Trama

An Oscar-winning writer in a slump leaves Hollywood to teach screenwriting at a college on the East Coast, where he falls for a single mom taking classes there.

Keith Michaels, an academy award winner for his screenplay for the movie "Paradise Misplaced", now faces the challenge of being rejected in Hollywood. To get a breakthrough he is forced to take the job he most hates, teaching. The assignment is at a college is far from his comforts and could possibly take him to a new life.—Thejus Joseph Jose

Resting on his laurels for a 1999 smash hit melodrama entitled "Paradise Misplaced", the Oscar-winning screenwriter for best screenplay and Hollywood's one-hit-wonder, Keith Michaels, is forced to leave the sun-kissed L.A. to teach a screenwriting course at the rainy Binghamton in New York. Once there, right from the start, the once-acclaimed writer will attract the attention of the head of the college ethics committee, the stern Ms Weldon, while in the meantime in a class filled with eye candy, Holly, the hard-working single mother and hopeful writer, seems to see right through him. In the end, can Keith, the unrepentantly egocentric big fish out of the water, find a true connection between himself and the small community?—Nick Riganas

Keith Michaels wrote the screenplay for "Paradise Misplaced" for which he won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar fifteen years ago, the movie which is beloved by most who have seen it. But he may only have three salable screenplays in him - the other two movies which were abject failures both critically and commercially - as his pitches to movie executives now fall flat and his agent Ellen is unable to find him any screenwriting work. In addition, his personal life is failing, as he has long divorced and has not spoken to his eighteen year old son Alex in over a year, Alex who was his inspiration for "Paradise". The only job Ellen is able to secure for him is the writer in residence at Binghamton University in upstate New York, he who would be required to teach an undergraduate screenwriting course. With his resources dwindling, he has no other option but to accept the job, despite he believing that writing in general is an unteachable skill and believing the old adage that those who cannot do, teach. It is also hate at first sight with Binghamton which he sees as a perpetually cold and rainy provincial backwater compared to Hollywood. He has a mixed bag relationship with his fellow professors in the English Department. While the department head, Hal Lerner, a strict military guy with a soft spot, truly likes Keith, Keith immediately butts heads with feminist Jane Austen expert Mary Weldon, also chair of the ethics committee, who sees in Keith a misogynist pop culture hack who has no credentials to teach at the university level. She may be correct especially with the misogyny in the way Keith secretly chooses the majority of the ten students to take his class, the decision having nothing to do with their thirty page screenplay submissions on which they were to be evaluated. Although Keith has no intention to teach at all as he thinks of ways to get back to Hollywood and be an "it" player in the business, he eventually discovers that he has something to pass along to the students, they in turn who may provide him with another view of life. He especially makes a connection with mature student, Holly Carpenter, a single mother who has to work several jobs to make ends meet. But what Keith discovers as his desired life may be threatened if his misogyny on campus - namely an inappropriate relationship with student, Karen Gabney, which he initially didn't understand from his Hollywood mentality was inappropriate - is discovered, especially by Dr. Weldon.—Huggo

Keith Michaels (Hugh Grant) is a washed-up British screenwriter in LA who won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay in 1998, which was 15 years ago. Since then, he has divorced and after a few unsuccessful films, cannot sell another screenplay. Unemployed and low on funds after a long period of unsuccessful pitching, he reluctantly takes up a job teaching screenwriting at Binghamton University in Upstate New York. Keith has an affair with a student Karen (Bella Heathcote). Though at first, he had no intention of actually teaching he finds himself actually good at it. The affair ends badly, and he almost loses the job he realized that he likes, and meanwhile he finds he is in love with a single mother Holly Carpenter (Marisa Tomei) with whom he has been friendly.

Dr. Lerner (J. K. Simmons) is the head of the Department where Keith teaches. Jim (Chris Elliott) is another teacher who teaches Shakespeare. Mary Weldon (Allison Janney) is a fellow senior professor who is about to publish the definitive work on Jane Austin. Mary is a feminist & dislikes Keith dismissal of female writers who treat their work as an embodiment of female empowerment. Keith angers Mary Weldon with derogatory comments about Jane Austen and other misogynistic behavior. Keith also does not believe in the concept of teaching and is scornful of his job.

As a first step, Keith has to read 70 screen plays submitted by prospective students who want to take his class. He selects his class by reading Facebook profiles of the submitting students & their visual attractiveness. Soon, he has a class full of sexy girls & 2 nerds. Holly had also submitted a screenplay for the class & she was not selected. Holly finds that out & forces Keith to read it.

Meanwhile Keith gives an assignment to class to write 90 pages & dismisses them for a month. Mary takes offense to this unprofessional conduct & gives Keith a last warning to carry himself like a teacher. After being publicly challenged by an outraged Karen about his competence, Keith starts to devote more time and effort to coaching his students and helping them discover their passion and improve their writing

Jim tells Keith that it's against college rule for him to date & sleep with a student (Karen). Keith begs Jim to keep it a secret. Keith puts more effort in class. He asks everyone to think about why they are writing their stories. He reveals that he wrote the screenplay for his most successful movie "Paradise Misplaced", based on nighttime stories that he invented to comfort his son Alex (when he was 5 years old) and had suddenly become afraid of the dark after the death of Keith's father.

Keith's hard work with the class starts to pay off as students say good things about him. Karen gets angry when Keith gives more attention to other students. But Keith is also silently taking ideas from the class on how he should structure the story for his sequel to "Paradise Misplaced", which he feels is the only way to resurrect his career. Keith starts getting closer with Holly & has intellectual debates with her.

Holly maintains an optimistic outlook on life and believes that with effort, talents can be developed, and problems can be solved. Despite their differences, Keith finds enlightenment in Holly's advice and makes the first move in contacting Alex.

Keith also like the screenplay from one of his nerd students Clem (Steven Kaplan) and decides to forward the same to his agent Ellen (Caroline Aaron) for her opinion. As things start to get better, Mary finds that Keith had a relationship with Karen & threatens to take it to the ethics committee. Lerner advises Keith to walk away quietly.

The agent tells Keith that the studio doesn't want to hire him (his outline for Paradise Misplaced II gets rejected), and that Clem's script had more potential. Keith goes to Holly for advice & admits that he has no other options but this college job. Holly advises Keith to apologize sincerely to Mary.

Keith does nothing of the sort but apologizes to his class for not being able to finish the course. They are all sad to see him go. Meanwhile Keith's agent sells Clem's script to a studio, who agrees to have Keith produce.

Keith takes Clem to the meeting in LA. Halfway through the meeting, Keith has an epiphany about how he has helped his students. Keith tells Clem that this is his script and his life & leaves him to carry on with his career. Keith rushes back to Binghamton & apologies to Lerner & asks for a meeting with Mary, before saying that he would face the ethics committee in the hearing.

Keith apologies to Mary, says that he is learning to love teaching & would like one last chance to be worthy of her esteem. Mary decides to give Keith the one last chance. Keith expresses admiration for Holly's determination in life and they show a mutual interest in each other. He also declines Ellen's invitation to return to Hollywood, as he has decided to stay in Binghamton to teach and write a screenplay based on his experience there; and he tells Ellen not to call during class hours.

Keith is welcomed back warmly by his students and apologizes to them for the confusing almost leaving, and then coming back. The film ends with Keith's phone flashing with a voicemail from Alex.