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Breaking the Rules

Play trailer Poster for Breaking the Rules PG-13 Released Oct 9, 1992 1h 40m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 58% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Terminally ill Cleveland resident Phil (Jason Bateman) arranges a get-together with his closest childhood pals, Gene (C. Thomas Howell) and Rob (Jonathan Silverman). Gene and Rob had a falling out over a woman, but they put aside their differences and agree to join Phil on a trip to Los Angeles. Their goal is to land Phil a spot as a game show contestant on "Jeopardy!" Along the way they find adventure and, in the form of spirited waitress Mary (Annie Potts), a new buddy.

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Breaking the Rules

Critics Reviews

View All (4) Critics Reviews
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Breaking the Rules is a movie about a guy who finds out he has a month to live, and decides to spend it in the worst buddy movie ever made. Rated: 0/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Aug 12, 2005 Full Review Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Rated: 2/5 Oct 1, 2002 Full Review Scott Weinberg eFilmCritic.com Anemic Guy Movie. The cast tries hard, to little avail. Rated: 2/5 Jul 25, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (5) audience reviews
Audience Member Good movie... has everything from laughter to tears. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member This one my top 5 movies of all time!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member This is not a "guy movie" or a "buddy movie". This film is a celebration of life, and how we try and complicate it, rather than enjoy it. The final scene is nothing that hasn't been done before, but is executed in a manner that is so true to the character, and his desire to see his friends happy, that it is one of the most spiritually inspiring moments I've ever experienced in film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member A favourite of mine from the 90's. Jason Bateman plays a dying man who's last wish is for his 2 best friends (played by C. Thomas Howell and Jonathan Silverman) to reconcile their differences before he passes away, so they drop everything and head out on a cross country road trip to the west coast with some comic adventures. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member More crappy movies I've seen. One day I might get every movie I've seen rated. Okay probably not. Here are some bad ones......with not much to say. [b]Breaking the Rules - 1/10 [/b]Director - Neal Israel Starring - C. Thomas Howell, Jason Bateman, Jonathan Silverman, Annie Potts. [b]Backtrack - 3.5/10 [/b]Director - Dennis Hopper Starring - Dennis Hopper, Jodie Foster, Dean Stockwell, Vincent Price, John Turturro, Joe Pesci, Charlie Sheen. [b]Black Sheep - 1.5/10 [/b]Director - Penelope Spheeris Starring - David Spade, Chris Farley, Tim Matheson. [b]Bye Bye Love - 4/10 [/b]Director - Sam Weisman Starring - Paul Resier, Matthew Modine, Randy Quaid, Janeane Garofalo. [b]Casper - 3/10 [/b]Director - Brad Silberling Starring - Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, Cathy Moriarty, Eric Idle. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Breaking the Rules

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Movie Info

Synopsis Terminally ill Cleveland resident Phil (Jason Bateman) arranges a get-together with his closest childhood pals, Gene (C. Thomas Howell) and Rob (Jonathan Silverman). Gene and Rob had a falling out over a woman, but they put aside their differences and agree to join Phil on a trip to Los Angeles. Their goal is to land Phil a spot as a game show contestant on "Jeopardy!" Along the way they find adventure and, in the form of spirited waitress Mary (Annie Potts), a new buddy.
Director
Neal Israel
Producer
Kent Bateman, Jonathan D. Krane
Screenwriter
Paul W. Shapiro
Production Co
Management Company Entertainment Group, Sterling Pictures
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 9, 1992, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$23.2K
Runtime
1h 40m
Sound Mix
Surround
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