Watch Breaking In For Free

To me, this movie is perfection.

What begins as a feel-good-human-interest story turns into a mystery, then a tragedy, and ultimately an outrage.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Pardon my pun above, but if there's any reason at all to try and catch Breaking In, Burt Reynolds is the main reason. He underplays Ernie, a veteran safe cracker who goes about his business being low key and certainly not flashy at all. He winds up teaming up with a youngster named Mike, played by Casey Siemaszko, who rejuvenates Ernie and he hires him as an apprentice for odd jobs cracking safes. The first half of the forgotten film is the better half because of Reynolds' performance as the aging thief, and is both sympathetic and funny, especially the scenes he's teaching Mike the ropes. It's unfortunate Burt passed up on many good movie roles because the man can act. Anyhow, the latter half of Breaking In revolves around how flashy Mike has become with his cash rewards and his hooker/on and off girlfriend, which I thought slowed the film down a bit. I found Carrie annoying and uninteresting and rather selfish; not sure what Mike saw in her.Watch this film mainly for Reynolds' performance, as he plays his role convincingly and develops decent chemistry with Mike. Siemaszko also plays his role well, but not quite up to par with his partner in crime.

The movie is a definite watchable and I agree with folks who say this was one of Burt Reynold's better movies. It may also be my one and only claim to fame in the movie world. I was working for General Electric when it was made (if this is the right movie) and provided technical assistance over the phone for a piece of equipment being used on the amusement park set. I saw the movie on TV a year later by chance and saw my name on the credits as it went up the screen (October 11th, 1990). Due to circumstances in my life at that time, I forgot the incident until 3 weeks later and could not remember the movie title. I've been looking for the movie for 20 years now that has my name in the credits, and I think this is it, but I rented it and there is no "technical assistance" category on the rental version. If anyone has knowledge of that category being in the original credits with three names in it, please, please contact me.

I'm as puzzled as another viewer who disagreed with the hype that this was going to be Burt Reynolds' big comeback or that this was his greatest ever return to film. Why? Though taken out of context, this movie doesn't seem like it had much pull when it was released in 1989 and is terribly forgotten today. I would also agree with this viewer that the movie was only half good, but slightly more than just a few minutes worth of entertainment.Burt Reynolds plays safe cracker, Ernie Mullins. Casey Seimaszko plays Mike, his somewhat cocky young apprentice. The two happen to meet while breaking in to the same house--Mike just to lounge in an empty house and freeload on food and booze, and Ernie for the treasures of the house safe. Ernie takes Mike in, shows him the ropes, and the two are basically in business together. And they're good at what they do. About the time that Mike screws up and gets in way over his head, pissing off Ernie with his overconfidence and wrecking things with his prostitute girlfriend, this is the point where the movie takes a dive because it never manages to recapture the smart-mouthed quick wit of the first half of the movie which at least made some of it funny. Soon, it just topples for either lack of a better resolution, having too much of a moralistic ending, or the filmmakers just seemed unsure of what direction to finally take it in the end (perhaps one of those films that the studios rushed to release, I can't be sure). I haven't yet decided after only one viewing which one I'm leaning toward. But there was something odd there that entirely disrupted the jib of the traditional three acts of the film. Almost as though we are watching two different movies by the way the pace and genre suddenly shifts. Too bad. It looked like with Mike's cocky youth attitude and Ernie as a sort of cynic, it could've been a much funnier production.This one isn't something that I'd recommend or not recommend, but would simply say that if you didn't see it, you're not missing anything.

What makes this buddy crime comedy work rests essentially on it's sympathetic characters. Delivered here in traditional veteran/rookie fashion,the story paces along steadily as young and endearingly misguided Mike (Siemaszko) is given life lessons in the art of safe cracking by world-weary professional Earl (Reynolds). The chemistry between the two leads allows for cleverly-conceived comedic scenes to shine forth beautifully. From the moment of their initial accidental meet-up, you are instantly hooked. The film's best quality though is it's ironic approach to burglary, for Earl talks of "The Job" as though it were a viable career option! This is Sayles' savvy screenplay technique undoubtedly shining through. Guided by Forsyth's refined direction, this comedy never veers into slapstick, distinguishing it from the later inferior 'Safe Men'. It never strives to be what it isn't, and so it rarely disappoints. A similarly-styled, yet darker film worthy of viewing is Saul Rubinek's 'Jerry and Tom'.Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars