Preteen girl looking at a cell phone with her parents

Family movie night? There's an app for that

Download our new mobile app on iOS and Android.

Get the app
Parents' Guide to

Rumor Has It...

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Awkward, unfunny, and not meant for kids.

Movie PG-13 2005 96 minutes
Rumor Has It... Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 17+

Based on 5 parent reviews

KaMiDi24
KaMiDi24 Adult
December 8, 2018
age 18+

Welcome to a materialistic, morally bankrupt world

If I were from Pasadena, I’d be insulted.
equestrian975@yahoo.
equestrian975@yahoo. Parent of 11 and 13-year-old
October 16, 2021
age 18+

Sick demented demoralizing perversion

A man who takes advantage of a young lady who could possibly be his daughter when she is drunk and emotionally vulnerable is disgusting. Then think about the fact that he had relations with the grandmother, mother and daughter from the same family. The acting was horrible. This is inappropriate for me as a 51 year old man. I spent 2!days pondering about the egotistical macho perversion and made me angry. This is mot for anyone - it’s just disgusting! The 18 and up rating is incorrect - the movie should be removed from existence.
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

RUMOR HAS IT... follows the romantic travails of writer Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston). Feeling like she doesn't "fit," she thinks her family is the source for The Graduate, she seeks the man who slept with her mother and grandmother, imagining he might be her father. The occasion for her search is her sister Annie's (Mena Suvari) wedding, for which Sarah and her fiancé Jeff (Mark Ruffalo) fly from New York to Pasadena. Sarah finds the model for Benjamin Braddock, Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner). Now an internet millionaire, he assures her that he can't be her dad (as he suffered "blunt testicular trauma" during a soccer game 39 years ago), and they promptly get drunk and sleep together. Proclaiming that he's enchanted by his single "pretty spectacular" night with Sarah – Beau pursues her to Pasadena.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (10 ):

Rumor Has It... is awkward and unfunny. While Sarah's grandmother, the chain-smoking, haughty Katherine Richelieu (Shirley MacLaine), offers comic moments, the movie pretty much abandons her once Sarah finds the model for Benjamin Braddock. Never thinking just to ask her father, Earl (Richard Jenkins), about her dead mother's past, Sarah instead imagines her mom was happiest with this other man, as they spent a weekend in Mexico just before her marriage to Earl.

The film perks up briefly when Beau heads to Pasadena, where he encounters Katherine. Unimaginatively accompanied by Ennio Morricone's spaghetti Western theme, she stalks out to confront her erstwhile lover, and then, pfft. The film retreats from this sparky relationship, so full of raw resentment and regrets, to refocus on the terminally dull Sarah.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Sarah's consistently bad decisions concerning her fiancé, her family, and her one-night stand. Though she says she's "scared," how does her "search for herself" end up hurting other people? How would Sarah's entire situation be different if only she had talked with her father first?

Movie Details

  • In theaters: December 25, 2005
  • On DVD or streaming: May 9, 2006
  • Cast: Jennifer Aniston , Kevin Costner , Shirley MacLaine
  • Director: Rob Reiner
  • Inclusion Information: Female actors
  • Studio: Warner Bros.
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Run time: 96 minutes
  • MPAA rating: PG-13
  • MPAA explanation: mature thematic material, sexual content, crude humor and a drug reference.
  • Last updated: October 7, 2023

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate