Good idea lost in the noise

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The acting in this movie is really good.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A few days after seeing the 1945 Brewster's Millions, I finally watched the remake that was released 40 years later. It starred Richard Pryor as Monty Brewster, here a minor league baseball player who sees film of his late grandpa (Hume Cronyn) who tells him the conditions of his will. John Candy is Pryor's baseball buddy, Lonette McKee-who previously co-starred with him in Which Way is Up?-is his accountant, Candy's "SCTV" co-star Rick Moranis is someone who likes to repeat whatever someone next to him says, and David White-who I remember as Larry Tate on "Bewitched"-is one of the executers of the will. This wasn't as funny as the previous version I watched but I still had some good laughs watching Pryor, Candy, Moranis, and some of the changes in some scenes. So on that note, this version of Brewster's Millions is worth a look.

With a friend having greatly enjoyed a DVD of the 1988 Comedy film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels that I gave her for a Birthday present,I started searching around for Comedy movies with a similar feel,which she could enjoy watching on the upcoming May Bank Holiday.Frantically searching round online,I suddenly remembered a fun looking Comedy which I had seen 30 minutes of on TV around 10 or so years ago!,which led to me deciding that it was about time to fully witness Brewster count out his millions.The plot:Heading out to a bar to celebrate their (minor league) baseball team the Hackensack Bull's latest win,star team mates Montgomery 'Monty' Brewster and Spike Nolan quickly get into a fight with fellow customers at the bar,and end up getting sent to jail.Being left completely speechless at their bail hearing (where the judge sets the bail amount at a level that they can never afford)by a stranger sitting in the court who announces that he will pay their full bail cost,the stranger tells Nolan and Brewster that they both must visit a law firm that he's working for called Granville & Baxter.Attending a private film screening at the law firm whilst Nolan is ordered to wait outside,Brewster discovers that he has a recently diseased great- uncle called Robert Horn who he never knew existed.On the film,Horn reveals that due to him being the only surviving relative,that Brewster has a chance to get his full savings.Not wanting to give Brewster an easy shot at the money,Horn tells Brewster that he has 2 options:1-he can accept 1 million and allow the rest of Horn's $300 million estate to go to the law firm,or he can go for option 2,which is that he must spend 30 million over 30 days in order to get the 300,but must not tell anyone where the 30 came from,or buy any items that he can keep.Initially being tempted by the $1 million offer,Brewster decides that he is going to instead try and hit a home run,and go straight for the $300 million jackpot.View on the film:Despite the Universal full-frame DVD taking away some of its jazzy style,director Walter Hill and cinematographer Ric Waite (who had both earlier worked together on the movie 48 Hours) dazzling style is still able to shine,thanks to Waite and Hill showing the contrasting appearances between Brewster's faded and dusty Minor League Baseball lifestyle,with the high-end,crystal clear one that he finds himself suddenly forced in.For their adaptation of George Barr McCutcheon's novel,the screenplay by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod takes some delicious swipes at the 'greed is good' attitude that was starting to strike at the time,with the writers brilliantly showing the insane amount of influence Brewster can get,just by chucking money at anything that moves. Smartly deciding not to make the film be a sheer display of excess,the writers keep the movie strongly rooted to Brewster's blue collar big ground,which despite stopping the movie from fully tipping into the over exaggeration that it delightfully seemed to be heading towards,does allow the viewer to feel the full force of what has landed on Brewster's shoulders.Entering the movie without a dime in his pockets,Richard Pryor gives a highly spirited performance as Brewster,with Pryor showing Brewster holding his working class background dearly,even as he's desperately trying to spend cash left,right and centre.Joining Pryor,John Candy gives an excellent performance as Nolan,with Candy giving the movie a shot of lightning every time he gleefully sets his sights on cash,as Brewster discover who really wants to be a millionaire.

Believe it or not, "Brewster's Millions", in which Richard Pryor plays a guy who has to spend $30 million in 30 days so that he can inherit $300 million from his late uncle (Hume Cronyn) but can't tell anyone the second part, is based on a 1902 novel. And a funny adaptation it is! Pryor plays a baseball player who prefers partying with his buddy (John Candy). Once it's time for him to start spending, he goes all out. I will say that this isn't the best work for either of them, but Walter Hill's movie definitely elicits its share of laughs. The best part is Brewster's mayoral campaign: he's the most truthful candidate of all time (or at least the most realistic).The executives who formally give Brewster the money reminded me very much of the Dukes in "Trading Places". As it is, one of them is played by a man who seems to have spent much of his career playing bombastic executives: David White, aka Larry Tate on "Bewitched". He went from playing an executive in "The Apartment", to playing the boss of a man married to a witch, to playing an executive who gives $30 million to a rule-trashing cool dude. What a country indeed! Anyway, the movie is at once a parable about profligacy and also just a plain old fun comedy. Brewster is a guy who, quite simply, knows how to party. Like I said, it's not the funniest movie ever, but you definitely get some laughs out of it.

Montgomery Brewster (Richard Pryor) is a replacement pitcher for a New Jersey baseball team. He and his friend Spike Nolan (John Candy) have dreams of joining the big league, but the problem is that nobody is interested in them. Everything hits rock bottom when they are locked up in gaol for brawling and are not bailed out by their coach. But a strange guy pops up, bails them out and takes them to New York City where Monty is brought into an office alone where three lawyers sit. Here he learns that he has inherited a lot of money, but there is a catch. His great uncle doesn't want him to be taken for a ride, but rather he wants him to use the money wisely, so he says that he has thirty days to spend thirty million dollars. If he makes it then he gets three hundred million, but if he fails he gets nothing. At the end of the thirty days he is allowed no assets, he can only give 5% away to charity and can only loose 5% gambling. When hiring people he can only get his money's worth. Nor can he tell anybody about it. As such he has to get rid of all of the money while everybody else is trying to get him to save it.This movie is based on earlier movies and the critics did not like this one that much. I have not seen the earlier movies (though would like to) but I enjoyed this movie. Richard Pryor and John Candy are both good, clean actors and comedians and the jokes are seriously funny in this one. It is quite amusing watching his friends wonder why Monty gets upset when he earns money and is joyous when he looses money.The whole purpose of this is to force Monty to get so sick of spending money that he won't blow away the money that his great uncle has earned. The lawyers want the money because if Monty fails then they get the 300 million. They don't think Monty can do it though, but when it seems like he is succeeding, they get scared and try to defraud him out of $20,000 so that they still get the money. Thus it becomes a competition with very high stakes. Monty looses nothing if he fails, but if the lawyers fail then they can be up for fraud.The interesting thing about it also is how people all come to bludge off Monty for the money. People swarm around him wanting jobs and simply money, and others try to swindle him, but Monty doesn't care. The fortunate thing is that when he wins, everybody is going to think that he is broke and they are not going to bother him anymore, while Brewster sits on millions of dollars. His friend Spike and the security guard show their friendship by collecting money for him after, so we can see beyond the movie that Brewster will remember them for their generosity.The cleverest thing Brewster did was run for mayor and then withdrawal at the last minute. This was a very fortunate occurrence that there was a mayoral election on at that time, because it would have been very difficult to get rid of it otherwise. The clever thing though was buying a very expensive stamp and then mailing it. It was this action that worried the lawyers and made them act against him.The critics did not like this movie but I do. This is a clever movie and Pryor and Candy are decent actors. Candy plays a good friend who is always there for Brewster and we know that this friendship will last even though Brewster has become a millionaire.Favourite Quote: Spike to Monty when they are in gaol: I don't think this is a race thing because I'm in here too (its funny to me since having seen Hanging with the Homeboys a few days earlier).