storyline is an absolute doozie.

In the film, the former TV sitcom sweetheart plays a baffled young woman whose life takes a dramatic turn when she discovers her grandmother (a scene-stealing Shirley MacLaine) was the inspiration for Mrs Robinson, the senior seducer of the book/film “The Graduate”. It gets worse: She discovers the guy that Dustin Hoffman played in the movie – Kevin Costner in another nice role after his bravura turn in “Upside of Anger” – could in fact be her father. [Full Review]