Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- witty
- eccentric
- wistful
- period movie night
- romantic comedy night
What critics said
Critics found the film affable and intermittently funny, but broadly regarded its old Hollywood romance and Howard Hughes portrait as slight, sprawling, and uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Marla and Frank's attraction conflicts with their devout Baptist and Methodist convictions and the sexual mores of 1950s America.
Howard Hughes's bizarre behavior and authoritarian studio rules shape the film's comic period atmosphere.
Hughes controls contract actresses and employees while his personal fixation intrudes on Marla and Frank's relationship.
The couple's attraction violates Hughes's rule against relationships between employees and contract actresses.
Films like Rules Don't Apply, and why
The Way We Were
period Hollywood romance shaped by religious restraint, social conventions, and an idealistic young couple
La La Land
stylized old Hollywood setting, backstage ambition, and a romance complicated by career pressures
The Artist
eccentric show-business milieu, romantic tension, and a warm but melancholic comic-drama tone
My Week with Marilyn
ensemble period melodrama balancing romantic longing with the strange power of a larger-than-life celebrity
Movie Details
- Director
- Warren Beatty
- Release Date
- 2016-11-23
- Runtime
- 127 min
- Rating
- 5.8 / 10 (511)
Cast
- Warren Beatty
- Lily Collins
- Alden Ehrenreich
- Matthew Broderick
- Annette Bening
- Alec Baldwin
- Haley Bennett
- Candice Bergen
- Dabney Coleman
- Ed Harris
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Rules Don't Apply about?
- A devout young actress and an ambitious driver fall for each other beneath the eccentric control of Howard Hughes in 1950s Hollywood.
- What is Rules Don't Apply like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Rules Don't Apply as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Rules Don't Apply violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Rules Don't Apply.
- What did critics think of Rules Don't Apply?
- Critics found the film affable and intermittently funny, but broadly regarded its old Hollywood romance and Howard Hughes portrait as slight, sprawling, and uneven.
- Which films are like Rules Don't Apply?
- Films with a similar feel include The Way We Were, La La Land, The Artist, and My Week with Marilyn.
- How long is Rules Don't Apply?
- Rules Don't Apply runs 127 minutes.
- Where can I watch Rules Don't Apply?
- In United States, Rules Don't Apply is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
