Regras da Traição

I picked this up because it had Jake Weber in it, who I love, and because I find Michael McKean hilarious. I didn't know what to expect, but I loved it. The comedy is quite clever and had me on the floor quite a few times. The acting is top-notch. Maria Bello is perfect as the femme fatale and makes sure not to go for the jugular in her scenes, brilliantly underplaying them to snare her game. Jake Weber has the dorky family man role down pat. Everything from the shifting of his glasses to his walk to his horrendous shirts. One of the funniest scenes involves him and his wife attempting phone sex.

Don't expect a mastepiece, it's just lightweight entertainment. But it's incredibly well-made, clever, funny, and well-acted.

9/10

This is one of those movies where the quality of the acting is far above the material itself. Michael McKean and David Thornton are joys to watch. Also, though the plot is derivative, it is very knowing about business trips and sales people, and if you've ever been on a business trip, you'll find yourself laughing and nodding at many points. The movie never seemed false or strained, just a little weak at the very end. Up to that point, it's an above average investigation of salesmen gone bad. It's a bit like "Very Bad Things" only played more for comedy than for dark drama. Jake Weber, though British, does a very good job playing an American, something that cannot be said of many of his countrymen.

I saw this movie at a film festival (Fort Lauderdale) and what a waste of time and money. The only thing going for it is the presence of the beautiful and talented Maria Bello; however, the viewer wonders how someone of her talent got mixed up in a below-average effort like this one. The major problems are a deficient script that couldn't get a passing grade in Screenwriting 101 and what can only be described as amateurish directing.

"100 Mile Rule" is a comedy about three Detroit salesmen on business travel who become embroiled in scheming and scamming in L.A. This journeyman little low budget B-flick is a nominal no brainer watch for anyone interested in the something to chill to. Just keep expectations low and don't expect any LOL's. Lightweight entertainment for the male sofa spud sans tit-illators. (C+)

This film played a couple of indy festivals -- and Cannes -- and then went straight to video. There's a reason no major studio picked it up. It's mind-numbingly slow to develop. To say nothing of clumsy and derivative. The actors seem either under-prepared or indifferent. Even the usually infallible Michael McKean. Maria Bello, authentically less than pure as the cocktail waitress in "The Cooler," essays a similar role here. But she struggles with this femme fatale turn in the Linda Fiorentino / Kathleen Turner mold. The film's pace picks up in the final half-hour. But the action is no less plausible. One of those movies you wish was better -- but it's not. Writer Huff and director Pillsbury are actors who either aimed low or missed a higher mark.