It's 1958 Hollywood. Frank Forbes (Alden Ehrenreich) is a new driver working for billionaire Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty). He drives around newly arrived virginal actress Marla Mabrey (Lily Collins) and her religious mother Lucy Mabrey (Annette Bening). Marla is one of many young actresses under contract to Hughes. Levar Mathis (Matthew Broderick) is another driver. Nadine Henly (Candice Bergen) is Hughes' secretary. He's under pressure as he tries to convert TWA from propellers to jet. Investors are trying to oust him by claiming mental incompetence. He's becoming an unstable recluse addicted to drugs.

Alden Ehrenreich is alright but I'm not in love with his character. His relationship with Sarah makes his character problematic. His relationship with Marla suffers from a rocky stop and start. Beatty should concentrate more on the rom-com formula with them. He seems more fixated on Hughes and that's perfectly fine. In which case, he should simply do a Hughes bio. This movie has parts of a good movie along with chunks of flatter material.

I have a lot of time for Warren Beatty. He is one of the few people to be nominated for Oscars in the main four categories for a film twice. Best actor, screenplay, director and producer for the films Heaven Can Wait and Reds.

Rule Don't Apply is his first film since since 2001. It is set in 1958 Hollywood and follows the romantic relationship between a young aspiring actress who is a devout Christian and her driver. Both are employed by Howard Hughes and according to the rules, both are forbidden to enter a relationship but they do as they wait to meet Howard Hughes.

Beatty who can be notoriously slow has been developing this project for more than 40 years after seeing Howard Hughes in a hotel lobby in the early 1970s.

The film is billed as a romantic comedy but is just constipated and pallid. Empty as the real life Hughes in his later years when he was filled up with drugs.

The only stand out moment is the farcical plane scene in London when Steve Coogan pops up (I presume he took this as an opportunity to appear with a screen legend.) For film nerds it is amusing to see Alec Baldwin show up in another film on Howard Hughes as he also appeared in Scorsese's The Aviator.

The only positive I can find is that Beatty the Director used digital to seamlessly blend the vintage film of Hollywood and other places.

Howard Hughes ... you have to have someone big playing him right? Like Leonardo DiCaprio did in one of the other movies (Aviator in case you are wondering) ... but this has nothing to do with that movie. It has Warren Beauty as director and sort of main character - though as with Amadeus and other movies about famous people, the famous character is almost a side character and those around him are the ones that are being made interesting.

Not that Howard Hughes isn't interesting. Actually since the cast of this is so huge and amazing, every single character in this has something interesting to say the least. If you get on board with them, you will have a fun ride. Otherwise I reckon you may get bored. Great acting, great dialog though and well filmed.