‘Tis the season to buy-buy-buy-buy! All month long here at The ‘Bin, we’re gonna do a bit of counterprogramming in the form of
BUY & SELL: CONSUMERISM GONE WILD! MONTH
I have a hunch people are going to have feelings about this one, so let’s get to it.
Directed by Walter Hill, 1985, 102 minutes, Rated PG
Q: Is a family-friendly Richard Pryor
still Richard Pryor?
This is my Richard Pryor.
Not Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin’ or any of his other concert films. Not Silver Streak or Stir Crazy or any of his other collaborations with Gene Wilder, such as See No Evil, Hear No Evil (which I saw in the theater). Not Blazing Saddles, which he co-wrote and was going to star in if the studio was willing to insure him. Not even Superman III, which sounds like nonsense until I point out that I was nine years-old when that film was released.
When I think of Richard Pryor, I think of Brewster’s Millions. It’s not his best work (the PG rating definitely de-fangs him) or his best film (it currently sits at 35% on Rotten Tomatoes), but it’s what I think of. That partially due to seeing it a bunch of times when I was young, and partially due to its fantastic high concept premise: How would you spend $30 million in 30 days?
Step 1: Have John Candy around to help
Here’s the skivvy: Montgomery Brewster (Pryor) is a minor league pitcher who learns that a distant relative has left him his entire estate – with one sizable catch. In order to “learn the value of money,” Montgomery has 30 days to spend $30 million and have nothing but the shirt on his back at the end of the 30 days. There are a number of caveats, such as he must get value for anyone he hires, he can only donate or gamble a certain percent, he can’t willfully destroy items he purchases, etc. But if Montgomery can spend the entire amount without having anything to show for it – and without telling anyone why he’s doing this, of course – he’ll inherit the full fortune of $300 million.
It's a fascinating thought experiment, much more interesting to me than the ol’ “what would you do if you won the lottery” daydream. Minor league baseball players don’t exactly rake in big contracts, so Montgomery starts off with the obvious: booking a penthouse suite, renting custom-made suits, hiring an entourage, etc. It quickly becomes clear that he’ll have to do more, and much of the fun of the film is watching Montgomery flop-sweat his way to increasingly clever tactics for dithering away his money (I always thought the stamp solution was brilliant). Naturally, there are also increasing complications, such as well-meaning friends (including John Candy as Montgomery’s catcher/BFF) and underhanded scheming by a couple of the trustees who want the estate for themselves.
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| This isn't the most visually arresting film, but we do get lots of Richard Pryor freaking out into a telephone |
The story is actually based off a 1902 novel and has a number of film
adaptions, half of which are considered “lost” and none of which I’ve ever
seen. Maybe they’re funnier? It’s not that this film isn’t funny, but
it’s nowhere near as funny as you’d think a film starring Richard Pryor and
John Candy should be. Maybe it’s better to say that this film is exactly as
funny as you’d imagine a Walter Hill (The Warriors, 48 Hrs) film to be.
Whatever. I may (definitely) be viewing Brewster’s Millions with nostalgia goggles, but Pryor and Candy are a likable duo and the film is a gentle delight.
***
Hey? Remember when I reviewed bad movies. Well buckle up, buttercup, cuz they’ll be coming in and in force after the new year.
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