Brewster’s Millions

Richard Pryor and John Candy in a classic story retold many times. I had seen parts of this movie on TV or in the background and thought I should give it a try all the way through. Spending lots of money isn’t quite as easy as it should be in this comedy directed by Walter Hill (48 Hours). I thoroughly enjoyed the story as much as is really possible in this type of plot. I thought that the acting was somewhat over the top and the main plot meandered a bit, but at 101 minutes it never went too far off the mark. The payoff at the end, even though it was obvious and expected, left me smiling while the credits rolled. I give it a 8.

All That Jazz

Life is not normal for Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) in this foray into the backstage of directing and coreography directed by Bob Fosse. In a setting where the only normal part of life seems to be the morning wake-up routine, a duality of mind and reality appears in the beginning. There is also a great interplay between Gideon and his daughter. I was dissappointed to continue on through the ending, which was completely flat leaving me wishing I had hit the back button on the remote and watched the first half over again. A fascinating tale of the struggle between personal and professional life turns into a disaster of an ending. It scores a 4.