Easy Money (1983)

Rodney Dangerfield gets a load of respectand a chunk of changein Easy Money! Joined byJoe Pesci and Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dangerfield is outrageous as a working-class buffoon who takes on the first-class tycoons in this million-dollar comedy!Monty Capuletti (Dangerfield) has everything money can't buya loving wife, two devoted daughtersand a few things it can: he drinks, smokes, gambles and eats way too much! But Monty couldn't be happier especially when he learns that his mother-in-law has left him a hefty inheritance. There's just one catch: according to the will, he must turn his vices into virtues before he can turn his windfall into cold, hard cash! Now, themisbehaving Monty will have to put the brakes on the binging and trade his lifestyle for a LifecycleÂ(r), or lose his one shot at the family fortuneforever!

RODNEY at his BEST!!

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!! October 21, 2007

Deeper Than We Might Think

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. April 8, 2007

NEEDS A DELUXE TREATMENT! CLASSIC COMEDY

This a on of those films that is so much funnier than it should be! Rodney Dangerfield and Joe Pesci are great together in this blue collar comedy. I can't even begin to think of how many lines I've quoted from this movie. The 3 star rating is for the low rent DVD treatment. This film is one of my favorite comedies and really deserves an upgrade! Still a must own film for me! March 13, 2007

Missing the Boxing Match scene!!!!

They cut out the Boxing match scene where the lovely Kimberly McArthur(the babe on the lawn) is re-exposed to Rodney when her top pops open in temptation! WHY DID THEY CUT THIS SCENE OUT OF THE VHS AND DVD RELEASES??? Otherwisw, it's a funny movie. June 14, 2006

Missing Scene ?

Why they cut out the boxing match scene from the DVD is beyond me.

This film captures Rodney D at his peak of popularity and comic genius, a true original! Joe Pesci and the entire supporting cast are also fantastic.
But to cut a major scene out of the film is just criminal!

Movie 5 stars, DVD has no extras & deleted scene = 3 stars February 2, 2006

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