Other People's Money (1991)

Best movie ever!

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

About four years earlier, Gordon Gecko became the most hated man in America, the epitome of greed and corruption. Danny DeVito, that diminutive tyrant from Taxi, manages to give us a fresh perspective on the successful, honest Wall Street investment type. Lawrence lives well, a posh NYC townhouse, a valet/cook/chauffeur, and a corner office in his own firm on Wall Street. This is a side of DeVito unseen up to this film, and it shows you just how versatile he can be. He is the romantic leading man in this delightful study of human interaction, and he carries it off beautifully. Penelope Ann Miller, that ravishing redhead with the lithe body and delicate bone structure, plays the modern, independent woman who has battled her way to the top and knows how to play the game. She is forceful with just the right amount of submissiveness, prideful with just the right balance of humility, and classically beautiful in a very subtle, yet Venus de Milo way. Gregory Peck delivers a stunning performance as the aging, stubborn, factory manager who refuses to accept the advice of others, sort of a mortal Yoda with no ability to see into the future. Dean Jones departs from his ever bubbly Disney persona to deliver a serious role of the president of a company with an uncertain future. Piper Laurie, well, there is a very short list of desirable women in the world, but she is definitely on it. She comes across as the ever present cheerleader, the woman behind the man. Overall, the plot is fast paced and entertaining, with plenty of DeVito personality to make this one of the finest romantic comedies to ever hit the screen. Rated R for language and sex-related dialog, I hardly think the teens in your household will be offended or negatively impacted by this delightful film. Definitely a collectible for you connoisseurs of fine romantic comedy, and fans of DeVito.

This movie has to have been one of the most painful experiences of my life, and I dearly wish I could have not finished watching it in economics class. I don't know anything about the play, so I won't compare them, but there was pretty much nothing of redeeming value in the movie save the resolution to the company's plight and the speeches (which don't have a whole lot of redeeming value). First of all, Mr. DeVito's character was such a creep that the whole romance thing is way too ridiculous and disgusting to swallow and tolerate, much less believe. Second of all, the lead actress' acting was incredibly one dimensional. Third of all, every time Larry smokes and eats a doughnut at the same time, they managed to make it so disgusting that I felt as if I were having a heart attack, and I love doughnuts. You can't even look at him without gagging and hoping that he does have a heart attack. Everything in this movie makes your skin crawl, and I don't think it was entirely done on purpose. Perhaps they wanted to make Larry look like a creep, but that effect managed to seep into every single frame. It's not even that it's a poorly done film, it's just completely repellent. After I watched this, I felt disgusting for two days, as if I ate ash trays for lunch and dinner. This film leaves such a bad taste you can't enjoy what little good stuff there is.

Lawrence Garfield loves money.Soon Larry loves also a woman.That woman is Kate Sullivan.But if he wants to win her heart he has to become less obnoxious.Norman Jewison's Other People's Money (1991) tells a fine story.The little big man Danny DeVito is the best person to portray the lovable bad guy Larry the Liquidator.Penelope Ann Miller is a perfect player of the opposite sex.The late great Gregory Peck does a great job, as he always did.He plays the part of Andrew Jorgenson.Piper Laurie is awfully great as Bea Sullivan.Dean Jones does very good job as Bill Coles.This movie is full of well written scenes.Overall Other People's Money is a good comedy with some serious stuff.

Danny DeVito's performance as Larry "the Liquidator" Garfield is a solidly crafted performance of a big time, clever Wall Street operator. The film came out in the early 1990s, and the character was the type of person who was active at the time who bought up fading companies to sell off the assets. A similar character would be Richard Gere's billionaire in PRETTY WOMAN, who is able to look back with satisfaction at buying up the company his father (who deserted Gere and his mother) built and selling it apart while his father watched helplessly. Another example is Michael Douglas' "Oscar" performance as "Gordon Gecko" in WALL STREET. The three actors show this type of tycoon at his best and worst. Douglas, of course, with his "Greed is Good" speech showed the worst of it. Gere (with the help of Julia Roberts) manages to regain his sense of ethical strength and becomes more willing to not be a Wall Street looter. But best of the three was DeVito. Handicapped at being a short, bald, pudgy man (albeit with a brain), and not attractive like Gere or Douglas, Danny manages in this film to show the positive flip side of his "liquidation" schemes and win our support as Douglas never would. One may of course remain skeptical about DeVito's altruism, as he does admit liking to make money, but the overwhelming common sense of his speech explains that progress and economic realities dictate the world of big business as much as the personalities of the operators.In OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY Danny has decided to buy as much of the stock of a New England cable manufacturing company as he can. The company is breaking even or less every year, and is actually worth more for it's individual assets than for it's unified worth. Unfortunately, in a situation that Frank Capra would have been at home with, the firm is the largest employer in the New England town it is located in. Many of the residents of the town work in the factory. The head of the factory is Andrew Jorgenson (Gregory Peck - everyone's favorite spokesman for the common man after Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart left the scene). Peck is the sort of man who anyone in the plant would come to if they had some personal problem that needed adjustment that effected the business. Peck is paternalistic business at it's best.But that's just the problem - Calvin Coolidge once made a truism: "The business of America is business." He meant that Americans were hard working people who would go into all types of business to earn a living. But earning a living includes earning a profit, and it does not mean supporting a business that is increasingly becoming an unofficial charity for a factory town.The problem for DeVito is that his raider reputation precedes him. He also finds that Peck's lawyer Kate Sullivan (Penelope Ann Miller) is very attractive. DeVito's finding that his campaign to take over the factory is interfering (understandably) with his attempts to romance Miller. Also, on the sidelines, is a problem with a type that DeVito finds useful if distasteful. Peck's associate Bill Coles (Dean Jones) is a shareholder who might support Peck but is weak enough to sound out DeVito about voting with his side. It's interesting watching DeVito's face when dealing with Jones - he is very mild but his face does register disgust and dismissal (subsequently so does Peck's).The high point is the stockholder's meeting. Peck gives his best speech about the importance of the company to the town. He talks about how business opportunities are bound to turn around shortly. He gives the type of speech that Frank Capra would have been proud of in MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN or IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (think of George Bailey's speech to mollify the townspeople during a run on the savings and loan). When you hear the sincerity of Peck's well remembered voice, you feel he will carry the day.But he doesn't. Instead, DeVito wins. His speech is not the "Greed is Good" crap that Douglas espouses, although the profit motive is stressed. DeVito points out that there is no real chance that the firm will overcome foreign competition in fiber-optics. Furthermore, even if there was such a chance it would be infinitesimal. DeVito goes into the matter of why people invest money - it's to make money, and not to be philanthropic with the money. He points out that it is sad that the effect of the closing of the factory hits the town, but under the circumstances it can't be helped - it's inevitable. But at least now the company's assets can be sold off, and they will produce a large profit. As DeVito points out, he's proud of his name "the liquidator", and he feels he is the best friend of every shareholder in the firm at that moment. Finally he discusses the significance of the last buggy whip company. It made the finest of all buggy whips, but people had no further use for them in the age of the automobile.It's a straightforward, honest, and eloquent defense of capitalism - a perfectly respectable variant to the Gecko speech in WALL STREET. The film does end in a successful compromise, but it's nice to see DeVito coming across as fully in the right for a change.