| | | | The Money Pit
(1986) |
his is vintage Hanks on top form! Long before he started making 'serious' films, Tom Hanks made 'comedies'. Films which made humour into a real artform again - 'Big' 'Punchline', 'The Burbs', 'Batchelor Party' and 'The Money Pit' established him in my mind as one of the leading funnymen of the 80's.
Loosely based on 'Mr Blanding Builds His Dream House,' The Money Pit told the tale of Walter Fielding (TOM HANKS), a lawyer for Rock Bands and his wife Anna (SHELLEY LONG), a classical violinist who find themselves in sudden need of a new place to live. Anna's ex-husband Max (ALEXANDER GODUNOV) a world famous conductor, is returning home to the apartment they have been occupying. With no money of their own due to a hazy backstory concerning Walter's Father and Rio De Janeiro, they hurriedly borrow money from Walter's Millionaire Pop Star client, a precocious kid named Benny and buy their very own mansion at $200,000. Swindled by the seller - sweet eccentric Estelle (Maureen Stapleton) they move into their 'dream house' to discover it isnt quite what they had in mind.
"Ahhh... Home, Crap Home" (Walter Fielding arriving home)
Walter and Anna start to sink fast into 'The Money Pit'. At first touch, the house begins to fall down around them in a hilarious series of set pieces.
There are so many inventive calamities in this movie, that it's impossible to list them here. I will however remind you of Hanks' 'bee dance' 'soot face' and 'stuck in the rug' scenes, as well as the 'flying turkey', 'plummeting stairs and bathtub', and of course the 'electrifying kitchen'! Just seeing Hanks and Long strenuously manage to fill their cruddy bath with tepid water for a well-deserved soak, then watching as it deposits itself in the downstairs room is worth the price of this rental alone. Hanks, tired beyond belief, stands overhead laughing so hard he is silent.
Peppered with key performances from the likes of JOE MANTEGNA as Art Shirk, one half of the Shirk Bros. - "Two Weeks" - this film is endlessly quotable and a great example of a genre that didn't take itself too seriously.
Special mention is reserved for the late ALEXANDER GODUNOV as the super-vain Symphony Conductor Max Beissart who literally steals the show with his heavy Russian-accent and venomous sarcasm:-
"The Union forces me to allow you to go to lunch... those of you with consciences will not be able to eat....those of you without..go stuff yourselves..i hope you choke" (Max to his Orchestra)
Perhaps *my* favourite moment would be when the entire staircase collapses with Hanks still on it. He manges to hang momentarily until Long treads on his fingers. He plummets from the landing onto the collapsed wooden staircase below - and obviously in pain, blows back a gentle thankyou kiss.
Just rent it. You'll remember what comedies were like!
 Don't forget that The Money Pit is now available to order on Widescreen DVD using our special 80s Retro Assistant...
|
| | | | 
I've long felt that the critical bashing which the Money Pit received was hugely unjustified. Perhaps this was a simple budgetary consideration? Planned as the major summer comedy from the offices of Steven Spielberg, it's inflated $20 million cost was spent on the lavish demolition of the house and its elaborate stunts. Its subsequent return of $28 million was not staggering and audiences stayed away, fearing that farce and slapstick was not the vogue genre.
However, analysis of the movie today provides another perspective. Hanks is truly wonderful in this film, and his sarcastic to manic reactions are like a textbook to how slapstick should be played. He displays perfect comic timing throughout and is well matched with the wry Shelley Long. The script provides non-stop laughs especially from supporting players like Joe Mantegna, Philip Bosco and Alexander Godunov, and like the best comedies of the 1980's, it refrains from any attempts at social significance and revels cheerfully in its hapless subject.
Not to be missed - quintessential soundtrack too!
|
| | | |  | 
You can now correct/update any item of trivia by clicking the "Update" button next to it...
| |
Tragically, Alexander Godunov was found dead in his home by friends in May of 1995, he died of alcohol abuse with complications from hepatitis.  -Thanks to Ariana Owens
Alexander Godunov, who played Max, started off as an amazingly talented ballet dancer. One of his classmates and friends at the Riga Ballet school in Russia was Mikhail Baryshnikov. After graduating he toured with the Moscow Classical Ballet. In 1973 he won a gold medal at the Moscow International Competition. In August 1979 he defected from the USSR. The story grew in importance when his ballerina wife returned to the USSR a few days later. He joined the American Ballet Theater and danced with it until 1982 when he and its director Baryshnikov had a falling out. He was, by then, a frequent companion of Jacqueline Bisset. Sadly, Godunov, who also played excellent parts in "Die Hard" and "Witness" died in May of 1995. He was just 45 years old. -Thanks to Santiago Velasquez
The lead crossdresser in many scenes, the one with the gravely voice is Lesley West the lead singer/guitarist from the 70's rock group Mountain. -Thanks to SSG Rik Guido
There is a picture of Olivia Newton-John on Alexander Gudonov's wall in the scene after Shelley Long spends the night at his place. She has her hair up, with an old fashioned hat with one of those net-like things over her face. The picture appeared on the back of her 1985 single, "Soul Kiss." -Thanks to Frank R.
