A silly and highly entertaining movie
Added 12/1/2009
Monty Capuletti (played by Rodney Dangerfield) has been living life with a big "L." Alcohol, gambling, smoking, he denies himself nothing, and he is quite happy with himself. However, when his hated mother-in-law dies, her will is found to leave everything to Monty and his family, *if* he can go give up all of his favorite vices. Well, he can do anything for a little easy money, right? Well, nobody every said that getting easy money was going to be easy!
This is an excellent movie, perhaps the best one made by funny-man Rodney Dangerfield. It has a great story, with Monty trying to go cold turkey from his vices, and a number of great subplots concerning Monty's daughter's marriage, and Monty's launching of a clothing line.
Overall, I found this to be a real fun movie, something of a guilty pleasure. It's not completely family friendly, having earned an R rating. So, beware. But, for adults, it is a silly and highly entertaining movie, one that I do recommend. Looking for a movie to watch tonight? Get Easy Money and enjoy!
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Underwhelming
Added 3/13/2009
Being a fan of 80s comedies, I was surprised that I had never heard of "Easy Money" when I saw a preview for it on TV. I taped it on DVR and watched it later. Though the movie has a few great moments, overall I just didn't think it was all that good - and this is probably why it's not that well known.
The weakest part of the movie is the overall plot. The writing is borderline terrible. It's simple, unengaging, and flat-out boring at times. I found myself wanting to fast forward through several scenes. The movie is pretty short; there should have been more time spent developing the characters and exploiting some potential comedic moments.
What saved the movie was, of course, Dangerfield - he delivers several memorable one-liners and doesn't disappoint with his physical comedy. Pesci is decent, though his character could have been much more deeply developed. The same is true of Jeffrey Jones - he was alright, but there was plenty of material left on the table. The writers could have done so much more with him trying to prevent Dangerfield from shaping up, and also with how he fared at the end. The relationship between Taylor Negron ("Julio") and Dangerfield could also have been developed - Negron was portrayed as a villain during the wedding, and yet he never did anything terribly villainous for the rest of the movie.
I supposed I'm glad I saw this movie once, but definitely would not watch it again if it were on TV. I would neither recommend it to friends nor discourage them from seeing it if they hadn't before. Good to see once. Hence, three stars.
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An underrated classic
Added 1/7/2009
This movie has been on my radar for years as I enjoyed it many, many times when I was younger. I finally got around to ordering it and was not disappointed as it is still just as funny as I remembered.
Rodney Dangerfield is at his best here as is a young Joe Pesci. There are too many funny moments to mention and the movie is hilarious from beginning to end.
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RODNEY at his BEST!!
Added 10/21/2007
This was the first RODNEY DANGERFIELD movie I ever saw!!
Definitely one of RODNEY's BEST...5 Stars maybe even 6!!
I'm sorry to hear RODNEY isn't with us anymore!!
I rate this movie a 8 from 1to10!!
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Deeper Than We Might Think
Added 4/8/2007
While "Easy Money" may APPEAR to be a simple comedy, it really confronts us with many flaws of the human condition. Monty (Dangerfield) is a child photographer who is good at his job. We soon learn that he has several vices. (smoking, drinking, some illegal drugs, gambling, and some lustful desires) But he is an EVERYMAN. Most of us have at least one vice. To some extent, we are ALL Monty.
Soon afterwards, a will from his mother in law,offers him $10,000,000. if he can shake off his vices and lose weight on top of that. Monty's friends confront us as well. They are really great at telling Monty why he should go through with it. They are also great at telling Monty he should not smoke, drink, overeat etc. But they continue to do it themselves, and at times in front of poor Monty. Again, to some extent, we are all Monty's friends.
To make matters more difficult, Monty's rival heir Clyde (Jeff Jones) wants the money for himself. So he looks for ways to tempt Monty into his former ways. (To a large extent, Clyde represents the presence of the devil.) Clyde can not force, but he can certainly tempt. Quite convincingly, Monty's tensions start to get the better of him, and the movie stops being funny. A notably sad scene is where Monty loses his job.
