MovieChat Forums > Rules Don't Apply (2016) Discussion > Warning: False Advertising

Warning: False Advertising

posted 8 years ago by ccmail
8 replies | jump to latest

This movie was advertised in the trailers as a romantic comedy between an aspiring actress and her driver (sneaking around behind Howard Hughes' back). But at least 80% of the movie is about Howard Hughes and his quirks. The quirks are either wholly fictionalized or very loosely based on real events. Movies that use false advertising in their trailers are a pet peeve of mine.

[–] thehboys007 8 years ago

I originally was not gonna go see it because it was advertised as a romantic comedy. I'm glad I did because it was more about Howard Hughes.

[–] ccmail 8 years ago

Maybe so, but it was a highly fictionalized account of Howard Hughes.

[–] RomaVictorrrr 8 years ago

Darn. I was hoping for a Howard Hughes movie that painted him in a better light--or at the very least was more realistic and less sensational.

As much as I like Aviator, they made him a nut! And I didn't buy it.

So this is more about Hughes being a weirdo?

[–] ccmail 8 years ago

Yes, and I would say this movie focuses much more on Howard Hughes' quirks, both fictionalized ones and ones that are very loosely based on real events, than The Aviator.

The trailers and title imply the actress and her driver are trying to skirt Hughes' rules against his employees dating but their story is just a minor subplot of the quirky Howard Hughes story.

[–] joekiddlouischama 8 years ago

Actually, I thought that one of the film's major flaws was that, structurally speaking, it used Howard Hughes to add melodramatic excess to what ultimately constituted a romantic comedy. One can see my views in these posts:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1974420/board/thread/261492652?d=263531124#263531124

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1974420/board/thread/263571387?d=263579569#263579569

Beatty may have been better off either making a romantic comedy or a full-fledged character study/biopic of Hughes, rather than trying to combine the two. That way, he may have achieved greater clarity and coherence.

[–] joekiddlouischama 8 years ago

The trailers and title imply the actress and her driver are trying to skirt Hughes' rules against his employees dating but their story is just a minor subplot of the quirky Howard Hughes story.

I would consider their story more than "just a minor subplot."

They constitute the film's initial primary focus (let us call it the first act), long before we see Hughes. Then Hughes' entrance serves to further complicate, intensify, and dissipate their romantic travails. Then, yes, they more or less disappear (at least Marla does), but they reunite in the end to engage in a restoration of the heterosexual couple—classical Hollywood cinema's primary imperative. At that point, we might as well be looking at a Hugh Grant romantic comedy.

Sure, Hughes operates at the film's center, but he largely serves to muddy the romance that essentially brackets the narrative.

Now, the trailer may well be misleading—I never saw it. However, the romance definitely turns out to be a major part of the film.

[–] Librartist2 8 years ago

I thought it was going to be a silly romantic comedy. I was surprised that it was so much more. For the older fans that remember Beatty in his prime, at the end of this movie you will say "he still has it"...I really enjoyed this movie and I think it may be a sleeper. Beatty should get an Oscar nom. I was only disappointed Bening only had a small part. I would like to have seen more of her. She is a pleasure to watch. I'd sure like to see a real romantic comedy with the two of them in the lead roles.

[–] Cinnamental 8 years ago

I've seen The Aviator, and that is the only Hughes related film I need to see.