Customer Reviews

Breaking in [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been a Burt Reynolds fan since the earliest days of his movie career. Once the top actor in the world, with Clint Eastwood, Burt, unfortunately, made it big in films like Gator, Cannonball Run, Stroker Ace, and the Dixie Dancekings. It was one of those rare moments in Hollywood when a pretty actor and a new film genre fuse completely. And when the genre loses its appeal, so does the actor. In music, look what happened to the Bee Gees when disco self-distructed. But Reynolds is a very competent actor. Watch The Longest Yard, Sharkey's Machine, and Boogie Nights. This film belongs among them: Burt has never been better. He's believable, complex, and engaging. He plays mentor to a would-be cat burglar with more ambition than brains, and you will find yourself thoroughly engrossed in his next lesson. He can underplay a role like nobody else. Yet he manages to bring out the character's deepest thoughts and feelings doing little things that few other actors would bring to a role, even if they had the wisdom and life experience to draw from. Today's pretty boys are 80% marketing, and know about as much about real-life as my house cat knows about the jungle.

Burt Reynolds rules of his portrayal of an aging safecracker in this overlooked movie.It's a must see film!!

I discovered this movie during the years I spent working as a professional (I'd like to think so, anyway) "financial relocationist", and loved it. (It's where my Amazon nickname came from!) Yes, it's not a terribly good movie, and some of the B&E techniques they use are pure Hollywood, but it's entertaining, especially for any members of the audience who also happen to be middle-class, self-proclaimed gentleman thieves. I was just learning my trade when I saw it, and actually used some of the ideas in real life later on! :) The plot's a little shallow, as the other reviewer said, and the jokes never really get past light chuckles, but I'd recommend it to anyone.

Pretty fair movie Burt was very good in it. The way the kid spent his money & flashed it around was very stupid but its only a movie you wanted to yell at him. The actual capers itself were good to watch with humor abound.

Take a small script from one of the foremost names in American independent films (John Sayles). Add one Scottish director who has garnered a sizable cult following for his unique brand of wry understated humor (Bill Forsyth). Combine an aging big name Hollywood star who has seen better days (Burt Reynolds) with a non-descript young American actor whose talent is pedestrian at best (Casey Siemaszko) and a characterful young actress (Sheila Kelley). What one gets isn't another Local Hero--not even close.

Considering the talents involved, Breaking In has to be one of the most disappointing films I've seen in a while. It was the teaming of Forsyth with Reynolds which drew me to the film in the first place, based on what the former accomplished in the quirky and delightful Local Hero. What he managed to elicit from Burt Lancaster and Peter Riegert in that film was not only hilarious, but downright beatifying. Placing the leads in various offbeat scenarios with memorable supporting characters, then melding that with a keen sense for cultural contrast and humorous irony, made for a timeless comic masterpiece.

Here, however, the script is shallow. There seems to be nothing more than the germ of a premise: An experienced lone professional burglar and safecracker runs into, teams up with, and mentors a young ne'er-do-well who ostensibly breaks into houses just for thrills--as well as to raid refrigerators and read other people's mail. What develops is a typical sanitized "experience vs. youth" buddy-buddy crooks & capers flick with an inconsistency of comic nuance and no outright laughs. The scenarios from which humor is supposed to be extracted are forced, contrived, and often hackneyed. The dialogue is likewise (listening to Ms. Kelley's "Ode to Male Genitalia" is downright painful!), while the performances are of the consciously understated variety often seen in the TV series Northern Exposure. Siemaszko's occasional whoops at the thrill of his newly learned skills in larceny are downright embarrassing. Reynolds shares in his young protege's excitement by exuding smug wisdom and detached self-satisfaction. Both Reynolds and Siemaszko play out their roles in very predictable fashion, as does the script.

Granted, one should probably watch Breaking In with an emphasis on the characters as plot and "reality" are not really the points here. Indeed, who either wants or expects reality from Bill Forsyth? His marks are evident throughout. Those who have an interest in watching a graying Burt Reynolds playing a role against type will probably enjoy this film the most. However, I truly think fans of Forsyth or Sayles will be disappointed, but will want to see it anyway. Thus, Breaking In is a 2-star guilty pleasure.

Oh, by the way, the film's most memorable performance was by the dog.