Today’s quick review: The Money Pit. After his father embezzles nearly $3 million from the family business, Walter Fielding (Tom Hanks) is left with a mountain of debt and nowhere to live. Hoping to solve their housing problem, Walter and his girlfriend Anna (Shelley Long) buy a gorgeous house outside New York for a great price. But they soon discover why it sold for so little: The house is a total wreck that is going to need a fortune in repairs.
The Money Pit is a comedy about a couple whose dream home turns into a nightmare of bad carpentry, backed-up plumbing, and faulty wiring. As the damage piles up, Walter and Anna are forced to spend more and more just to turn their house into a place where they can live. The Money Pit is a light movie that runs on a combination of slapstick and domesticity. Its fruitful premise and well-matched leads make it a simple but enjoyable watch.
The Money Pit strikes a nice balance with its comedy. There’s a fair amount of slapstick as Walter and Anna try to cope with a house where everything is broken, yet the physical humor never feels pandering. The gags have good timing, the tangents to the main story are brief, and the movie finds clever ways to make use of its premise. Tying it all together are Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, who perfectly portray a loving couple pushed to their limit.
The only catch is that The Money Pit is not an ambitious comedy. There’s no larger plot that the home repairs feed into. The gags are funny but not especially deep. And while the movie puts more thought into its characters than other comedies, it avoids anything but the most superficial drama for them. These decisions result in a successful comedy that delivers what it promises, but they keep it from joining the ranks of the best in the genre.
Give The Money Pit a shot if you’re in the mood for likable characters and reliable laughs. Fans of more elaborate, plot-driven comedies may find it to be a little simple for their tastes, but viewers who aren’t above some straightforward humor will have a good time. For a slapstick comedy in the same vein, try Mousehunt. For Tom Hanks in another comedy about a jinxed endeavor, try The Ladykillers.
6.4 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for honest laughs.