The Money Pit (1986)

A young couple struggles to repair a hopelessly dilapidated house.

Director:

Richard Benjamin

Writer:

David Giler

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Shelley Long, Alexander Godunov

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hanks	...	Walter Fielding
Shelley Long	...	Anna Crowley
Alexander Godunov	...	Max Beissart
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 (as John van Dreelen)
Douglass Watson	...	Walter Fielding, Sr.
Lucille Dobrin	...	Macumba Lady

Storyline

Walter Fielding and Anna Crowley have to start looking for a new house- but there's not much they can afford! This soon changes when they meet a lonely old con artist who sells them a beautiful mansion at a ridiculously low price. Only there's a catch. The second they move into the house it falls apart, starting with the stairway collapsing to the bathtub falling through the floor to eventually the chimney falling into the house! Finally, they have to renovate the house before the frame collapses but the renovations also prove to be a disaster.

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Plot Keywords:

house | dilapidated house | renovation | couple | slapstick comedy | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Chinese

Release Date:

26 March 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Geschenkt ist noch zu teuer

Filming Locations:

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, 3251 South Miami Avenue, Miami, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,344,555, 30 March 1986

Gross USA:

$37,499,651

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,500,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amblin Entertainment,U-Drive Productions,Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was intended to be one of Universal's tent pole movies for Christmas 1985, but the film was pushed back to March of 1986.

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Goofs

In the scene where the "Cheap Girls" talk with Walter on wanting to change their name to "Meryl Streep", it looks like he says "bulls**t" instead of "Meryl Streep".

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Quotes

Max Beissart: You love me and I love you.
Anna: You love *you* and I love Walter.

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Connections

Referenced in Pé Na Porta: Um Dia a Casa Cai (2007)

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Soundtracks

Sittin' on a Dream
Written by Michel Colombier and Kathleen Wakefield

User Reviews

hanks at his physical comedy best

It continually amazes me that Tom hanks will go down as one of the best dramatic actors of our generation and little will be spoken of how good a physical comedian he was before "Philadelphia" changed his career. Hanks made a string of movies in the 80s relying on his physical comedy ability, most notable "Big", "the burbs", "dragnet", "turner & hooch" etc. But I think that with the POSSIBLE exception of "Big" - "The Money Pit" is his best. Some of the scenes involving Hanks in this movie made me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe. This movie is intended to be a farce and it succeeds totally. The rest of the cast is not very strong - I have never, and I assume never will be, a Shelley Long fan - she doesn't do anything but provide a sounding board for Hanks anyway. But then again, she really doesn't need to.

This movie is definitely worth taking a look at if you haven't seen it - the first time you watch it, it is genuinely hilarious. I just watched it again after about three years without seeing it and found it to still hold up. The scene when the chimney falls apart is my favorite. I wish hanks would do another comedy, but he's all serious now. oh well.