The Rewrite is a romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant as Keith Michaels, an Oscar-winning screenwriter going through a professional and personal crisis. Broke and recently divorced, he takes a job as a screenwriting professor at a small college in upstate New York. His initial intention is to teach out of obligation, but he gradually becomes emotionally involved with Holly (Marisa Tomei), a single mother studying to improve her life.
The film traces his personal evolution: from cynicism and self-irony to human connection and a sense of second beginnings. Throughout the academic year Keith confronts his own prejudices, funny interactions with students and colleagues, and finally discovers that teaching can reconnect his creative and emotional passion.
