Period Dramas: Rules Don't Apply

Warren Beatty's first film in roughly 15 years, Rules Don't Apply stars Beatty himself alongside Lily Collins, Aldren Ehrenreich, and a star-studded supporting cast including Matthew Broderick, Annette Bening, Taissa Farmiga, and Alec Baldwin.

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What It's About:

In 1958, Apple Blossom Queen and devout Baptist Marla Mabrey (Lily Collins) has been given the opportunity of a lifetime - to be a contract actress for Howard Hughes. Given her own house, driver, and a salary, it's everything a budding young actress could dream of. Yet, Marla doesn't get to meet the famous (infamous?) Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty) right away, and neither does her driver Frank (Alden Ehrenreich) - a Methodist, and someone whom Marla connects with almost instantly. So day after day, Marla and Frank wait for their opportunity to meet with the man who could make all of their dreams come true...all the while aware of Hughes' number one rule: drivers and actresses are forbidden from relationships. But what happens if they finally meet him? And what happens if they decide that these rules don't apply?

Why You'll Love It:

• Warren Beatty plays crazy and wishy-washy very well, and Lily Collins is adorable and lovely
• Life doesn't always turn out exactly how you expect it will, and that's okay! That's definitely an important focus of this film
• Beautiful scenery that makes you long to be in the heart of Hollywood, and lovely costumes.
• It feels like a lot of this likely happened, and is overall believable, even though it is not meant to be biographical. I looked up things a few times because I didn't believe that Marla wasn't a real person!
• Although two of the main characters are clearly very religious it doesn't feel preachy or like too much of a focus. It is an important aspect in shaping their viewpoints, but it doesn't feel like their only character traits. There are a few moments at the beginning that may have you concerned that it will be too much, but it mellows after the first few scenes for sure.

Why You Might Want To Skip It:

(Mild spoilers to follow. If the above convinced you to give it a watch, you are probably good to stop reading here).

• If you are expecting a movie with a nice happy ending, I feel like this was rather unsatisfying. If you like those kinds of movies that follow a main character, have a conflict, conflict gets resolved, and the ending leaves you feeling good...this is not it. It doesn't really feel like much actually happens in this film.
• So many things could have been resolved if people actually talked to each other. But alas, drama wins out.
• The whole thing just feels a bit too stereotypical. Budding actress falls for forbidden guy below her station. Good girl does something bad. Romantic misunderstanding wrecks everything. There's not really anything new here.
• If you are looking for a movie showing you the glamour of 1960s Hollywood, this is not it either.
• I think Warren Beatty as Howard Hughes was supposed to be sort of endearing, even though exasperating. Yet he often grates on the nerves instead. Not to mention that there are certain things that are just better heard about and not seen.
• There's a star-studded cast, but many of them don't really get featured. In fact, you barely even realize you've seen them. Although the movie seems to start out with a focus on Lily Collins and Alden Ehrenreich, it shifts to Warren Beatty and almost forgets about their character development until the end.
• If it drives you absolutely nuts when a film does a poor job at balancing the volume of the music with that of the dialogue, then just skip this entirely. Actually, run.

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Were you disappointed with this film, or did you like it? I'd love to hear your insight!