Rules Don't Apply

I'm surprised that Warren Beatty returned to directing after almost 20 years with another film about a disturbed man who is falling apart. Even more, why make another Howard Hughes film? You'd learn more about Hughes by watching the Tommy Lee Jones film or "The Aviator." Mr. Beatty was trying to be contemporary with the editing of the film (4 editors by the way) by cutting away from a scenes abruptly that were starting to get interesting.

The pace of the romance between the two lead characters was uneven and thus hard to believe. The costumes, production design, cinematography and much of the acting was great, but the narrative was confusing. There was a lot of interesting quirkiness and style, but because the point of view was scattered, it was hard to really get to know the characters.

I love Warren Beatty, I always have. First time I saw him in a movie was in Bonnie and Clyde. For me his name had something magic. Splendor In The Grass, The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone, Lilith. The beauty of the man didn't seem to interfere with the character he was playing, remember All Fall Down? I waited for Rules Don't Apply with feverish anticipation, like I haven't waited for a movie since I was a kid. I sat through it for the first time, amused, surprised and delighted. But a few hours later the film started unreeling in my mind. Candice Bergen? Did I see Candice Bergen playing a secretary, handing papers, standing in the background, staring at the TV, on the phone? No, it couldn't be. Candice Bergen for goodness sake, an American icon. The thought muddled my memory of the film. I saw Rules Don't Apply again last night. Yes, it was Candice Bergen. Wow! What one will do for friends. On a second viewing I saw it as an unsentimental valentine to what it was, with a hopeful wonderous future beyond us way beyond us. I'll see it again soon and see what happens. Cheers Mr Beatty.

With Warren Beatty's Rules Don't Apply, there may be some high expectations going in, and it's not because people are looking so forward to finally seeing Alden Ehrenreich and Lily Collins in a (semi) romantic coupling (though they are equal parts charming and serious in this film, able to go to awkward comic moments and those Big Dramatic Confrontation Moments in ways that are wonderful and surprising and shows they have a good director at the helm).

And it's not even because people may be clamoring for another movie about the genius-cum-iconoclast-cum-megalomaniac Howard Hughes, since, well, we should have practically everything we'd need to see in Scorsese's The Aviator (which, by the way, these two movies share not only a couple of set pieces, at very different time periods in history, but Alec Baldwin too in a fairly important supporting role).

No, I know I expect more of Warren Beatty after an 18 year absence (lets forget Town & Country for now) and the biggest problem is that he had final cut and put something together that is 25% a choppily edited mess. Whether he cut down for time, I'm sure I don't know, though having *four* credited editors is never a great sign.

Having said this, however, it's also a case where the parts are better, more entertaining, more charming, more engaging, more... just MORE than the whole, and one of Beattys underrated gifts as an actor and director - off kilter comic timing and eccentricity - is on excellent display here. It's a genuine if somewhat flawed and all over the place romantic comedy with some genuinely moving overtones for being essentially about... Being kind to people.

If this is his swan song, it could've been worse.

Rules Don't Apply (2016)

*** (out of 4)

Marla Mabrey (Lily Collins) arrives in Hollywood as a contract player for the one and only Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty) but before long she realizes all the weird stories she's heard about him are true. She strikes up a friendship with her driver Alden (Frank Forbes), although they can't take it any further due to Hughes' rules about his workers dating his future stars. Before long the two young people grow closer to each other as well as Hughes.

Isn't it shocking that it's been nearly twenty-years since Beatty wrote and directed a movie? It's even more shocking that it's been fifteen-years since he acted in one. There have been rumors of Beatty doing a Howard Hughes bio-pic for decades and it was rather shocking when news broke that he was finally making it. In another shocking turn, what people got certainly wasn't what they expected. I saw the movie six days after its release and it's already bombed with critics and at the box office. Sadly the picture just wasn't what people expected or wanted and who knows if this is the last time we see the legend on the big screen.

I must admit that it's rather shocking to see Beatty basically making an old-fashioned romantic comedy. I mean, he could have done that but why waste his Hughes bio on that type of movie? I want to say that I did enjoy the movie and I found it to be quite charming but at the same time you just have to wonder what was going on with this thing. The picture is certainly uneven to say the least. The first hour is basically the romantic side of the two young characters with Hughes basically a supporting player. The second half of the picture kicks up the drama and darker elements as the romantic couple take a back seat and Hughes gets the attention. I'm really not sure why they done the story this way but it seems like one or the other would have made for something better. Did I mention the strange sex/religion stuff going on?

As I said, once you get over the fact that this isn't the type of movie you're expecting, once you set back into your seat, what we get here is pretty good. I thought the romance actually worked in an old-fashioned type of way and there were certainly some great performances here. Both Collins and Forbes are terrific together. Both of them nail their characters and they also share a terrific chemistry with each other. Collins is really the stand out as she perfectly captures the innocence of her character. Beatty is also terrific in his supporting role. The first portion of the film has him doing a lot of great comic timing but Beatty gets to show his dramatic side in the second half with the character's troubles come into play. It really makes you wonder what he could have done in a straight bio. The supporting players feature some very well-known actors and all of them do a fine job.

RULES DON'T APPLY has some great cinematography, nice music selection and for the most part it's just a charming and fun film. Until the drama starts and then the drama works just fine as well. I just don't think the two mixed all that well and that's why the film seems uneven. Sadly, RULES DON'T APPLY will probably become known as being a major flop, which is too bad because there's a good movie here. Most people probably won't see that because we expected more from Beatty.

Really hope in time I'll realize that I just missed something, but as much as I hate to say it, this was somewhat disappointing. Any Beatty film will certainly have much to praise, and this is no exception - looks great, sounds great, great acting from an incredible cast, many funny moments - but the story doesn't hold up to the superior levels of the other areas. Out of respect for not giving anything away, I'll be vague, but there are a couple of major plot points that are rather forced. I'll trust that the protagonist's eccentricities are accurate reflections, but by the end, I just didn't care and many moments felt more like eccentricity for the sake of eccentricity. I remain such a fan that not sure if I want people to agree with this review or convince me that I'm wrong. My apologies, Mr. Beatty. I'll see anything you make and hope this won't be your last, but overall I didn't find this whole equal to the sum of its parts.