« Click
here to add some Money Pit trivia
Rediscover your favorites! If you like
The Money Pit or 80's Comedy classics, then be sure to
check out this list: ..... Tootsie ..... Raising Arizona ..... Good Morning, Vietnam ..... Blues Brothers ..... Heathers ..... Fast Times At Ridgemont High ..... This Is Spinal Tap ..... Naked Gun ..... Adventures In Babysitting ..... Airplane ..... License To Drive ..... Porky's ..... Risky Business ..... Twins ..... Soul Man .....[More]
| | | |
The dilemma of the producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy was finding someone who would consent to having their beautiful home partially destroyed. They located the Ridder mansion on the north shore of Long Island. The house belonged to the family for which the Knight-Ridder news syndicate had been named. As the house was on the market at the time, they consented to have several key sequences shot there. During the course of filming, the house was virtually destroyed and re-built from scratch. During the filming, Mrs. Ridder was reportedly stunned at the sight of the old family home in a semi-demolished state, but was convinced by director Richard Benjamin to appear in one of the movie's final sequences once the place was restored to original condition.
The shoot was delayed due to Shelley Long giving birth to her daughter Juliana, but when she reported to the set, she took on all of the physical acting without a hitch.
«
Click
here to add a new Behind-the-Scenes item for Money Pit
|  |  |  | | The Money Pit
Locations |
|
| | |
 Featured Movie Location: The Money Pit
Wanna see the real life filming location used for The Money Pit in the movie? These scenes were actually shot at Northway, located in Lattingtown, New York. [New! Show Google Map]
The apartment that Hanks and Long have to vacate is in The Althorp Apartments located at 2211 Broadway, West Side New York.
The restaurant where Max attempts to seduce Anna is in the Hotel des Artistes, 1 West 67th Street, Central Park West, New York.
The House that Walter's father is seen buying at the end is often seen in movies. It is the Villa Vizcaya, 3251 South Miami Avenue, Coconut Grove, South of Miami FL.
See any errors? Something we've missed? [Let us know]
|  | | | | ![[16:9 -Widescreen Enhanced]](16_9.gif) | ![[5.1 CH SURROUND]](dd5.gif) | Trailer, Featurette |
| | | | Trailer, Featurette |
|
| | | |
One of the Holy Grails (still searching!), is the wonderful unreleased pop soundtrack with music by Composer Michel Colombier. The title track 'The Heart is so Willing' will leave you singing for days. It is a true 80's culture crime that this was never released.
The heavy metal band performing at the end of the movie in the wedding ceremony is actually Brooklyn's own White Lion. They had a big hit in 1987 with "When the Children Cry". -Thanks to Mark Gambuzza &Amp; Sid Goop
«
Click here to add new music trivia for Money Pit
Soundtrack Available:
Never On Any Format
| | | |
 NEW!
Use our radical Retro Assistant to show you the most accurate information for hard-to-find The Money Pit products anywhere on the web...
At a glance, you can now see all the Movie
releases, Soundtracks
or Movie
Posters, Scripts and Books ever available with online price comparisons, even if they're
rare, out of print or only available in another country!
Over 3 years in development and covering more than 10,000 of the
best products hand picked by our editors, we think it's the most fun and retro way to celebrate the era --and find what you
want.
It covers The Money Pit DVD,
VHS,
Blu-ray,
HD-DVD,
Downloads,
Soundtrack
CDs, Movie
Posters, Scripts, Books and more... Why not give
it a try...
The
80's Movies Rewind is proudly a spam-free
non-commercial site, written by movie fans... for movie fans.
If
you enjoy this site, please help to support us and keep us
POP UP & SPAM FREE by ordering your stuff through our services.
As you probably already know, we
are not a corporation, but just 80's fans like you...
| | |
 | | Recent
Additions |
March 3, 2008: Commando USA / UK Blu-ray Coming Soon.
February 28, 2008: Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Soundtrack Update.
Previous
additions
We're always updating and improving, so please and check back with us regularly...
|
| | |
