Greedy (1994)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Jonathan Lynn

Writers (WGA):

Lowell Ganz (written by) &
Babaloo Mandel (written by)

Release Date:

4 March 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Where there's a will...there's a relative.

Plot:

Uncle Joe is ageing. He's also a millionaire. That's why his family is trying so very hard to get into his good books...

Plot Keywords:

Greed | Female Detective | Hotel Clerk | Uncle Niece Relationship | Tattoo On Butt

Cast

Michael J. Fox	...	Daniel
Kirk Douglas	...	Uncle Joe
Nancy Travis	...	Robin
Olivia d'Abo	...	Molly
Phil Hartman	...	Frank
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Carl
Jere Burns	...	Glen
Colleen Camp	...	Patti
Bob Balaban	...	Ed
Joyce Hyser	...	Muriel
Mary Ellen Trainor	...	Nora
Siobhan Fallon	...	Tina
Kevin McCarthy	...	Bartlett
Khandi Alexander	...	Laura
Jonathan Lynn	...	Douglas

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Italy:T (video premiere) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Bradbury Building - 304 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Imagine Entertainment

Trivia:

Paul Newman was the original choice for the part later played by Kirk Douglas.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the long shot of the bowling lanes they appear to be natural wood but in the close-ups, they are synthetic.

Quotes:

Robin: He seem nervous to you?
Wayne: Couldn't pull a pin out of his ass with a tractor.

Movie Connections:

References Charade (1963)

Soundtrack:

Inka Dinka Doo

I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You

Greedy has taken some of the plot situations in the Paramount classic If I Had A Million and carried them to incredible heights. It has a whole string of good performances topped off by one of the last performances by Kirk Douglas before he had his stroke.

Kirk plays the Richard Bennett part here, the millionaire who doesn't like almost all of his relatives, but gets a certain sadistic joy in seeing them perform like trained seals, trying to stay in his good graces. The only honest one of them is one of Ed Begley Jr.'s young sons who is just like that kid in If I Had a Million who started playing that record of I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You.

Unlike Bennett, Douglas does not decide to drop parts of his fortune on eight random strangers. He just keeps putting his family through their paces until they decide to dig up Michael J. Fox, a nephew he actually liked when he was a kid.

Fox is a second string professional bowler who's got a TV producer he's involved with, Nancy Travis. The two of them invade Douglas's three ring circus of relatives and get put through their paces also. All the family is against Douglas's 'nurse' Olivia D'Abo who the family is afraid will get the whole inheritance.

Greedy is a nicely paced amusing comedy which I think most of us can identify with. I know I've had a relative or two I can't stand either, but am forced to be nice to for a variety of reasons. The relatives are all greedy, but Douglas is one sadistic creep as well. I'd catch it the next time it's on the tube.