Rules Don’t Apply: Movie Review

It’s been fifteen years since we last saw Warren Beatty on the big screen.  We know that in any profession, people can get a little rusty when they spend a great deal of time away.  Keeping that in mind, I still found myself surprised by just how bad “Rules Don’t Apply” was.  Beatty not only stars, but also wrote and directed this comedy-drama about young love and eccentric Howard Hughes.

Ambitious young businessman, Frank Forbes (Alden Ehrenreich) has only been living in Los Angeles a few weeks before scoring a job driving cars for Howard Hughes’ contracted actresses.  His dream is to build affordable housing in Los Angeles and is hoping to get Mr. Hughes (Beatty) to invest. When Frank meets Marla Mabrey (Lily Collins), he falls for her quite instantly.  The problem is that Howard Hughes has set strict rules about employees having romantic interactions. This doesn’t stop Marla and Frank from being attracted to each other.

The interaction between the driver and the actress is only part of the story. The other half focuses on Frank’s relationship with Howard Hughes.  Neither one of these stories seem to gel well. At times “Rules Don’t Apply” tries to be a romantic-comedy and other times a Hollywood farce.  When the film delves into Howard Hughes deteriorating mental health, things get depressing.

“Rules Don’t Apply” feels so uneven that even an impressive supporting cast that includes Matthew Broderick, Martin Sheen, Annette Bening, Oliver Platt, and Alec Baldwin can’t help it. Beatty is a talented filmmaker, and the proof lies in such films as “Reds” and “Dick Tracy”.  The skill he brought to those projects seems to have vanished, however his portrayal of Howard Hughes is quite solid. Let’s hope if he decides to get back behind the camera again, he can find that long lost magic we know is in him.

By: Marc Ferman