Breaking the Rules (film) explained

Breaking the Rules
Director:Neal Israel
Producer:Kent Bateman
Jonathan D. Krane
Starring:Jason Bateman
C. Thomas Howell
Jonathan Silverman
Annie Potts
Music:David Kitay
Cinematography:James Hayman
Editing:Tom Walls
Studio:MCEG
Distributor:Miramax Films
Runtime:100 minutes
Country:United States
Language:English
Budget:$5 million[1]
Gross:$52,285

Breaking the Rules (also known as Sketches)[2] is a 1992 American drama film directed by Neal Israel, executive produced by Larry A. Thompson,[3] starring Jason Bateman, C. Thomas Howell, Jonathan Silverman and Annie Potts. Jason's father, Kent Bateman, has a role in the movie as well.

Plot

Phil (Jason Bateman) is a cancer-stricken man who tricks his two best friends, Gene (C. Thomas Howell) and Rob (Jonathan Silverman), whom he hasn't seen in a long time, to go on a road trip, by inviting them to a fake engagement party. This has the potential for problems because Gene once stole Rob's girlfriend. Phil gets them to be friends again. He tells them of his illness and all three decide to go to Los Angeles for Phil's dying wish: to be a contestant on Jeopardy! On the way there they meet an attractive wild woman with a heart of gold (Annie Potts).

Cast

Reception

Roger Ebert savaged the film in his contemporary review, damning its inauthentic script wherein "one appalling scene follows another". In an exasperated tone, he asked: "Was there no one to cry out, Stop this madness? No one to read the script and see that it was without sense or sensibility? No one to listen to the dialogue and observe that nobody in the world ever talked like this?"[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: AFI|Catalog. Catalog.afi.com. 15 November 2021.
  2. Web site: Sketches . Amazon Prime . 12 October 2023.
  3. Web site: Breaking the Rules (1992) (TV) - Full cast and crew . IMDb.com . 2010-05-20.
  4. Web site: Breaking the Rules . Ebert, Roger . Roger Ebert . October 9, 1992 . Rogerebert.com . August 3, 2016 .