Train-ing Videos: The Money Pit (1986)

Hey cleaver title right? Train-ing Videos. See, it's cause I watch them on the train. Anyway, today's movie was the Tom Hanks/Shelley Long joint Money Pit which I got in a Tom Hanks 3-pack at Best Buy a month or so back that also includes The Burbs (awesome) and Dragnet (haven't seen) for like $8. I'm a sucker for a deal, so I picked it up (which is also how I got Over the Top and Wet Hot American Summer yesterday for $5 each.

So, I thought I knew Money Pit fairly well, Hanks and Long buy a house that turns out to be a crap hole, things fall apart, they hire some people to fix it up, she maybe cheats on him with the maestro, they fight, (SPOILER), things work out and everything ends happily ever after. And that is basically what happens, but it's the small things that made this already funny movie even more interesting.

First off, I don't remember the beginning at all. I figured there was some stuff in the beginning, but didn't remember the details. Long and Hanks are living in the apartment of her ex-husband (the maestro), a shady real estate dude tells Hanks he's got a great place for super cheap, though it's still pretty expensive. Yakov Smirnoff makes an appearance as the maestro's assistant or something and is then never seen again. There's also the matter of Hanks' job, he's a lawyer in the music biz, so there's lots of funny little bits with a kid superstar and a band of crossdressing rockers.

My favorite little bit in here came with a brief appearance by an actor playing ping pong named Brian Backer who I recognized, but couldn't place. I'm not really sure why he's even in the scene, but it turns out that he was in The Burning! Speaking of actors I recognized but couldn't place, the maestro is a big, blond German guy. My mind immediately went to one of the villains from Die Hard, but that's just because I think every blond dude of a certain age was in that movie. Turns out I was right though, this is one of Karl's few other movie roles.

I also really liked the cast of misfits who come together to act as their construction team. When they roll up on all sorts of crazy machinery flanked by huge muscle dudes and little people, it reminded me of the crazy circus people the Penguin hung out with in Batman Returns.

After the surprises were over I was left with all the scenes I remember from seeing this movie on TV: the staircase falling, them freaking out over running water (something I can relate to after my parents rennovated our downstairs when I was younger), Long openening the medicine cabinet to reveal a dude standing there, Hanks falling through the floor, but the rug traps him and, of course, the best laugh of all time (he's got one of the top five laughs in the history of all time laughs):



But by far, my absolute favorite part of the movie is when Hanks does a damn fine Mr. Magoo impression, getting rocketed through the construction thanks to some pretty great gags. It's a little over the top, but who cares? It's fun. Plus he gets peed on at the end (kinda).

One thing I didn't really like, though, was Shelley Long. I always preferred Rebecca on Cheers and, well, what else has she been in? You could just as easily have taken her out of Boston, plopped her in NYC, put a violin in her hand and call her something else. Sorry, Diane, I'm no fan. When things get heated between her and Hanks, I kept thinking "Ditch her and go after Kirstey Alley!" (remember this is 1986, not now).

Now for a few side points. The writer, David Giler, also wrote the story for Aliens, the script for Aliens 3 and apparently did an uncredited pass on Beverly Hills Cop 2. I like me some eclectic screenwriters. Also, the movie takes place in the city, so, as I have been doing for the past two or so months, I kept an eye out for any recognizable landmarks or streets (didn't see any). I was also trying to figure out where their house was supposed to be located. I don't think they ever say specifically where the house is, just that it's an hour away from everything. According to the filming locations of IMDb, though, it was filmed on Long Island, which is kind of the opposite end of the spectrum from where I live. Oh well, a good time was had by all.