Brewster's Millions (1985 film)

For other film adaptations of the novel, see Brewster's Millions (film).
Brewster's Millions

Promotional film poster
Directed by Walter Hill
Produced by Lawrence Gordon
Gene Levy
Joel Silver
Written by Timothy Harris
Herschel Weingrod
Based on Brewster's Millions by George Barr McCutcheon
Starring
Music by Ry Cooder
Cinematography Ric Waite
Edited by Freeman A. Davies
Michael Ripps
Production
company
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • May 22, 1985 (1985-05-22)
Running time
 100 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $20 million
Box office $45,833,132
89,585 admissions (France)[1]

Brewster's Millions is a 1985 comedy film starring Richard Pryor and John Candy based on the 1902 novel of the same name by George Barr McCutcheon. It is the seventh film based on the story, with a screenplay by Herschel Weingrod and Timothy Harris. It was directed by Walter Hill.

Plot

Monty Brewster is a Minor League Baseball pitcher with the Hackensack Bulls. He and his best friend Spike Nolan, the Bulls' catcher, are arrested after a post-game bar fight and cannot afford bail. A stranger offers bail, if they will come to New York City with him. At the Manhattan law office of Granville & Baxter, Brewster is told that his recently deceased great-uncle Rupert Horn, whom he has never met, has left him his entire fortune but with several conditions.

Brewster is challenged to either take $1 million upfront, or spend $30 million within 30 days to inherit $300 million. If he chooses the former, the law firm becomes the executor of the estate and divides the money among charities (after taking a fee). In the latter case, after 30 days, he may not own any assets that are not already his, and he must get value for the services of anyone he hires. He may donate only 5% to charity and lose 5% by gambling, and he may not waste the money by purchasing and destroying valuable items. Finally, he is not allowed to tell anyone, even Spike. If he fails to spend the entire $30 million, he forfeits the balance and inherits nothing. Brewster decides to take the $30 million challenge, and Angela Drake, a paralegal from the law firm, is assigned to accompany him and keep track of his spending.

Brewster, who has no concept of money (never having earned more than $11,000 a year), rents an expensive hotel suite at the Plaza Hotel, hires personal staff on exorbitant salaries, and places bad bets. However, Spike makes good investments, earning Brewster money. Realizing that he is making no headway, Brewster decides to run for Mayor of New York City and throws most of his money at a protest campaign urging a vote for "None of the Above."

The two major candidates threaten to sue Brewster for his confrontational rhetoric, but they settle out of court for several million dollars. Brewster then hires the New York Yankees for a three-inning exhibition against the Bulls, with himself as the pitcher. He is forced to end his protest campaign when he learns that he is leading in the polls as a write-in candidate; the job carries an annual salary of $60,000, which is considered an asset under the terms of the will. Blowing his last $38,000 on a party after the game, Brewster becomes fed up with money and is heartbroken that Spike, Angela, and others around him do not understand his actions.

On the final day, he finds that the sycophantic treatment he received from his entourage is gone, and he makes his way to the law office. Having withdrawn from the election, he learns that the city voted "None of the Above," forcing another election with none of the candidates running for office again.

Warren Cox, a junior lawyer from the law firm and Angela's fiancée, has been bribed by the firm to ensure Brewster fails to spend the entire $30 million. Moments before time expires, Warren hands Brewster some money previously thought to have been spent and informs him he is not broke. Brewster punches Warren, who threatens to sue. Realizing he will need a lawyer, he pays the money to Angela as a retainer. With the transaction completed and all of the money now gone, the terms of the will are met, and Brewster inherits the entire $300 million.

Cast

Production

The movie was the first film greenlit by Frank Price after he became head of production at Universal.[2] The director was Walter Hill who had intended to make a film of Dick Tracy but left that project and was available. He had never made a comedy before, but had had made the successful 48 Hrs. which featured comic scenes and a comic lead, Eddie Murphy. The script was written by the writers of Murphy's Trading Places.[3]

"I'm always making westerns," Hill said. "Whether it's a movie that takes place in the future... or an action- adventure like 48 Hrs., what I'm really doing is making cowboy movies.... I like westerns because everything is very clear in them. 'I like movies in which the story line is simple and straightforward and the characters are confronted with issues of life and death. But Hollywood has decided that people don't like westerns anymore, so I have to make these other movies and pretend they're not westerns.... My idea of a good movie is to take very clearly defined characters and put them in the highest possible jeopardy and then see what happens," Hill said.[4]

Hill said Richard Pryor “didn’t believe that he was funny unless he took drugs, and he believed that if he took drugs he would die. Also, he had money problems, of course, so he had to work and take jobs and make lots of money. So it was difficult, but I liked Richard very much.”[5]

The Hackensack Bulls' baseball park was a set from the TV series Bay City Blues, formerly located at the LADWP Valley Generating Station in Sun Valley, California.[6]

Princess Anne visited the set during filming as part of her US tour.[7]

Walter Hill says later he purposefully made the film "to improve his bank account and success quotient".[8]

Reception

The movie received mixed reviews. The staff review in Variety said bluntly: "It's hard to believe a comedy starring Richard Pryor and John Candy is no funnier than this".[9] Janet Maslin, in her review for The New York Times, called the film "a screwball comedy minus the screws" which "does nothing to accommodate Mr. Pryor's singular comic talents". Director Walter Hill, she said, did not understand "the advantages of screwball timing". and the film's slow pace and lack of style gives it "a fatuous artificiality". She went on to praise the film's supporting cast, including John Candy, but said that the "flat" screenplay forces Candy to repeat himself.[10]

Walter Hill later called the movie "an aberration in the career line" being his only flat out comedy.[11] He added that "whatever [the film's] deficiencies, I think the wistful quality was there. I was happy about that. The picture did well and made money."[12]

References

  1. ↑ Box office figures for Walter Hill films in France at Box Office Story
  2. ↑ Film Clips: James Bond Flavor to 'El Norte' London, Michael. Los Angeles Times 16 Mar 1984: i1.
  3. ↑ Hill, Walter (23 Aug 1984). "Saddled with an obsession". The Guardian. p. 11.
  4. ↑ Lyman, Rick (3 June 1984). "No Matter What the Film Setting, This Director Still Makes Westerns". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. I.2.
  5. ↑ Hopwell, John; Lang, Jamie (11 October 2016). "Walter Hill: 'Don't Feel Sorry for Film Directors'". Variety.
  6. ↑ Jeff Meyers (June 25, 1989). "BYE-BYE BLUEBIRD : End at Hand for Sun Valley Film Set and Home to Amateur Baseball Teams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  7. ↑ FILM CLIPS: OZ CALLS ALL THE SHOTS IN MUPPET FILM FILM CLIPS: 'MANHATIAN' COMES TO L.A. London, Michael. Los Angeles Times 11 July 1984: g1.
  8. ↑ Director Hill puts extra dimension in Hollywood themes Thompson, Anne. Chicago Tribune 17 June 1988: GL.
  9. ↑ Staff (December 31, 1984). "Brewster's Millions". Variety. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  10. ↑ Janet Maslin (May 22, 1985). "FILM: PRYOR IN REMAKE OF 'BREWSTER'S MILLIONS'". The New York Times. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  11. ↑ Action man with an eye for character Dwyer, Michael. The Irish Times (Dublin) 13 Jan 1989: 14.
  12. ↑ "Interview with Walter Hill Chapter 7" Directors Guild of Australia accessed 12 June 2014

External links

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