Mo' Money (1992)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Best movie of this year hands down!

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

I hired this because a friend of mine said that it was good, but also because Damon Wayans was in it and I find him to be a pretty good actor. This is a cool little movie, but really only good the first time one watches it. There are some funny things in it, but they are not hugely hilarious to label it a cult movie.Basically this film is about a con-artist whose dad was a cop who was killed in the line of duty. As such he has given up on trying to be anything and lives his life trying to make "mo money" from conning people. He has a partner who looks up to him. After a rather clever con-job, he is caught out and manages to escape only to be caught by a transit cop. The judge dismisses the charges because his lawyer is awful (basically he raves on about the injustice of the system in a Negro evangelist sort of way) and thus he takes this final change to try and go straight.While selling books, be meets a rather nice lady, and applies for a job where she works, being a credit card firm. It lands up that the security consultant is using the cards to purchase some really expensive things, and as the owners of the cards are dead, the company gets billed. The guy tries his hand at the fraud at first, but when he is caught, he is blackmailed into joining this gang.I really can't think of anything in-depth about the movie with the exception that it has the idea that once you are a criminal, it is very difficult to escape your past. As they say, old habits die hard. He is tempted and falls for it, but moreso, the bad guy uses his past as a lever for blackmail to force him to continue. Thus we see that even though he is struggling to go straight, he is not.Really, there isn't much to comment about this movie anyway. In the end it is a standard action/comedy which doesn't really stand out that much. I enjoyed it, but it lacks any deep meaning, or simple plain fun, that elevates others movies above it.

The title of this crass, predictable (even by Hollywood standards) comedy of course represents the goal of every commercial feature, but it's hard to find praise for a film that panders so shamelessly to the worst instincts of undiscriminating moviegoers. Responsibility for this mess belongs to TV personality Daman Wayans, who wrote the follow-the-dots screenplay and stars as a happy-go-lucky con artist caught up in the high-tech dirty dealings of a big financial corporation. The major problem: Wayans portrays himself as a quasi-Eddie Murphy smart-alec who can never, ever be the butt of a joke. His character is smug, superior, and selfish in a way meant to be attractive, charming, and funny, and except for girlfriend Stacey Dash everyone else is stupid, eccentric, psychopathic, or suffering from some physical disability (also meant go be amusing). Equal discredit goes to hack director Peter MacDonald, the auteur responsible for 'Rambo III' and 'Tango & Cash'.

Motivated by my other weeks viewing of The Last Boy Scout (8 out of 10), I decided to follow up with another Damon Wayans film, this one directed by Peter MacDonald, the same man who did Rambo III of all films (quite a genre leap!). It is basically a middle of the road Romantic-Action-Comedy date film, the type that were churned out by the truckload during the early 1990's. R rated, so it dates this film a little bit, as the romantic-action-comedy genre is almost 100% exclusively a PG-13 genre for at least the last 10 years. The film stars a moderately funny Damon Wayans (not his best) as a street wise guy trying to get 'mo money' by applying for a minimum wage desk job, as well as snag a girl. But things are never that simple, and his supposedly boring low paying job leads him into the middle of a laughable crime plot. The film also co-stars his annoying, goofy and much less funny younger brother Marlon Wayans (who always reminds me of a C-list celebrity in the Eddie Griffin style). I didn't recognize any of the other cast. The movie was written by Damon Wayans though, which is worth noting. This is an average film at best, not unenjoyable, but certainly forgettable save for a couple funny scenes (very much in an In Living Color skit-com style). Every date movie cliché is here too, including the up-tight boyfriend, the fat and lovable comic relief, and the crime-caper sub-plot. Worth viewing only once for Wayans' Brothers fans, but otherwise not worth a DVD/VHS effort. But if it is on TV, check it out.

Several years ago, I had a roommate whom I will call "Pat" to protect the not-so-innocent. He had a history of selecting the WORST movies. Schlock like Blue Velvet, Naked Lunch, and Wild At Heart. Mo' Money was another one of "Pat's Picks." It's a waste of good celluloid. I've seen detergents leave better film.The writing was sophomoric. The acting was weak. The "humor" was juvenile. A 12 year old would find this movie funny, but no one over the age of 14 could think it anything short of an insult.It might be worth the price of a rental for one reason and one reason only: Stacey Dash. I would turn down the sound and just enjoy that glorious smile, but then I'd miss her incredible voice. A little surgical clipping is in order. Blessed be the "mute" button.Beyond that, don't waste your time or money. If, like myself, you want to see Stacey, look for her in other movies... Renaissance Man, for example... Heck, even Illegal In Blue had some redeeming aspects that are conspicuously lacking in Mo' Money.