Breakin' All the Rules (2004)

PG-13
85 min
Comedy
May 14, 2004

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...starring Jamie Foxx, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, and Jennifer Esposito

Brian B.Apr 8, 2004

Critics Score

31%

Release Date

May 14, 2004

Director

Daniel Taplitz

Writer

Daniel Taplitz

Cast

Jamie Foxx
Gabrielle Union
Morris Chestnut
Peter MacNicol
Jennifer Esposito
Bianca Lawson

Official Website

sonypictures.com

Breakin' All the Rules Synopsis

Jamie Foxx stars in Breakin’ All The Rules, a comedy about a man who – after being unceremoniously dumped by his fiancee – pens a "how to" book on breaking up and becomes a best-selling author on the subject.

With all the hustle and bustle of the magazine publishing world in a city like Los Angeles, relationships can be a bit trying, and ending them has never been an easy task. When Quincy (JAMIE FOXX) is handed his walking papers from his fiancee Helen (BIANCA LAWSON) at their engagement party, he is devastated.

His personal life is now in the toilet and his professional life isn’t far behind. His boss Phillip (PETER MacNICOL) has summoned Quincy to fire 15% of the staff because he’s too afraid to do it himself. Discovering that he doesn’t have the stomach to fire all the people on the list, he quits the company.

Wallowing in his misery, Quincy attempts to exorcise his demons and writes a heartfelt letter to his girlfriend, detailing the physiological ramifications her abrupt breakup has had on him. His heartache and rage from being dumped fuses with his newfound knowledge on termination, and his letter mutates into a manual on the proper way to terminate a relationship. Thus, “The Breakup Handbook” is born. His book becomes a nationwide bestseller, and even his old boss seeks out Quincy for advice on ending his relationship with his money-hungry barracuda of a girlfriend, Rita (JENNIFER ESPOSITO).

Meanwhile, Quincy’s cousin Evan (MORRIS CHESTNUT), famous for short-lived relationships, asks Quincy to help him break up with his current girlfriend, Nicky (GABRIELLE UNION). However, when Quincy tries to help, the sultry princess casts her spell and sends his already flailing world into its final spiral.

What follows is a hilarious comedy of errors that gives way to a riotous climax involving some very interesting love triangles. In this fast and furious screwball comedy, no one is who he or she seems. By the end, everyone finds themselves in the most peculiar of situations, forced to learn how to maintain the very relationships they so desperately wished to sever.

Screen Gems presents Breakin’ All The Rules, starring Jamie Foxx (Ali, Any Given Sunday), Morris Chestnut (The Brothers, The Best Man), Jennifer Esposito (Summer of Sam, Welcome to Collinwood) with Peter MacNicol (Addams Family Values, television’s “Ally McBeal”) and Gabrielle Union (Bad Boys II, The Brothers). Also starring Bianca Lawson (Save the Last Dance, Bones) and Jill Ritchie (D.E.B.S., television’s “Nancy Drew,” Ray’s Ex-Vision, Sin) with a special musical appearance by Tony Award-winner Heather Headley.