Brewster's Millions (1985)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Walter Hill

Writers:

George Barr McCutcheon (novel)
Herschel Weingrod (writer) ...

Release Date:

22 May 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

An American excess story.

Plot:

A minor league baseball player has to waste $30m in 30 days in order to inherit $300m; however he's not allowed to tell anyone about the $300m deal.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Minor League Baseball | Baseball Player | Politican | Millionaire

US TV Schedule:

Wed. July 22

12:30 PM

MAX

Cast

Richard Pryor	...	Montgomery Brewster
John Candy	...	Spike Nolan
Lonette McKee	...	Angela Drake
Stephen Collins	...	Warren Cox
Jerry Orbach	...	Charley Pegler
Pat Hingle	...	Edward Roundfield
Tovah Feldshuh	...	Marilyn
Hume Cronyn	...	Rupert Horn
Joe Grifasi	...	J.B. Donaldo
Peter Jason	...	Chuck Fleming
David White	...	George Granville
Jerome Dempsey	...	Norris Baxter
David Wohl	...	Eugene Provost
Ji-Tu Cumbuka	...	Melvin
Milt Kogan	...	Heller

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Netherlands:MG6 | Finland:S | Norway:7 | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:6 | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

101 Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

This is the seventh film adaptation of George Barr McCutcheon's 1902 novel.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Spike makes a profit of 10 million, Brewser ask to be alone. When they walk out the door closes and in the next frame they open the door and you hear the door close again.

Quotes:

Monty Brewster: Marilyn? I could die in this room.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Great World of Sound (2007)

Soundtrack:

In the Nick of Time

Pryor + Candy = Laughs

You can imagine that any movie that stars Richard Pryor and John Candy must be a funny one, and this definitely qualifies.

The plot is disarmingly (and misleadingly) simple. Montgomery Brewster (Pryor) stands to inherit a $300 million fortune from a long lost uncle (played by Hume Cronyn), whose will is videotaped. The catch? To get the money, Brewster must first spend $30 million in 30 days. An additional catch? After spending the $30 million in 30 days, Monty still isn't allowed to own anything. At first I still didn't think there would be that great a challenge, but in fact, as Monty discovers, it's hard to spend $30 million without actually purchasing anything of lasting value.

The movie progresses through Monty's spending spree on hotel rooms, parties, employees, the minor league baseball team he played for and finally his campaign to NOT be elected mayor. Other candidates spend millions to get elected; why not spend millions to convince people not to elect you? It's also interesting to see the reactions of his friends (especially Candy) to his squanderings, because another condition to the will is that he can't tell anyone what's going on.

It's really quite a lot of fun, and Pryor and Candy together make it worth watching.

7/10