A comedy of love-struck errors

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By Lisa Rose
The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.

Posted: May 14, 2004

Just as "Mean Girls" examines the cruelties of high school cliques from an anthropological perspective, "Breakin' All the Rules" presents a workplace psychology approach to romantic severance.

The Jamie Foxx film is ebullient and quite inventive, but it lacks the satirical stab of "Mean Girls." Instead of trenchant insight, it offers comedy of love-struck errors, padded with bodily function gags. Even so, it is smarter than the average post-Farrelly brothers farce. The dialogue is more multi-syllabic than usual, with words like "misanthrope" and medical terms such as "teratoma" peppered into conversation.

The main character, Quincy (Foxx), is a publishing executive whose world is made mulch when his fiancee, Helen (Bianca Lawson), announces during their engagement party that she's jetting to Paris with his best man.

The next day things go from bad to disastrous. His boss, Philip (Peter MacNicol, hilariously mealy-mouthed), enlists him to fire 15 percent of the staff because he thinks Quincy's psychology degree will help the mass layoff run smoothly. Quincy does research on practical techniques of termination but then quits the job because he doesn't have the heart to carry out the orders.

Holed up in his house, wearing a women's bathrobe and getting his dog drunk for entertainment, he writes a letter to Helen that evolves into a manuscript on efficient jilting. He states his mantra, "Falling in love is blissful insanity. Breaking up is a rational act."

Faster than you can say "We've gotta talk," the book is flying off store shelves and everyone is turning to Quincy for sage advice on the best way to pink-slip their mates without stalker side effects.

His swain of a cousin, Evan (Morris Chestnut), bails on women after the seven-week itch kicks in. Philip, meanwhile, wants to leave his round-heeled girlfriend (Jennifer Esposito), asking Quincy to serve as Cyrano de Bergerac in reverse. Mass confusion ensues when Quincy falls for Evan's latest flame, Nicky (Gabrielle Union).

A crossover from the made-for-cable realm, writer-director Daniel Taplitz brings geometric complications to the standard love triangle, as the characters become entangled through a series of mistaken identities and shrewd manipulations. For all the labyrinthine liaisons, the plot is predictable as a rain forest weather forecast. There are, however, enough bright ideas and zippy lines to keep things on the fresh side.

Foxx, who launched his career as a member of the Wayans brothers' "In Living Color" troupe, has proven himself a multithreat talent of late, with dramatic roles in "Ali" and "Any Given Sunday." Later this summer, he'll play opposite Tom Cruise in the thriller "Collateral." In "Breakin'," his dual flair for mirth and pathos combine to create a thoroughly likable leading man. The rest of the players bring a pleasant amount of sass to their rather broadly constructed characters.

While the film doesn't break the screwball comedy rules, it certainly bends a few.