neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Breakin' All The Rules
	Daniel Taplitz Jamie Foxx, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Peter MacNicol, Jennifer Esposito, Bianca Lawson 2004		They broke none of the rules when they made "Breakin' All the Rules," one of those cases where the title of a film is an out-and-out lie. If this is a comic view of love and romance in the African-American community, it's no barrel of laughs — and celibacy would be preferable. Although "Breakin' All the Rules" could have been a clunky vehicle for a lesser talent of any race, color or creed, Jamie Foxx ("Booty Call") gets the call. He's Quincy, an adman who loses his snooty girlfriend and his cushy job in rapid succession, and decides to write a handbook about the art of breaking up. Even though he was on the receiving end of a dumping, his book is a bestseller, so his cousin (Morris Chestnut) asks for his help in busting up with the beauteous Nicky (Gabrielle Union). This can only mean that Quincy and Nicky will be a perfect match after they, and we, endure an irksome series of mix-ups. Hilarity would be in store, if this weren't so dreadful. The ill humor of "Breakin' All the Rules" does Whitey no favors, either: Pale, pudgy Peter MacNicol (TV's "Ally McBeal"), playing Quincy's craven boss at the ad agency, is asked to be a loathsome dork. The writing is limp, and Foxx is caught between generating sympathy and straining for laughs. When he's trying to be "real" and convey serious feelings, it's funnier than any intended jokes.