New Comedy ‘And So It Goes’ Exclusive at Ayala Malls Cinemas

From acclaimed director Rob Reiner (“The Bucket List,” “When Harry Met Sally”) comes the uplifting comedy “And So It Goes” starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton. The film will be shown exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas nationwide starting Sept. 24.

In the film, there are a million reasons not to like realtor Oren Little (Douglas), and that’s just the way he likes it. Willfully obnoxious to anyone who might cross his path, he wants nothing more than to sell one last house and retire in peace and quiet — until his estranged son suddenly drops off a granddaughter (Sterling Jerins) he never knew existed and turns his life upside-down.

Clueless about how to care for a sweet, abandoned nine-year-old, he pawns her off on his determined and lovable neighbor Leah (Keaton) and tries to resume his life uninterrupted. But little by little, Oren stubbornly learns to open his heart – to his family, to Leah, and to life itself.

“I basically make the same movie over and over again,” Rob Reiner laughs. “The woman is always more advanced and more developed and emotionally able. And the man is like an idiot running around, trying to figure it all out, until he realizes that he should be with the woman.” And so it is with “And So It Goes.”

The idea for the film came about during the press junket for Reiner’s 2007 hit, “The Bucket List,” starring Jack Nicholson. “Every single journalist asked the same question,” the director recalls, “‘what’s on your bucket list?” Reiner’s longtime producing partner, “And So It Goes” producer Alan Greisman, remembers the classic Nicholson answer. “He thought for a minute and then he replied, ‘I sit in my living room with my feet up on the coffee table smoking a cigarette, and I ask myself: is there time for one more great romance?’ I went up to Rob and said, ‘This is a great idea for a movie.'” The gears began to turn, and the subject of a new picture was hatched. Explains Reiner, “That struck me – people finding each other at a certain point in life, a later point in life.”

Scribe Mark Andrus (“As Good As It Gets”) came aboard to develop a script for the film. “The main idea,” says Reiner, “is about people who have decided that they’re done, they’re not going to be involved romantically again. And somehow they find each other.” Under Andrus’ pen, the plot expanded to bring in broader themes about second chances in life – not just in romance, but also in career choice as well as for families in conflict.

Therein lies a great humanity beyond the comedy – which in turn helped to attract great talent. Recalls producer Mark Damon, “I first read `And So It Goes’ on a flight to Toronto. Between my laughter and my tears, I realized I was reading an exceptional script that could make an exceptional film in the right hands and with the right cast. With a pedigree of Academy Award nominees and winners, I knew this would be a film I would be proud to be involved with, proud to produce, and proud to distribute. Rarely had I been so sure about a film’s prospects, and as soon as I got off the plane, I called Rob Reiner and Alan Greisman of Castle Rock, and told them ‘I’m in.’ Rob has a sure hand as a director, actors love him, and he gets wonderful performances out of them. It was exciting to see him bringing the promise of this script to life on the big screen.”