‘Rules Don’t Apply’ sweetly revisits screen era Beatty knows well

After decades of toying with the idea of a movie about Howard Hughes, Warren Beatty finally plays Hughes in “Rules Don’t Apply,” but this is most definitely not a biopic of the famously eccentric billionaire.

It’s a mostly old-fashioned love story set in the Hollywood of the late 1950s, starring two young talents on the rise who have such an abundance of acting chops, looks and that elusive thing known as movie-star magnetism, they could have been successful movie actors in any era.

Lily Collins (“The Blind Side,” “Mirror, Mirror”) who bears a slight resemblance to the young Audrey Hepburn, is the plucky and naïve but grandly ambitious actress-hopeful Marla Mabrey. A small-town beauty queen and aspiring songwriter and actress, Marla arrives in Hollywood at the behest of the legendary businessman and studio head Hughes, who ensconces her and her mother (Annette Bening) in a lovely home, where they are to wait, and wait … and WAIT, for the great man’s call for Marla to come audition.

(Note: In reality Hughes had already sold his interest in RKO Studios a few years before the events of “Rules Don’t Apply,” but as an opening quote in the movie, attributed to Hughes himself, puts it, “Never check an interesting fact.” This movie is pure fiction.)

Alden Ehrenreich (“Hail, Caesar!,” “Blue Jasmine,” the future Han Solo) is the earnest, energetic and equally ambitious Frank Forbes, a driver in Mr. Hughes’ fleet who is pleased as punch to have the job — even though, like most of Hughes’ employees, he’s never actually met the man.

Frank is given the assignment of squiring Marla about town. As a cynical, world-weary senior driver named Levar (Matthew Broderick) constantly reminds Frank, the chauffeurs are strictly forbidden from socializing with any of the dozens of wannabe starlets Mr. Hughes has put up in various homes and hotel bungalows in and around Hollywood.

Of course, that doesn’t stop Frank from falling in love with Marla, because sometimes, as the song in the movie goes, “Rules Don’t Apply.”

Played mostly for farce (with some dark undertones) and directed by Beatty as a kind of love letter to his own early days as a rising star, “Rules Don’t Apply” is mostly about the love story between Frank and Marla, set in a time when traditional American Puritanism and the burgeoning Sexual Revolution were about to clash head-on.

Although Beatty’s Hughes is a near mythic presence hovering over almost every conversation and influencing nearly every decision made by characters major and minor, we’re a half-hour into the movie before he makes an appearance — and for much of the rest of the story, he’s behind a curtain or in the shadows or barking out commands over the telephone or shrouded in darkness.

As played by Beatty, the increasingly eccentric Hughes is a smart and powerful man, but he’s also a bit of a silly fool, toying with the lives of his employees and obsessing over flavors of ice cream like a 7-year-old throwing a tantrum.

Frank is a devout Methodist engaged to his hometown sweetheart, Sarah (Taissa Farmiga), whose strict parents frown upon Frank’s Hollywood job. (Ed Harris and Amy Madigan, married in real life for more than 30 years, play Sarah’s dad and mom.) Marla is a Southern Baptist who talks openly about her virginity and her religious values.

None of that is enough to douse their chemistry. There’s never a glance between them that shouldn’t be prefaced with “simmering.”

Some of our best character actors show up for a scene or two in “Rules Don’t Apply.” Martin Sheen is a high-ranking executive who has actually met Mr. Hughes. Alec Baldwin is in charge of the day-to-day operation of Hughes’ businesses, or so he thinks. Oliver Platt is a banker who murders a telephone out of frustration over getting stood up by Hughes again and again. Candice Bergen is Hughes’ secretary. Dabney Coleman and Steve Coogan and Paul Sorvino each get about two minutes’ worth of screen time.

Thanks in large part to the sublime work of cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (“The Black Stallion,” “The Right Stuff,” “The Patriot”) and writer-director Beatty’s obvious familiarity with the time period and the subject matter, “Rules Don’t Apply” is a great-looking film with all the right visual touches for the era.

The romance between Marla and Frank gets a bit dark for what had been mostly a romp until that point, and the ending isn’t quite as romantic as one might hope, but thanks in large part to the enormously appealing leads and the legendary Hollywood figure playing a one of the legendary figures of the 20th century, “Rules Don’t Apply” is a sweet and entertaining slice of old Hollywood.

★★★1⁄2

20th Century Fox presents a film written and directed by Warren Beatty. Rated PG-13 (for sexual material including brief strong language, thematic elements, and drug references). Running time: 126 minutes. Opens Wednesday at local theaters.