Main Cast: Burt Reynolds, Casey Siemaszko, Sheila Kelley, Lorraine Toussaint, Albert Salmi
Release Year: 1989
Country: US
Run Time: 95 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
In this comedy (which claims a strong pedigree -- it was written by John Sayles and directed by Bill Forsyth), Burt Reynolds plays Ernie, an aging career burglar who knows just about everything there is to know about breaking and entering. One night, Ernie has stealthily slipped into a home only to discover someone else is already there -- Mike (Casey Siemaszko), a guy in his early 20's who likes to sneak into other people's houses so he can raid their refrigerators and watch their televisions. Ernie is taken aback by Mike's recklessness, but is impressed by his skills; he's convinced the kids has the makings of a first-class thief, and offers to make him his protege. Mike agrees, and soon the two are working together, with Ernie trying to explain the importance of playing it as safe as possible while Casey follows every youthful impulse to make some fast money and throw it away just as quickly. Breaking In marked a change-of-pace role for Burt Reynolds, in which he acknowledged his age and played a character role instead of an action hero; the results garnered him some of the best notices of his career. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Ernest Mullins (Burt Reynolds) is a safe cracker, and he has his rules: No negative thinking on the job. Check whether the safe is locked before you try to crack it (lots of people never lock them). Don't think about the people you steal from. Always launder your money at the local OTB. Avoid throwing around the money you steal, and always, always be moderate with the nitroglycerine. Thanks to a wry, witty script by co-screenwriter John Sayles and equally low-key direction by co-screenwriter Bill Forsyth (Local Hero, Gregory's Girl), Reynolds does some of his best work in this amiable comedy. Reynolds puts a lot of technique into the role, wearing thick glasses, a paunch, a gray toupee, and affecting a noticeable limp, but never lets any of it interfere with his character's ease. It's a starring role that Reynolds puts himself into, but with modesty, and with none of the torpor that characterizes so much of his work. He shines, too -- one wonders why a man so talented has frittered so much of that talent away in so many forgettable roles. Like Forsyth, whose comedies are so understated they almost qualify as character studies, Reynolds and co-star Casey Siemaszko never reach for the laughs. Breaking In lacks the fairy tale elements that characterize what is arguably his best movie, Local Hero, nor is as sharply observed as Gregory's Girl, but it has its mellow satisfactions. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
Harry Carey, Jr. - Shoes; Charles Bernard - Judge; Maury Chaykin - Tucci; Frank A. Damiani - Waiter; Gene Dynarski - Brock; Russ Fast - 2nd Detective; Alan Fudge - 3rd Detective; Richard Key Jones - Lou; Tom Laswell - Bud; Melanie Moseley - Young Woman Apostle; Galen B. Schrick - Choir Master; Duggan L. Wendeborn - Faith House Member; David Frishberg - Nightclub Singer; Stephen Tobolowsky - District Attorney; John Baldwin - Sam the Apostle; Ted Bryant - Newscaster; George Catalano - 2nd Security Guard; Charles E. Compton - Real Estate Agent; Aaron Cooley - Teenage Boy on Skates; Eddie Driscoll - Paul the Apostle; Jack Esformes - Mike's Prison Buddy; Eddie Gove - Scavenger; Julianne R. Johnson - Cashier; John R. Knotts - 1st Detective; Rod Long - Garbage Truck Driver; Douglas Mace - 1st Prison Guard; Roy McGillivray - Old Man; Clifford Nelson - Old Man; Daryl Olson - 1st Security Guard; Garcia Phelps - Gerry Hacker; K. Gordan Scott - Counterman; Kim Singer - Anchorwoman; Stephan Adam Szymel - 2nd Prison Guard; Earle Taylor - Mr. Withrow; Joseph Burke - Ted
Credit
Louise Frogley - Costume Designer, Bill Forsyth - Director, Michael Ellis - Editor, Michael Gibbs - Composer (Music Score), Jean A. Black - Makeup, Manilo Rocchetti - Makeup, Monty Rowan - Camera Operator, Adrienne Atkinson - Production Designer, John Willett - Production Designer, Michael Coulter - Cinematographer, Harry Gittes - Producer, Andrew Meyer - Producer, Woody Crocker - Set Designer, Larry Fuentes - Special Effects, Bill Forsyth - Screenwriter, John Sayles - Screenwriter
Ernie, (Burt Reynolds), plays an old-pro safecracker from New York who is operating now in Portland, Oregon. Mike , (Casey Siemaszko), is the - "nosy, amiable kid that Ernie takes on as his lookout and apprentice. Ernie is content to live in a tract home on the fringe of the city but the kid can't resist flashing his new wealth. Casey Siemaszko gives Mike a wide-eyed furtiveness; he resembles Michael J. Pollard in Bonnie and Clyde. " [1]
Ernie maintains a steady, paying relationship with a prostitute, Delphine, (Lorraine Toussaint), who fixes Mike up with her apprentice, Carrie (Sheila Kelley). The film also features a pair of retired crooks, Ernies card-playing pals, ( Albert Salmi and Harry Carey), and a pair of adversarial lawyers ( Maury Chaykin and Steve Tobolowsky).
