This is not a movie about Howard Hughes. It is about old Hollywood. And Beatty captures that theme brilliantly and beautifully.I was never a Warren Beatty fan. (Sorry, Mr. Beatty.) But I am now! His creation of Howard Hughes is brilliant. Whether Hughes was really like this or not, is not the issue. It's how an actor brings his character to life. Mr. Beatty's portrayal of Hughes is riveting. So are all the other characters that help tell the story to Rules Don't Apply. I like that Mr. Beatty used well-known, super talented actors to round-out his story about old Hollywood: Alec Baldwin, Candice Bergen, Matthew Broderick, Ed Harris, Oliver Platt, Annette Benning, and Martin Sheen. They all bring a sense of reality to the story and their character's vocations.Plot: 1958 Hollywood. Two devout religious employees of Howard Hughes - an aspiring actress and songwriter, Marla Mabrey (Lilly Collins), and Hughes' chauffeur, Frank Forbes (Alden Ehrenreich), must put up with Hughes' eccentricities. Including their not being able to date because Hughes' #1 rule is no employee is allowed to have a relationship with his contract actresses. But when Hughes steps over his own line, things get dicey... and interesting.

All the actors, except Warren Beatty were excellent in their roles, especially Lily Collins, Alden Ehrenreich, and Mathew Broderick. Warren's performance was by far the worst Howard Hughes portrayal in the history of actors portraying Howard Hughes. He had no chance to compete with the likes of Tommy Lee Jones, and Leonardo DiCaprio, and he is way to old to play the young Hughes as well as the old Hughes. We ended up with Warren being Warren. Not Warren being Howard Hughes.Perhaps Warren felt he had made a mistake in the 70s when he turned down the role of Hughes, and it ended up going to Tommy Lee Jones, which made Jones' career. However, he waited too many years for the inspiration to write himself into a Howard Hughes screenplay as Howard Hughes.Also, (and most importantly) why write a "fictional" story about a man whose real life adventures are so much more interesting and complex then this convoluted drek we are given in this disaster of a screenplay? The entire effort was wasted, and sadly, there are many younger viewers unaware about Howard Hughes' life, that will interpret this nonsense as a biography of the man.The movie might have worked a little better if the story centered around Collin's and Ehrenreich's characters, and Hughes was just in the background. However, no matter how Beatty wants to market or advertise this mess, make no mistake, it's all about Howard Hughes, and Warren's poor and fictional portrayal of him.

Warren Beatty wrote the screenplay for his own story (with Bo Goldman), stars in and directs this parody of the life of the very strange and very successful Howard Hughes. Though pieced together like a changing puzzle the film works, largely to a fine starring role for Beatty and a supporting cast that is up to his caliber.As the official synopsis states, 'An aspiring young actress (Lily Collins) and her ambitious young driver (Alden Ehrenreich) struggle hopefully with the absurd eccentricities of the wildly unpredictable billionaire, Howard Hughes, (Warren Beatty) for whom they work. It's Hollywood, 1958. Small town beauty queen, songwriter, and devout Baptist virgin Marla Mabrey (Collins), under contract to the infamous Howard Hughes (Beatty), arrives in Los Angeles. At the airport, she meets her driver Frank Forbes (Ehrenreich), who is engaged to be married to his 7th grade sweetheart and is a deeply religious Methodist. Their instant attraction not only puts their religious convictions to the test, but also defies Hughes' #1 rule: no employee is allowed to have any relationship whatsoever with a contract actress. Hughes' behavior intersects with Marla and Frank in very separate and unexpected ways, and as they are drawn deeper into his bizarre world, their values are challenged and their lives are changed.'Add to this a kaleidoscope of famous actors in secondary as well as bit roles – Matthew Broderick, Candice Bergen, Martin Sheen, Annette Benning, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Oliver Platt, Alec Baldwin, Dabney Coleman, and more – and the film becomes a play about Hollywood – in a good way. Not a great movie but an entertaining one.

A driver and aspiring actress meet and fall in love. They both are in Hollywood for Howard Hughes.Warren is a little scary looking for Howard - a bit too old for the part. He seems more like a senile old man than an eccentric middle aged man.Lily Collins is so charmingly beautiful - she has an old Hollywood quality not seen since Audrey and Liz. Alden and her are quite okay together.The production is quite well done with beautiful old cars and sets.It's the story that isn't that compelling. The behavior of the characters is all too weird. Strange love child of Warren Beatty.Can see why this wasn't a big hit at the box office.