[255D[8C[0;34mĿ
[8C  [1;33mGREEDY:  [32mJonathan Lynn, director.  Lowell Ganz & Baba-   [0;34m
[8C  [1;32mloo Mandell, screenplay.  Starring Michael J. Fox,[7C[0;34m
[8C  [1;32mKirk Douglas, Nancy Travis, Olivia D'Abo, Phil Hart-[5C[0;34m
[8C  [1;32mman, Ed Begley, Jr., Colleen Camp, Bob Balaban, Jere[5C[0;34m
[8C  [1;32mBurns, Siobhan Fallon, Joyce Hyser, and Mary Ellen[7C[0;34m
[8C  [1;32mTrainor.  Universal.  Rated PG-13.[23C[0;34m
[8C

[10C[1;36mWhat would *you* do for 25 million dollars?  A bad Jimmy
[5CDurante impression?  Spy on your relatives to cut them out of the
[5Cinheritance?  Have sex with someone who disgusts you?

[10CWould you sit through this movie?

[10COkay, that last question is a cheap shot, and unfair,
[5Cbecause I enjoyed [33mGREEDY[36m, starring Michael J. Fox, Kirk Douglas,
[5CNancy Travis, and Olivia D'Abo.  Sure, the film has large, truck-
[5Csized plot holes; sure, it's stultifyingly and numbingly predic-
[5Ctable; and sure, you've seen this plot done to death several
[5Ctimes before, but [33mGREEDY [36mis still funny and entertaining, while
[5Calmost making the situation seem fresh.  Uncle Joe (Douglas) is
[5Cfilthy-rich and ill, and the whole McTeague clan is just waiting
[5Cfor him to crumple over in his wheelchair so they can divvy up
[5Cthe loot.  A more simpering, whiny, craven lot you'd be hard-
[5Cpressed to find anywhere else, but Joe tops them all as the
[5Cdeceptive, manipulating old fart who drove them this crazy.
[5CWhen Joe takes in a sexy pizza-delivery girl, Molly (D'Abo) to
[5C"nurse" him, the clan panics and brings in its own big gun, long-
[5Clost nephew Danny McTeague (Fox), Joe's favorite.  Danny's a
[5Cbowling pro who's just come off the circuit, with plans to buy
[5Cinto a bowling center.  When he reunites with Uncle Joe, he sees
[5Cthe chance to realize that dream.  And, as he gets sucked deeper
[5Cand deeper into the McTeague greed, Joe gets more manipulative,
[5Cuntil he's pitting Molly and Danny against each other and the
[5Crest of the clan.

[10C[33mGREEDY[36m's a lot more fun than other movies of this ilk, like
[5Ca Bob Hoskins starrer from [37m1992[36m, [33mPASSED AWAY[36m, but it's nowhere
[5Cnear as sharp and well-made as [33mDADDY'S DYIN', WHO'S GOT THE WILL?
[5C[36m([37m1990[36m), starring Beau Bridges, Keith Carradine, Beverly D'Angelo,
[5CTess Harper, and Judge Reinhold.  [33mDADDY'S DYIN' [36mcomes from a
[5Cstage play, has richer dialogue, and more well-developed charac-
[5Cters, and has yet to be topped in the disputed-inheritance- movie
[5Ccategory.  [33mGREEDY[36m, though, profits from a cute screenplay by
[5Cveterans Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandell ([33mSPLASH[36m, [37m1984[36m, [33mPARENT[36m-
[5C[33mHOOD[36m, [37m1984[36m, and [33mCITY SLICKERS[36m, [37m1991[36m) and slick, coherent direc-
[5Ction from Jonathan Lynn ([33mMY COUSIN VINNY[36m, [37m1992[36m).

[10COne scene between Joe and Molly lies to the audience.  Mis-
[5Cdirecting the audience is one thing, because the clues are there,
[5Ceither visible or completely buried, to allow the audience a peek
[5Caround the edges.  But when Joe deceives Molly about whom he's
[5Cgiving control of his finances to, it's a scene just between the
[5Ctwo of them.  Danny can't hear, though he's nearby.  As a result,
[5Cit cheats the audience because Molly is genuinely duped, although
[5Cthere's evidence later that she knew about Danny's deception from
[5Cthe first.  Danny *can't hear* what they're saying, so to mark
[5CMolly as a victim of deceit defrauds the story of what little
[5Cintegrity it has.

[10CYou'll guess the final two or three plot twists before
[5Cthey're introduced.  Still, I think you'll enjoy [33mGREEDY[36m, but see
[5Cit at a matinee.

[5C[32mRATING:  [37m$$[0m
