Breakin' All the Rules (2004)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Daniel Taplitz

Writer (WGA):

Daniel Taplitz (written by)

Release Date:

14 May 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

When it comes to getting dumped... He wrote the book.

Plot:

Inspired by his fiancée (who dumped him), a man publishes a break-up handbook for men, becoming a bestselling author in the process.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Male Female Relationship | Writer | Mistaken Identity | Female To Male Foot In Crotch

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Jamie Foxx	...	Quincy Watson
Gabrielle Union	...	Nicky Callas
Morris Chestnut	...	Evan Fields
Peter MacNicol	...	Philip Gascon
Jennifer Esposito	...	Rita Monroe
Bianca Lawson	...	Helen Sharp
Jill Ritchie	...	Amy
Samantha Nagel	...	Sandra / Executive Assistant
Grace Chan	...	Secretary
Danny Comden	...	Sam
Octavia Spencer	...	Stylist (as Octavia L. Spencer)
Heather Headley	...	Herself
Patrick Cranshaw	...	Mr. Lynch
Tate Taylor	...	Attendant
Bob Stephenson	...	Ticket Master
Gerald Emerick	...	TV Host
Amie Petersen	...	Girl
Faune A. Chambers	...	The Betty (as Faune Chambers)
Mario Carter	...	Man at Party
Ambrose Lamond Clayton	...	Man at Party
Trae Ireland	...	Trey
Trina D. Johnson	...	Woman at Party (as Trina Johnson)
Clyde Sherman	...	Man at Bar
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Judy Ho	...	Girl In Club (uncredited)
Alonzo F. Jones	...	Delivery Man (uncredited)
Steven J. Pershing	...	Zig Zag Valet (uncredited)
Allen Theosky Rowe	...	Club Guy (uncredited)

Directed by
Daniel Taplitz

Writing credits (WGA)
Daniel Taplitz		(written by)

Produced by
Paddy Cullen	....	executive producer
Kevin Halloran	....	co-producer
Lisa Tornell	....	producer

Original Music by
Marcus Miller

Cinematography by
David Hennings

Film Editing by
Robert Frazen

Casting by
Justine Baddeley
Kim Davis		(as Kim Davis Wagner)

Production Design by
Jerry Fleming

Art Direction by
Peter Borck

Set Decoration by
Betty Berberian

Costume Design by
Isis Mussenden

Makeup Department
Beth Carter	....	additional makeup artist
Deidra Dixon	....	hair stylist: Mr. Foxx
Stacy Gibson	....	makeup artist: Ms. Union
Jasmine Kimble	....	key hair stylist
Kimberly Kimble	....	hair department head
LaLette Littlejohn	....	makeup department head
Joanetta Stowers	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Kevin Halloran	....	unit production manager
Bonnie Weis	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Todd Amateau	....	first assistant director
Anthony J. Nahar	....	second second assistant director (as Tony Nahar)
Handel Whitmore	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Jennifer Bendror	....	art department coordinator
Lance DeSpain	....	lead scenic
Chris Devicariis	....	assistant property master
Jeffrey Paul Johnson	....	property master
Lisa Robinson	....	on-set dresser
Wayne Springfield	....	construction coordinator
Chris Wright	....	set dresser
Ray Yamagata	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
David Chornow	....	production sound mixer
Gary Coppola	....	sound re-recording mixer: temp
Stephen Hunter Flick	....	co-supervising sound editor
Vincent Guisetti	....	foley artist
Nicholas James	....	dialogue editor
Pamela Kahn	....	foley artist
Linda Murphy	....	boom operator
Donald Nelson	....	sound
Kyle Rochlin	....	foley mixer
Annie Shih	....	sound department assistant
Steven Ticknor	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steven Ticknor	....	supervising sound editor

Special Effects by
Mark R. Byers	....	special effects coordinator
Steve Sosner	....	special effects foreman

