100 Mile Rule

Running time: N/A

Closing out this year's Cinequest 2003 will be Brent Huff's raucous dark comedy, 100 Mile Rule, starring Michael McKean (Best in Show, This is Spinal Tap) and Maria Bello (Auto Focus). Exposing the dark side of life as a traveling salesman, 100 Mile Rule provides a twisted yet hilarious peek at a day in the life of a trio of conventioneers. Corrupted by the warped logic of his skirt-chasing colleagues, straight-arrow Bobby finds himself succumbing to the temptation of the 100-mile rule, which dictates that any infidelity that occurs more than 100 miles from home "doesn't count." When a single indiscretion goes awry, Bobby finds himself enmeshed in a tangled web of lies, blackmail, extortion, and murder. With exceptional performances by Bello, McKean, and Jake Weber (of HBO's Mind of the Married Man), 100 Mile Rule reveals the ramifications of yielding to peer pressure just to be one of the guys. Reviewed by Maya Kroth