Storyline
It's Hollywood, 1958. Small town beauty queen and devout Baptist virgin Marla Mabrey, under contract to the infamous Howard Hughes, arrives in Los Angeles. At the airport, she meets her driver Frank Forbes, who is engaged to be married to his seventh grade sweetheart and is a deeply religious Methodist. Their instant attraction not only puts their religious convictions to the test, but also defies Hughes' number one rule: No employee is allowed to have any relationship whatsoever with a contract actress. Hughes' behavior intersects with Marla and Frank in very separate and unexpected ways, and as they are drawn deeper into his bizarre world, their values are challenged and their lives are changed.
Directors
Cast
Matthew Broderick, Steve Coogan, Ed Harris, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Oliver Platt, Haley Bennett, Ron Perkins, Michael Badalucco, Chace Crawford, Lily Collins, Patrick Fischler, Paul Sorvino, Hart Bochner, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Paul Schneider, Peter MacKenzie, Amy Madigan, Annette Bening, Candice Bergen, Megan Hilty, Eileen Ryan, Joshua Malina, Alden Ehrenreich, Ashley Hamilton, Taissa Farmiga, Dabney Coleman, Caitlin Carver, Warren Beatty, Evan O’Toole
Trailer
Reviews
75
If its somewhat unfocused narrative comes at the cost of a picture that could be more cohesive and concise, it still gifts viewers with characters and an era that’s entertaining to explore.
75
Beatty’s long-gestating project is a modestly enjoyable, well-acted nostalgia piece with just a touch of edge.
70
This is a fitfully funny quasi-farce that takes off promisingly, loses its way mid-flight and comes in for a bumpy but safe landing.
70
While writer-director Warren Beatty’s movie about Hughes is crafted of the finest materials, it too remains mostly earthbound, defying gravity only in fits and starts.
67
The Film Stage
If anything it simply reminds us of his onscreen charisma and endearing humor, his handle of Hughes’ descent into eccentricity and insanity proving memorably entertaining. While he’s not the lead, he is the glue.
