Woodyanders Weary loner veteran professional thief Ernie Mullins (Burt Reynolds at his most relaxed and engaging) teaches eager beaver small-time novice Mike Lafebb (a fine and likable performance by Casey Siemaszko) the tricks of the trade by having Mike assist him on a series of heists. Director Bill Forsyth, working from a smart and witty script by John Sayles, brings a real sweet idiosyncratic charm and a good-natured sensibility to the premise. Moreover, Forsyth wisely eschews broad humor in favor of a more gentle and low-key approach that still gets laughs as well as adds a winningly natural and unforced warmth to the often delightfully quirky proceedings. The mentor/student relationship between the two sympathetic central characters gives this picture genuine heart, depth, and poignancy, with Reynolds doing ace work as a seasoned older man with a limp, bad knees, and a strong personal code of ethics about what he does for a living. The skillful and precise capers are a total joy to watch. The excellent acting by the super cast keeps the movie humming: Reynolds and Siemaszko display a loose and pleasant chemistry in the leads, with sturdy support from Sheila Kennedy as ditsy prostitute Carrie, Lorraine Toussaint as worldly hooker Delphine, Maury Chaykin as shrewd lawyer Vincent Tucci, and Stephen Tobolowsky as a slippery district attorney. Both Michael Coulter's crisp widescreen cinematography and Michael Gibbs' harmonic score are up to speed. A lovely little gem.

stones78 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.

George Parker In "Breaking In" Reynold's plays a platitude spouting, aging small time independent safecracker who happens upon a young upstart while on a job, takes him under his wing, and teaches him his trade. A lukewarm comedy which does little more than show us the day to day vicissitudes of the safemen, this flick has little to offer save some mildly humorous moments before an unsatisfying conclusion. Okay for sofa spuds and Reynolds' fans. (C+)

soranno Burt Reynolds successfully ends a rather slow 1980's with a surprisingly good character part in this 1989 Samuel Goldwyn Pictures release. He portrays a veteran professional thief and safecracker who teaches a young novice how to be like him. Amusing crime caper.