Roger Ebert’s Brutal Zero-Star Review of Breaking the Rules
Roger Ebert delivered a blistering zero-star verdict on the 1992 film Breaking the Rules, slamming its lack of taste, tone, and emotional depth. Starring Jason Bateman, the movie was labeled a painful misfire in both comedy and storytelling.
When it comes to movies, comedy is probably the trickiest genre to get right. What makes one person laugh might leave another completely unmoved. For Roger Ebert, a critic known for his sharp wit and high standards, a comedy had to offer more than just crude jokes and shock value. He wanted humor with intelligence, not just gags meant to disgust or provoke. So when he sat down to watch Neal Israel’s 1992 film Breaking the Rules, he found himself so unimpressed that he refused to give it even a single star.
Comedy Misses the Mark
Some films have managed to blend tragedy and humor, using serious themes as a backdrop for both laughter and heartfelt moments. Movies like The Bucket List, 50/50, Funny People, and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl have pulled this off with varying degrees of success. But for Ebert, Breaking the Rules failed on every level. The story centers on Phil, played by a young Jason Bateman, who tricks his two closest friends into taking a road trip so he can fulfill his dying wish of appearing on Jeopardy! Instead of delivering laughs or genuine emotion, the film left Ebert cold.
He didn’t hold back in his review, writing,
“Breaking the Rules is a movie about a guy who finds out he has a month to live, and decides to spend it in the worst buddy movie ever made. The movie has to be seen to be believed. It is a long, painful lapse of taste, tone, and ordinary human feeling.”
Failed Attempts at Heart and Humor
The plot, which could have been touching or at least entertaining, instead became a jumble of clichés and awkward moments. The friends’ journey is filled with forced hijinks, strained relationships, and a series of romantic misadventures that never quite land. Ebert was so baffled by the film’s lack of coherence that he joked,
“Perhaps it was made by beings from another planet, who were able to watch our television in order to absorb key concepts such as cars, sex, leukemia, and casinos, but formed an imperfect view of how to fit them together.”
He was especially critical of the movie’s inability to evoke any real feeling. Scenes meant to tug at the heartstrings instead left him wondering just how much worse the dialogue could get. As he put it,
“The kind of movie where a scene is intended to make you cry, but you’re not crying, you’re wondering just how bad the dialogue can possibly be.”
Box Office Disaster
It’s no surprise that Breaking the Rules bombed at the box office, barely earning back a fraction of its budget. For Ebert, that was a small mercy, sparing most moviegoers from having to sit through what he considered a cinematic disaster. His review stands as a warning: not every attempt at mixing comedy and tragedy is destined for success, and sometimes, the result is just plain painful to watch.