Visual Effects by
Kyle Cassidy	....	digital compositor: Luma Pictures
Saeed Faridzadeh	....	digital compositor
Kent Johnson	....	visual effects producer
Sam Nicholson	....	visual effects
Ian Noe	....	digital effects supervisor
Victor Scalise	....	visual effects editor
Charles Schwartz	....	matchmove artist: opening credits (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Paolo Cascio	....	first assistant camera
Steve Castanda	....	electrician
Mark Shane Davis	....	key grip
Brent Egan	....	camera loader
Leslie Hamilton	....	assistant camera
Jennifer Ann Henry	....	second/first assistant: "b" camera
Scott Hillman	....	key rigging grip
George A. Hock	....	rigging gaffer
John W. Kristopik	....	electrician
Alex Leyton	....	camera operator
Brien McDonald	....	grip
James A. Neal	....	best boy grip (as James Neal)
Ryan Nelson	....	grip
Ila Packman	....	grip
Jason Parrillo	....	electrician
Billy Pierson	....	dolly grip
Max Pomerleau	....	gaffer
David 'D.R.' Rhineer	....	assistant camera
Greg Rhineer	....	camera operator
D. Stevens	....	still photographer
John Taylor	....	best boy electric
Thomas Vandermillen	....	assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Candice Carella	....	costumer
Mari Grimaud	....	costume supervisor
Demetricus Holloway	....	set costumer
Elaine McGhee	....	set costumer
Marcie Olivi	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Daniel Gabbe	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Michele Aristy	....	score assistant
Peter Coquillard	....	music supervisor
Jay Duerr	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Lyle Atkins	....	driver
Michael Ballew	....	transportation co-captain (as Mike Ballew)
Jody Bingenheimer	....	driver
Steve Brodsky	....	driver
Curtis Clark	....	driver
Hardy Ophuls	....	picture car coordinator
Adam Pinkstaff	....	transportation captain
Shawn Coulter	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Serena Baker	....	assistant location manager
Toussaint Banks	....	production assistant
Gabe Benvenuto	....	assistant: Kevin Halloran
Cassandra Butcher	....	unit publicist (as Cassandra O. Butcher)
Robert L. Catron	....	accounting clerk
Nicole Cummins	....	script supervisor
Mykel Denis	....	production coordinator
Arash Esfandi	....	production assistant
Robert Foulkes	....	location manager
Marc C. Geschwind	....	extras coordinator
John Grisam	....	production assistant
Kimberly Guidone	....	assistant: Lisa Tornell
Wade Hagen	....	first assistant accountant
Jerrold McKinley Ivery	....	assistant: Daniel Taplitz
La Shan Knox	....	production assistant
Andrew Kopjak	....	production assistant
Johnny Mack	....	assistant: Mr. Foxx
Brian McMillan	....	animal supplier
Cheryl Miller	....	production coordinator
Julia Rhoton	....	production assistant
Patrick Richmond	....	key production assistant
Christina Rollo	....	assistant production coordinator
Victor Scalise	....	title designer
Clyde Sherman	....	production assistant
Charisse St. Amant	....	animal trainer
Sheilah Sullivan	....	production accountant
John Trujillo	....	layout board
Anthony Woods	....	set medic

Production Companies

• Screen Gems
• Breakup Productions

Distributors

• Screen Gems (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Film (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Italia (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2004) (Argentina) (all media)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)
• RTL Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (TV) (RTL5) (first national airing)

Special Effects

• Pacific Title (opticals)
• Stargate Digital (opticals)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Hannibal Studios  score recording facility

Also Known As:

The Break Up Handbook (USA) (working title)
The Sexpert (USA) (working title)
Untitled Jamie Foxx Comedy (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual material/humor and language.

Runtime:

Argentina:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Canada:PG | Finland:K-11 | Germany:6 | Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40587)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Screen Gems

Trivia:

During the making of this movie, Jamie Foxx had cut his hair for Ray (2004/I). So in the final scene, Foxx is wearing a wig, which is why his hair looks so much longer.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Evan tells Quincy that Nicky has cut her hair, Quincy sits back in his seat with his right hand over his mouth, but in the next shot, he has his left hand over his mouth.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Getaway: Black Monday (2004) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Keep on Holdin' on

Dumping a lover is hard to do

"Breaking all the Rules" looked promising just by having the talented Jamie Foxx in the lead role. As it plays on the screen, this comedy, directed by Daniel Tablitz, who also wrote the screen play, seems to have been produced on the strength of its star, or maybe someone in the studio decided that making it with a mostly black cast, had possibilities. This comedy could have been played by any cast of any color without making any dent in the genre.

The basic problem is the screen play. Do we care about these people? I don't think so. The running gag about Nicky resembling Halle Berry runs tired after the second time it's mentioned. Even the book that Quincy writes makes no sense.

Jamie Foxx is about the only pretext for spending almost an hour and a half with this film. He is an interesting performer no matter what he is doing. The beautiful Gabrielle Union is fine as Nicky, but there is no heat between Quincy and her. The rest of the cast struggles to make this comedy succeed.

Watch it at your own risk.