Very quickly, I am guessing the dream sequence was removed because it breaks the consistency of the film. (We have nothing before it to indicate Monty has fallen asleep.) Moving on, comedy reenters when Clyde offers Monty a great job. But little does he know that Clyde is making one final attempt to defeat Monty. (Time is running out!) Like the devil, Clyde can not just pull something out of the sky. Monty has to some extent consent, and the patterns of Monty as a person have to somehow cause his downfall. In yet another moment as the devil, Clyde confronts Monty's friends with their hypocrisy: "If you're really Monty's friends, you'll stop making it so hard for him...You do want Monty to have the money, don't you?"
In a well done scene, tensions explode at Monty's house, and we see that the desire for money can destroy our lives that really weren't so bad to begin with. As St. Paul said: "The love of money is the root of all evil" ("Timothy" 6:10).
Eventually though, Monty comes through magnanimously. He invites his friends (who could have been more helpful to him) and even Clyde to a trip to Coney Island. Monty's greatest triumph is his forgiveness of everyone.
But the devil Clyde does get one small consolation prize that he laughs darkly at. Low class comedy? Not on your life! "Easy Money" confronts us with out weaknesses as well as hypocrisies. It also shows how the desire for money can hurt us; it shows how the devil works; and it shows the beauty of forgiveness.
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A silly and highly entertaining movie
Added 12/1/2009
Monty Capuletti (played by Rodney Dangerfield) has been living life with a big "L." Alcohol, gambling, smoking, he denies himself nothing, and he is quite happy with himself. However, when his hated mother-in-law dies, her will is found to leave everything to Monty and his family, *if* he can go give up all of his favorite vices. Well, he can do anything for a little easy money, right? Well, nobody every said that getting easy money was going to be easy!
This is an excellent movie, perhaps the best one made by funny-man Rodney Dangerfield. It has a great story, with Monty trying to go cold turkey from his vices, and a number of great subplots concerning Monty's daughter's marriage, and Monty's launching of a clothing line.
Overall, I found this to be a real fun movie, something of a guilty pleasure. It's not completely family friendly, having earned an R rating. So, beware. But, for adults, it is a silly and highly entertaining movie, one that I do recommend. Looking for a movie to watch tonight? Get Easy Money and enjoy!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Underwhelming
Added 3/13/2009
Being a fan of 80s comedies, I was surprised that I had never heard of "Easy Money" when I saw a preview for it on TV. I taped it on DVR and watched it later. Though the movie has a few great moments, overall I just didn't think it was all that good - and this is probably why it's not that well known.
The weakest part of the movie is the overall plot. The writing is borderline terrible. It's simple, unengaging, and flat-out boring at times. I found myself wanting to fast forward through several scenes. The movie is pretty short; there should have been more time spent developing the characters and exploiting some potential comedic moments.
What saved the movie was, of course, Dangerfield - he delivers several memorable one-liners and doesn't disappoint with his physical comedy. Pesci is decent, though his character could have been much more deeply developed. The same is true of Jeffrey Jones - he was alright, but there was plenty of material left on the table. The writers could have done so much more with him trying to prevent Dangerfield from shaping up, and also with how he fared at the end. The relationship between Taylor Negron ("Julio") and Dangerfield could also have been developed - Negron was portrayed as a villain during the wedding, and yet he never did anything terribly villainous for the rest of the movie.
I supposed I'm glad I saw this movie once, but definitely would not watch it again if it were on TV. I would neither recommend it to friends nor discourage them from seeing it if they hadn't before. Good to see once. Hence, three stars.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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An underrated classic
Added 1/7/2009
This movie has been on my radar for years as I enjoyed it many, many times when I was younger. I finally got around to ordering it and was not disappointed as it is still just as funny as I remembered.
Rodney Dangerfield is at his best here as is a young Joe Pesci. There are too many funny moments to mention and the movie is hilarious from beginning to end.
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