The University of Mary Washington gets a big-screen shout-out in Warren Beatty’s new feature film, Rules Don’t Apply. The romantic dramedy tells the unconventional 1958 love story of two young Hollywood hopefuls employed by eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes.Newcomer Lily Collins plays aspiring actress Marla Mabrey, a beauty queen from Falls Church, Virginia, who travels with her mother to Los Angeles for a chance to impress the powerful Hughes. When Marla’s screen test is repeatedly postponed, her mother, played by Beatty’s wife, Annette Bening, quips that she gave up a scholarship to Mary Washington for a chance to break into acting.
“Essentially, the message was that this young woman was so determined to pursue a movie career that she turned down Mary Washington, which would have been a great alternative,” said Professor of Economics Robert Rycroft.
Along the way, Marla falls for her ambitious driver, played by Alden Ehrenreich, but the two are forced to operate under the thumb of Hughes, whose rules discourage the relationship. An entrepreneur, air enthusiast, and Hollywood mogul, Hughes passed away in 1976.
Despite less than stellar reviews since the Nov. 23 release of Rules Don’t Apply, Rycroft points to the film’s set quality and host of talented actors, including Martin Sheen, Matthew Broderick, Alec Baldwin, and Candice Bergen, calling it “good entertainment for a mature moviegoer.”
To watch the trailer for Rules Don’t Apply and find show times at your neighborhood theater, visit Fandango.com.