Hugh Grant goes back to college in 'The Rewrite'

In the new comedy from Marc Lawrence, the British actor plays a screenwriter whose Hollywood career peaked in 1988. Now divorced and broke, he reluctantly accepts a teaching job at an American university.

Fans of Hugh Grant's romantic comedy stylings will find all the trappings of the genre in "The Rewrite." An aging bachelor attempts to cope with his return to mediocrity several years after experiencing fame and glory.

Aspects of the character call to mind several others played by Grant through the years, including the washed-up pop singer Alex Fletcher the 2007 movie "Music and Lyrics," also directed by Marc Lawrence.

Ray Michael, a screenwriter without a script, attempts to cash in on what's left of his notoriety, achieved mainly through the Oscar he won 15 years earlier, by teaching his craft at a college to pay the bills. While he starts out hoping to coast by with minimal effort, things change when he meets a young single mother played by Marisa Tomei.