The Money PitYou know what they say about a deal that's too good to be true--it is. The Money Pit is a comedy about a young New York couple--Walter Fielding (Tom Hanks) and Anna Crowley (Shelley Long)--who find themselves searching for a place to live after Anna's ex-husband, Max Beissart (Alexander Godunov), reclaims his apartment in the city where they had been staying. After being presented with a million dollar mansion for a fraction of the cost, the two roll the dice and borrow the money to buy the house. But after they move in, Walter and Anna's relationship begins to crumble (like the staircase) under the pressures of maintaining their new home that is literally disintegrating beneath their feet.
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The Money Pit capitalizes on the casting of Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, who bring their comedy A-game playing Walter and Anna. Tom Hanks exudes a kind of anxiety which boils over as the neurotic, control freak Walter. For a lawyer representing some rambunctious characters, Walter is a bit naive, and almost forgets that he's living in a world peppered with deceit and deception. He weathers the strain of each disaster with a barely contained mania as the problems with the house escalate; when it crosses the threshold of his sanity, he breaks out into absurd laughter and unhinged resignation. For example, after their first day in the new home, Walter--with singe marks all over his body from the kitchen suddenly bursting into flames--prepares to take a bath, and the partially filled tub collapses right through the floor; Walter's response is pure gold. Anna, on the other hand, tries to contain her feelings of powerlessness and disappointment, but treats each crisis like a personal attack. Anna also embodies many of the characteristics that made her portrayal of Diane in the acclaimed Eighties sit-com, "Cheers" so memorable. (Perhaps as a nod to this, Anna often evades answering Walter's marriage proposals.) Although The Money Pit is bookended with scenes featuring Walter's financially reckless father and his new bride, Anna's past is more prevalent in the film, notably her marriage to Max, the vain and egocentric "maestro" who repeatedly flirts with Anna in spite of her unfaltering commitment to Walter.
Wealth is a key theme in The Money Pit, and how it relates to one's happiness. Although Walter and Anna are very much in love, Walter is jealous of Max's wealth. While Max gets to galavant across Europe and return home at his leisure to his swanky apartment, Walter is stuck trying to pay off his deadbeat father's debts to his rock star clients. Walter also has to endure that whenever the money starts running out, Anna's response is to beg for charity from her ex-husband--selling him things she got in the divorce, flattering him, and so on. At the start of The Money Pit, Walter and Anna are happy and blissfully ignorant of the realities of getting their own place. They talk of how difficult it is to find one--claiming it has been taking them months--but when Max shows up a mere week early, they're are completely unprepared anyway. Walter and Anna are both hiding from the real next step in their relationship--settling in and living together permanently. So for all the chaos that erupts around them while they restore their new home, the true challenge is in crossing that threshold.
The Money Pit is bittersweet comedy for those who have ever been involved in home restoration. The laughs that come with the constant onslaught of ruin and disaster are mixed with knowing tears and the awareness of how shockingly on point Walter and Anna's nightmare really is. Walter and Anna are a couple of suckers, taken in by his "buddy" in the real estate business and a seemingly sweet old lady trying to sell the house on the quick. As naive as Walter and Anna are, the problems of the miraculous find of a house are cleverly concealed at first; second viewings of The Money Pit reveal these acts of legerdemain, including moving through the house by candlelight and directing Walter to use the downstairs bathroom. Even when the taxi drops them off in front of the disaster mansion, Anna says it looks perfect, to which Walter instinctively replies, "there must be something wrong with it". (Oh, Walter, if you only knew...) Walter and Anna's faith that they are destined for this house is subverted in the scene where Walter exclaims that the train they're waiting for is coming just as they decided to buy the house, and that it must be a "sign"; cue the ominous comedy beat when the train passes them by. Minor inconveniences Walter and Anna encounter are cute at first; but once you deprive someone of plumbing, their patience is not far behind. The hapless pair run afoul of a coven of corrupt contractors--sleazeballs that ooze mafia vibes--who promise that the monumental job will be done in "two weeks"; they do this so often, that it becomes a running gag. The manic breakdown that follows losing control of your environment is so perfectly captured in The Money Pit, that people who have endured the proverbial hell of home improvement testify that the film is so painfully accurate, it is less satire and more tragedy.
Recommended for: Fans of a comedy that prospers on the absurdity of simply trying to make your home your own, and the horrifying problems that come with it. The Money Pit benefits from the fantastic comedic pairing of Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, and their talent for portraying humorous and sympathetic characters is an asset here.
Wealth is a key theme in The Money Pit, and how it relates to one's happiness. Although Walter and Anna are very much in love, Walter is jealous of Max's wealth. While Max gets to galavant across Europe and return home at his leisure to his swanky apartment, Walter is stuck trying to pay off his deadbeat father's debts to his rock star clients. Walter also has to endure that whenever the money starts running out, Anna's response is to beg for charity from her ex-husband--selling him things she got in the divorce, flattering him, and so on. At the start of The Money Pit, Walter and Anna are happy and blissfully ignorant of the realities of getting their own place. They talk of how difficult it is to find one--claiming it has been taking them months--but when Max shows up a mere week early, they're are completely unprepared anyway. Walter and Anna are both hiding from the real next step in their relationship--settling in and living together permanently. So for all the chaos that erupts around them while they restore their new home, the true challenge is in crossing that threshold.
The Money Pit is bittersweet comedy for those who have ever been involved in home restoration. The laughs that come with the constant onslaught of ruin and disaster are mixed with knowing tears and the awareness of how shockingly on point Walter and Anna's nightmare really is. Walter and Anna are a couple of suckers, taken in by his "buddy" in the real estate business and a seemingly sweet old lady trying to sell the house on the quick. As naive as Walter and Anna are, the problems of the miraculous find of a house are cleverly concealed at first; second viewings of The Money Pit reveal these acts of legerdemain, including moving through the house by candlelight and directing Walter to use the downstairs bathroom. Even when the taxi drops them off in front of the disaster mansion, Anna says it looks perfect, to which Walter instinctively replies, "there must be something wrong with it". (Oh, Walter, if you only knew...) Walter and Anna's faith that they are destined for this house is subverted in the scene where Walter exclaims that the train they're waiting for is coming just as they decided to buy the house, and that it must be a "sign"; cue the ominous comedy beat when the train passes them by. Minor inconveniences Walter and Anna encounter are cute at first; but once you deprive someone of plumbing, their patience is not far behind. The hapless pair run afoul of a coven of corrupt contractors--sleazeballs that ooze mafia vibes--who promise that the monumental job will be done in "two weeks"; they do this so often, that it becomes a running gag. The manic breakdown that follows losing control of your environment is so perfectly captured in The Money Pit, that people who have endured the proverbial hell of home improvement testify that the film is so painfully accurate, it is less satire and more tragedy.
Recommended for: Fans of a comedy that prospers on the absurdity of simply trying to make your home your own, and the horrifying problems that come with it. The Money Pit benefits from the fantastic comedic pairing of Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, and their talent for portraying humorous and sympathetic characters is an asset here.