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With Rules Don't Apply, Warren Beatty takes an overall affable -- but undeniably slight -- look at a corner of old Hollywood under Howard Hughes' distinctive shadow. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
Small-town beauty queen and devout Baptist Marla Mabrey (Lily Collins), under contract to the infamous Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty), arrives in Los Angeles. At the airport, she meets her driver, Frank Forbes, only two weeks on the job and also from a religiously conservative background. Their instant attraction not only puts their religious convictions to the test but also defies Hughes' number one rule: no employee is allowed to have an intimate relationship with a contract actress.
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Rating: PG-13 (Drug References|Brief Strong Language|Sexual Material|Thematic Elements)
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Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
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Original Language: English
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Director: Warren Beatty
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Producer: Warren Beatty, Arnon Milchan, Brett Ratner, James Packer, Christopher Woodrow, Frank Giustra, Steve Bing, Terry Semel
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Writer: Warren Beatty
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Release Date (Theaters): wide
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $3.6M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: 20th Century Fox
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Production Co: Shangri-La Entertainment, Regency Enterprises, Worldview Entertainment, Ratpac Entertainment, Demarest Films
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Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital
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Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for Rules Don't Apply
Critic Reviews for Rules Don't Apply
Audience Reviews for Rules Don't Apply
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Flying quite a bit lower than The Aviator in terms of scope and entertainment value, Warren Beatty's lightly comic take on Howard Hughes charts a sometimes enjoyable - though not always breezy - old H'Wood romp. This PG-13-rated comedy presents the unconventional love story of an aspiring actress (Lily Collins), her ambitious driver (Alden Ehrenreich), and their eccentric boss (Beatty), the legendary billionaire Howard Hughes. The good news is: Rules Don't Apply ranks better than Beatty's last two turns in the director's chair (Love Affair, Town & Country). The bad news is: this ain't Heaven Can Wait (which hasn't aged well) or even Bulworth (which has improved exponentially with age, but more on that later), the two entries on his director/star CV that also qualify as out-and-out comedies. In an unparalleled H'Wood career that astoundingly bridged the Studio era (Splendor in the Grass, Bonnie & Clyde) with the Maverick '70s (Shampoo, McCabe & Mrs. Miller) and continued through the rise of independent cinema (Dick Tracy, Bugsy), this star simply has little - if nothing - left to prove. He's the living legend who made Reds, for Chrissakes. He wouldn't benefit from, say, showy Oscar noms in the December of his years a la Christopher Plummer (Beginners, All the Money in the World). Mind you, such a feat wouldn't be beneath him. Rather, he's an icon who's already accomplished so much that such prizes wouldn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. For him to make a film like Rules Don't Apply means that he's either bored, has a strong interest in the fascinatingly enigmatic Hughes, or probably a little bit of both. It's as if Beatty wondered what the lift of the eccentric billionaire would look like through the lens of Preston Sturges. With this basic framework in place, he puts a screwball love triangle at the center and lets the comedy ensue...at least in parts. Oftentimes clunky, the pacing of Rules Don't Apply just isn't consistently fun or fast-paced enough. Perhaps, he should've emulated Sturges' style a little closer. Rules Don't Apply certainly has its moments though. Most of these moments come courtesy of the casting, which sees Ehrenreich, Collins, and a dynamite supporting cast shine even when the shenanigans slog along. Also, from set design to costuming to music to the photography - his crew nails the look and feel of the '50s. For a film with the title "Rules Don't Apply," however, Beatty's latest doesn't really take chances. Remember, this is the director who gave audiences the edgy and prescient political comedy Bulworth, which makes a hell of a lot more sense now than it did in 1998 and it made a lot of sense then. Rather, what results is a throwback that plays it safe. With better editing, it could've instead played it for laughs which was the whole damn point. To Sum It Up: Retro Ill-Fitted
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More humorous than I expected. It's kind of a mess, but I still admire Beatty's bizarre vision.
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At the core of this slice of late 50's, early 60's Hollywood is, tah-dah, (of course) a love story. Unfortunately both of our young lovers come off as opportunistic wannabes, particularly when played against the always-in-shadow Howard Hughes (writer/director/producer Beatty) who seems bewildered as to why they seem bewildered over being played so, um, ruthlessly. And he does play them both. Sucks all the charm right out of the thing. Somehow Annette Bening escapes as the only sympathetic character onscreen and she's only there for a minute.
kevin w Super Reviewer -
Rules Don't Apply is a film that fails on just about every conceivable level. The only good thing I can say about it is, that it's probably one of Lily Collins better performances, too bad it's wasted in this punchbowl of a film. The flaws are simply too much for you to take it seriously on any level. It's like someone decided to do a 1950s love story and a Hollywood Biopic and failed to do either one properly. It's ironic that this film is about a Hollywood Legend who's trying to be the boss while whacked outta his mind because after watching this movie, I think it's time for Warren Beatty to enjoy the rest of his life at home before he gets sectioned.
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