Reaaally tiring movie....In the first 20 minutes you're like "ok it seems interesting..don't know what's going on here but I guess we'll find out soon...." I would mainly describe this movie as a pain in the a$$. The only way someone would possibly appreciate this movie, is by seeing it under the perspective of Mr Hughes disorder... Other than that...the movie is so NOT worth-watching, no matter some of the household names that play in it.

The two lovers in this semi-fictional tale of Howard Hughes, his girl friends, and his bodyguard, are Alden Erenreich, who begins as a driver for Hughes and works his way up to chief cook and bottle washer, and Lilly Collins, a young naif from Front Royal, Virginia, who has put her education on a back burner after being put "on the hook" to Hughes and brought to Los Angeles for a screen test for a movie that will never be made. Their features are such that at time, if you squint properly, it seems that Leonardo de Caprio is kissing Elizabeth Taylor. We follow their careers in parallel.Warren Beatty, the producer, has brought a fine cast together and put them to work in a sentimental but successful comedy. The character holding the entire massive thing together is Howard Hughes himself, played to the bone by Beatty. He makes no attempt to capture the historic Hughes, the kind of extreme obsessive-compulsive that only great wealth can permit to exist without alarm bells ringing all over the place. Instead, Beatty gives us a loud. cheerful, reckless, clumsy, impulsive, and funny Howard Hughes -- always worrying that somebody's trying to "put me in the nut house." The best illustration has Beatty sitting alone in a darkened theater, listening to some Gofer read back his letter to some law enforcement agency. The letter is about a missing cat that belongs to Hughes' new wife. So we watch Beatty entranced by his own vulgar demands about a man with his resources and the disappeared cat, while Beatty twitches with delight and nods his head emphatically to underline the points his letter is making, perfectly satisfied with himself.I won't outline the plot but I'll say that it alternates between mostly understated comedy and sober softheartedness, with comedy predominant towards the beginning and emotionalism at the end, leading us to two happy lovers departing Hughes and misleading us to one Hughes and one lost love.That the rules don't apply is a reassurance given by Erenreich to Collins, who is concerned that the rules of Hollywood require her to give it up despite her stern Baptist upbringing, but of course the rules don't apply to Howard Hughes either. The notion of freedom from norms is caught up in a simple and tune written by Collins, accompanied by rather nifty lyrics. It's not so much that the rules don't apply. It's that to a great extent we make our own rules except for biological imperatives. We all grow up, grow old, and die. And there are several references, in the lyrics and elsewhere, of lost youth and fearful age. Of Collins it has to be said that she's right purty. Her features and gracile physique lend her an adolescent quality that's appealing.I admire the film especially because it lack the usual dumbed-down quality that afflicts so many Hollywood productions these days. Good job.

Mostly not about the familiar tale of Howard Hughes, really more about the chaos that the super-rich too often rain on those dogged souls around them. Nice writing, great dialogue, a real roller-coaster. A situation is created in the first few minutes, and another at the one-hour mark, that are exceptionally well resolved in the last 15 minutes. That final arc, very cleverly plotted, with its perfect dialogue, every single word of it, and four slowly growing realizations, has had me watching it on the recorder half a dozen times. A small marvel. Great to see Alec Baldwin and Ed Harris in small parts and Matthew Broderick in a bigger part. I've seen all three repeatedly on Broadway in some of the funnier roles created - Broderick in The Foreigner was THE funniest I've seen, period. Also Taissa Farmiga, recently very funny on Broadway (with Ed Harris) and almost unrecognizable here.Thanks to Warren Beatty's kind writing, Alden Ehrenchreich and especially Lily Collins are the real stars of this movie.They have the most screen-time and some impressively funny scenes, sad scenes, confused scenes, angry and mistrustful scenes, and (surprise surprise) in-love scenes.Both have shown themselves wide-ranging previously in other roles. Alden Ehrenchreich really handled well the magic addressed against him in Beautiful Creatures.Lily Collins (daughter of Phil Collins) as a fiery princess acted Julia Roberts and Nathan Lane into the shade in Mirror Mirror - her training to become a dwarf warrior is another scene worth multiple re-watches.Her dark-eyed even look and confident voice and general lack of any fear have reminded some of a young Natalie Wood or Elizabeth Taylor. She would be so right if anyone ever makes another Ivanhoe. Especially a funny one.

In the US fifties, Marla Mabry (Lily Collins) is an aspiring actress who comes to Hollywood. As a winner of a beauty pageant, she was noticed by Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty) and given a salary of $400 a week, an apartment and a promise of a screen test. Her devout Baptist mother (Annette Bening) is skeptical of the whole affair but loves her daughter and makes the trip to La La Land with her offspring. But, what surprises await! Marla is part of a growing number of ingenues who have been given the same promises yet no one has yet seen Mr. Hughes! Each beautiful starlet is also given a driver; in Marla's case it is handsome, young Frank (Alden Ehrenreich). Very shortly, these two young folks are casting eyes at each other but there are HUGE problems. First, no driver and starlet are allowed to enter into a relationship. Then, Frank is already engaged to a lady back home in Texas and that, Marla declares, prevents the two of them from ever being a couple. Another driver, Levar (Matthew Broderick) is always watching. In addition, Frank has true ambitions to encourage Mr. Hughes to let him be part of real estate investments. After a brief kissing frenzy, Marla runs from Frank's attentions. But, confused, she finally meets Mr. Hughes and gets her screen test. Will this make her a star and does the very mysterious, baffling Howard have eyes for HER? More wild adventure is just around the corner! This very worthy film has a stellar cast which delivers in every role. What a pleasure to see Collins, Ehrenreich, Broderick, Candice Bergen, Alec Baldwin, Bening, Martin Sheen, and all the rest embody their parts to perfection! Naturally, special kudos go to Beatty, not only for his terrific turn as Hughes but also for writing and directing this unique movie. Yes, it has some uneven moments, especially in the middle of the flick, but, overall, this is an amazingly intriguing film. Add on wonderful sets and fabulous costumes and this is a treat for any discerning film lover. Tired of the humdrum movies coming out of Hollywood these days? Get No Rules Apply!