The Money Pit (1986)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Richard Benjamin

Writer:

David Giler (written by)

Release Date:

26 March 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Tagline:

For everyone who's ever been deeply in Love or deeply in debt.

Plot:

A young couple struggles to repair a hopelessly dilapidated house.

Plot Keywords:

House | Couple | Problem | Renovation | DIY

Cast

Tom Hanks	...	Walter Fielding, Jr.
Shelley Long	...	Anna Crowley Beissart / Anna Fielding
Alexander Godunov	...	Max Beissart, the Maestro
Maureen Stapleton	...	Estelle
Joe Mantegna	...	Art Shirk
Philip Bosco	...	Curly
Josh Mostel	...	Jack Schnittman
Yakov Smirnoff	...	Shatov
Carmine Caridi	...	Brad Shirk
Brian Backer	...	Ethan
Billy Lombardo	...	Benny
Mia Dillon	...	Marika
John Van Dreelen	...	Carlos
Douglass Watson	...	Walter Fielding, Sr.
Lucille Dobrin	...	Macumba Lady

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:PG (1986) (cut) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Norway:12

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Trivia:

The band White Lion performs twice in this movie with a line-up that was pre their debut album. The bass player joined Black Sabbath between this movie and White Lion's first album.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the lead Cheap Girl tells Walter they want to change their name, you hear "Meryl Streep" but his lips say something else. The same thing for Walter when he tells him he's not changing their name. Perhaps another name was originally used and the producers didn't get the permission to use it.

Quotes:

[Walter has missed a meeting with the permit man, who got steamed and left]
Curly: If he ever does come back, you call me and we'll finish the job.
Walter: When I do get the permits, how long will the job take?
Curly: Two weeks.
Walter: Two weeks? Two weeks?
Curly: You sound like a parakeet there. "Two weeks! Two weeks!"
Walter: Well, two weeks. It- it's amazing.
Curly: Amazing nothing. It'll be a regular miracle.

Movie Connections:

References "The Care Bears" (1985)

Soundtrack:

MI ORQUESTRA

The home version of "The Poseidon Adventure"

Tom Hanks and Shelley Long star in this hilarious film about a couple who buy a million dollar home for $200,000 - only to find out it's going to cost close to a million to repair it! Wood rot, raccoons in the dumbwaiter, a bad roof, bad plumbing, bad electricity - you name it, this house has it. Hard to choose the funniest scene - the staircase collapse or Hanks getting dumped in cement.

The entire cast is excellent, from Maureen Stapleton, the former homeowner whose boyfriend is being deported, Hanks' clients (he's an entertainment attorney), the many workers who populate the house, or Douglass Watson, Hanks' embezzler father who now lives in Rio.

It would also be hard to choose the funniest line, but for anyone who has owned a home, probably the Shirks Brothers line when their team comes to repair the house - "Your name came up in a drawing - we work today!"