Click to read the article
Breakin' All the Rules (2004)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:85
Fresh:28
Rotten:57
Average Rating:4.8/10
Consensus: This formulaic screwball comedy is weighed down by a contrived, overly complicated plot.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for sexual material/humor and language
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:May 14, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $11,827,301
Synopsis: Things are looking bleak for Quincy Watson (Jamie Foxx, ANY GIVEN SUNDAY and BOOTY CALL). His company is firing people left and right and his heartless fiancée Helen (Bianca Lawson) has just taken... Things are looking bleak for Quincy Watson (Jamie Foxx, ANY GIVEN SUNDAY and BOOTY CALL). His company is firing people left and right and his heartless fiancée Helen (Bianca Lawson) has just taken off for Paris with his best man. What else is there to do but sit around the house in an old bathrobe writing anguished letters to Helen that express just how bad he feels over how tactlessly she broke the news to him? His cousin Evan (Morris Chestnut, CONFIDENCE, HALF PAST DEAD) is a magazine publisher who convinces him to take the letters and turn them into an instructional book about how to scientifically and skillfully break up with someone. When the book hits the bestseller list, Quincy is suddenly regarded as an expert on the subject. Both Evan and Quincy's former boss Philip Gascon (Peter MacNicol of ALLY MACBEAL fame) enlist his help breaking things off with their girlfriends. Quincy even agrees to meet Evan's girlfriend Nicky (the lovely Gabrielle Union of BRING IT ON and DELIVER US FROM EVA) in his place, but Nicky recognizes him from a TV interview about his book and immediately suspects (correctly) foul play. So, she decides to play her own game by introducing herself to Quincy as someone else. BREAKIN' ALL THE RULES is a head-spinning yarn of mistaken identity that has everyone in the movie in a convoluted tailspin. It's a charming, clever, and complicated tale of love, sex, and romance. This comedy of errors has a lot going for it, including an up-to-the-minute hip-hop and R&B soundtrack with some cool Middle Eastern dance grooves and some old school tunes to boot. [More]
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Jennifer Esposito
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Jennifer Esposito, Peter MacNicol, Bianca Lawson, Jill Ritchie, Heather Headley
Director: Daniel Taplitz
Director: Daniel Taplitz
Screenwriter: Daniel Taplitz
Producer: Lisa Tornell
Composer: Marcus Miller
Studio: Screen Gems
Get This Movie
Reviews for Breakin' All the Rules
Despite what the title suggests, it's the good old-fashioned virtues that make Breakin' All the Rules better than most romantic comedies.
The plot is silly -- mistaken identities and misunderstandings have several characters unknowingly sleeping with each other's partners -- and gets sillier as it goes.
Whatever might have been raunchy-cute has been edited out of it. It's a movie with a lot of very good-looking people trying to find something funny to say or do.
It just keeps building on an extremely complicated sitcom plot ... and the gorgeous, charming cast just keeps hitting scene after scene out of the park.
In their scenes together, Foxx and Chestnut trade sly one-liners like front-line horn players in an intimate jazz club, while Union is given her best showcase yet for her comedic timing.
For all the labyrinthine liaisons, the plot is as predictable as a rainforest weather forecast. There are, however, enough bright ideas and zippy lines to keep things on the fresh side.
For the most part, Breakin' All the Rules feels like a Richard (Love Actually) Curtis film but without the inventiveness and wit.
Packed with enough muddles and mixups to stock a French farce (or a middling UPN sitcom), Rules coasts amiably on without striking any real sparks.
Content to offer an endless string of mistaken identities and contrived misunderstandings in the vein of a failed TV sitcom spinoff like The Ropers.
It isn't great by any stretch, but it could be just the escape for anyone hoping to avoid the big-budget blockbusters currently using up all the available oxygen.
An amiable little sex romp with a few real surprises when it comes to leaving everyone with a smile on their faces.
Delivers the goods in formulaic fashion, but enjoys an edge thanks to a fast-paced story and, more importantly, the casting of Foxx as the romantic lead.
In romantic comedy, it's all about the chemistry. Jamie Foxx and Gabrielle Union have just enough to make Breakin' All the Rules worth seeing.
It's a disturbingly conventional and painfully cliched bore that doesn't violate any existing cinematic rules, except maybe that romantic comedies are supposed to be funny.
The movie depends for its success on the likability of Jamie Foxx, Morris Chestnut and Gabrielle Union, and because they're funny and pleasant, we enjoy the ride even though the destination is preordained.
It's all incredibly routine fare, borrowing as much from the old Doris Day and Rock Hudson comedies as from their numerous knockoffs.
The personable, good-looking cast helps things along somewhat but Daniel Taplitz’s script falls short of success.
Latest News for Breakin' All the Rules
November 30, 2005:
In "Theory," Reynolds, Mortimer & Townsend Will Co-Star
Ryan Reynolds, Stuart Townsend, and Emily Mortimer will star in "Chaos Theory," says The Hollywood Reporter. The comedy is coming from "Pretty Persuasion"... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Breakin' All the Rules at Rotten Tomatoes
- Breakin' All the Rules at IGN
- Breakin' All the Rules at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



