Money for Nothing

I have always been a big John Cusack fan and out of all the movies he's made I think that MONEY FOR NOTHING is his best one. It's smart, funny, intense, and has great performances from John Cusack and Debi Mazar. It may not be the best movie in history, but at least it will keep you entertained for a few hours.

Joey Coyle (John Cusak) is a young man of twenty-six years old and without any perspective in life: unemployed, with basic level of instruction only. Living with his brother's family and his mother. One day, when he is coming back home with his friend Kenny Kozlowski (Michael Rapaport) after not being hired to work in the dock, he finds 1.2 million dollars that felt from an armored car. He decides to keep the money, and this is the beginning of a series of stupidities, in a true story. Being a simple man, Joey has no malicious and does not know how to handle with such amount of illegal money. This movie alternates action, comedy and drama and entertains. The cast is great. My vote is seven.

"Money For Nothing" is a watchable little movie, but nothing spectacular. How could it be really, when it's based on a premise that's not particularly interesting in the first place? A guy finds some money and the police is looking for the money. There you go.

The real reason to watch this is the amazing cast, which wasn't very well known yet in 1993 when this movie was made. Michael Madsen, Benicio Del Toro, Philip Seymour Hoffman and James Gandolfini all in one movie, that's really a treat. The shining light, however, is the leading star himself. This may not be John Cusack's best movie, but it may very well be his best performance.

"Money For Nothing" suffers a bit from the fact that it can't decide whether it wants to be a drama, a crime story or a comedy. Still, it makes for an enjoyable viewing. Catch it, if it's on TV.

This movie is based on the true story of Joey Coyle who found some money lost by a bank and tried to keep it. It is very realistic and the cast includes lots of familiar names like John Cussak, Philip Seymore Hoffman, Benicio Del Toro and Michael Madson, all giving convincing performance. For me it should be rated about 7.2.

Oddly, this movie is billed as a comedy but I think it was more of a drama and, coincidentally, since it was a mixed mag, so is the lead actor in here: John Cusack. He is acceptable, but nothing super. Cusack plays an ordinary guy, "Joey Coyle," who accidentally finds a million dollars and then tries to keep it. Supposedly, it's a true story (or at least based on one.) What happens to Joey and his million bucks (which had fallen out of an armored car) is not a story of joy and happiness. That's justice, since the honorable thing would have been to turn the money in, to where it belongs, so there are moral lessons taught in this story. What happens - a mixture of drama, comedy plus action and suspense - was pretty entertaining to watch. I wouldn't call this a "keeper," meaning a movie to buy and add to one's collection, but it's worth a rental, especially if you enjoy watching Cusack perform. I have found him to be a consistent actor. In dramas, I think Cusack can be outstanding ("The Grifters," "Eight Men Out," "Identity," etc.) but in comedies, he stinks ("Bullets Over Broadway," "The Road To Wellville," "Grosse Pointe Blank," etc.) Also, the rest of the cast includes some real characters, many of them out of a mob movie: actors like James Gandofini, Elizabeth Bracco, Debi Mazur, Michael Rapaport, Michael Madsen, Benicio Del Toro, Maury Chaykin and Philip Seymour Hoffman - not exactly the kind of actors you'll see in a light, sweet comedy! Halfway through this film I wondered if the writers knew where they were going with the story. I'm not sure they knew, but at least it entertains.