"The Money Pit" is an underrated, romantic, slapstick comedy. A young couple Tom Hanks and Shelley Long are very much in love with each other and want to buy the home of their dreams. They finally find a large house going cheap and move in; but it's not long before one hilarious disaster after another happens. The house is falling apart along with their bank account and they get deeper and deeper into debt and their relationship starts to fall apart. There are some really great, very colorful characters interspersed throughout, resulting in some great comedy. There's also a lot of slap-stick which even if it's not your usual cup-of-tea would be hard not to enjoy.
In this movie, the script writer and set technicians are king. These professionals ought to have a showcase for their talents to be spotlighted from time to time, and they sure made the most of the opportunity with this one. The calamitous frailty of this ostensibly beautiful house renders so many brilliantly done scenes that this movie still makes me laugh out loud after seeing it several times. A joke loses all its power to amuse after the surprise of the punch-line is lost, but these sight-gags are so funny I can break out laughing while driving down a lonely highway just thinking about them. Some movies lose their effectiveness because the makers get confused and try to do too may things - the message gets muddled. The best movies exhibit no such confusion and tell their story with minimal distraction. This movie is about this house, and what these artists do with this prop is brilliantly and enduringly funny.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
In this movie, the script writer and set technicians are king. These professionals ought to have a showcase for their talents to be spotlighted from time to time, and they sure made the most of the opportunity with this one. The calamitous frailty of this ostensibly beautiful house renders so many brilliantly done scenes that this movie still makes me laugh out loud after seeing it several times. A joke loses all its power to amuse after the surprise of the punch-line is lost, but these sight-gags are so funny I can break out laughing while driving down a lonely highway just thinking about them. Some movies lose their effectiveness because the makers get confused and try to do too may things - the message gets muddled. The best movies exhibit no such confusion and tell their story with minimal distraction. This movie is about this house, and what these artists do with this prop is brilliantly and enduringly funny.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10.