The Money Pit (1986) User Reviews

They testing missiles here or what?

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 12 May 2012]

The Money Pit is directed by Richard Benjamin and written by David Giler. It stars Tom Hanks, Shelley Long, Alexander Godunov and Maureen Stapleton. Music is by Michael Colombier and cinematography by Gordon Willis. Plot finds Hanks and Long as a young couple who buy what they think is their dream house, only to find the house falling apart around them.

Mozart is dead, his troubles are over.

He went on to be a big mover in the acting world did Tom Hanks, so much so it's always a little weird revisiting his comedy output in the 1980s because he's a vastly different actor now. Yet for many of us, that decade holds many treasures, where nostalgic fever takes a hold and a warm glow does come with watching the young Hanks bound about with comedic glee. The Money Pit doesn't have the cult worship of Splash or the internet respect of Big, yet it's a wonderfully funny picture that finds Hanks on optimum energised form. The plot might be thin and Long kind of gets pushed to one side, but this has much to enjoy with a bottle of vino and snacks. That is, of course, if you don't mind laughing at the misfortune of new home owners?! I am sinking fast into the money pit.

A number of sequences are pure farce, but in the good way, stairs collapse, as does the chimney, doors, floors and a leaking roof bring the mirth, as does a laugh out loud bath moment. It sounds a little chaotic, and it is at times, but the screenplay allows Hanks & Long, and the wonderful Godunov, time to breath life into the characters. There's a lovely romance at the core of the story, one that inevitably will be tested by the chaos of the house renovations and Godunov's third party ex. They are a very likable couple and easy to root for. Helps that Hanks is full of effervescent boyishness and Long is so homely and pretty, the latter of which I don't think has ever looked better than during a red dress sequence here.

If the foundation is OK? Then everything else can be fixed.

It doesn't have any surprises in store, it goes exactly where you expect it too, which naturally renders the final third as being all about the sentiment and the message. With the comedy gone, picture struggles a touch to put the final coat of paint on the project. But it's nicely underplayed by the actors and really this is about love triumphant against adversity. With the laughs that came previously more than making this a blues lifter for the nostalgic amongst us. 7.5/10

Funny remake of a remake of a.......

[gjampol · 7/10 · 1 April 2014]

One of the things that makes this movie so enjoyable is that millions of Americans can easily empathize and draw upon their own experiences with the travails of fixing up a dilapidated house.

The plot is a familiar one and follows in the footsteps (which usually collapse) of such classic films as "George Washington Slept Here," "The Egg and I" and "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House."

Shelley Long and Tom Hanks seem evenly matched as the tormented couple who suffer almost every wacky indignity and calamity imaginable. Tom Hanks has a flair for physical comedy, which he rarely got the chance to exploit in his later films. Unfortunately, except for Philip Bosco and Maureen Stapleton, the supporting players in "The Money Pit" are not in the same league as the actors who added so much flavor to films in the old studio days.

Indeed, as a classic movie buff, I find today's crop of character actors pallid in comparison with their counterparts of more than 50 years ago.

Who can forget Percy Kilbride and Hattie McDaniel as Mr. Kimber and Hester the maid in "George Washington," and Harry Shannon As Mr. Tesander, the well digger, in "Blandings"? Don't forget Donald MacBride and the coupling of Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride as Ma and Pa Kettle in "The Egg." We'll never see the likes of them again.

Still, "The Money Pit" is all good fun and very entertaining.

hanks at his physical comedy best

[jericho31 · 14 June 2002]

It continually amazes me that Tom hanks will go down as one of the best dramatic actors of our generation and little will be spoken of how good a physical comedian he was before "Philadelphia" changed his career. Hanks made a string of movies in the 80s relying on his physical comedy ability, most notable "Big", "the burbs", "dragnet", "turner & hooch" etc. But I think that with the POSSIBLE exception of "Big" - "The Money Pit" is his best. Some of the scenes involving Hanks in this movie made me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe. This movie is intended to be a farce and it succeeds totally. The rest of the cast is not very strong - I have never, and I assume never will be, a Shelley Long fan - she doesn't do anything but provide a sounding board for Hanks anyway. But then again, she really doesn't need to.

This movie is definitely worth taking a look at if you haven't seen it - the first time you watch it, it is genuinely hilarious. I just watched it again after about three years without seeing it and found it to still hold up. The scene when the chimney falls apart is my favorite. I wish hanks would do another comedy, but he's all serious now. oh well.

Would you buy a used house from this woman?

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 12 October 2019]

Married couple Tom Hanks and Shelley Long have been staying at her ex's apartment but now they have to get out as famous symphony conductor Alex Gudenov has returned.

So after a lot of hunting they come across Maureen Stapleton's grand mansion in the burbs that she is unloading for a ridiculously low price. Stapleton is as grand as her house. But when she unloads she takes the money and runs.

She'd have made a great used car salesperson. Like a lemon car everything goes wrong and pretty much all at once. Hanks and Long encountering these problems is hysterical. Pretty soon they've sunk all their dough in the place and no end in sight except for their marriage.

The Money Pit is a very funny film that has a nice slapstick quality to it. Liked the leads, but liked Stapleton more. She really chews the scenery in her role, all ten minutes or so.

Anyone who ever dealt with home repair will love this film.

"Here lies Walter Fielding. He bought a house, and it killed him."

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 22 March 2023]

It really surprised me to see this movie get such a critical beating when it was released. I was even *more* surprised at how good it is.

Even before I popped this badboy in, I knew pretty much what to expect from it, and I left satisfied. Tom Hanks and Shelley Long are delightful; so is Alexander Godunov, he plays the vapid eurotrash so well in this.

It's a lighthearted '80s comedy, and when disaster isn't striking, it makes with the witty banter between spouses. It's just likable.

To that end, Hanks is in his comedic prime here, and man, he is on fire. He makes slapstick look easy but it's also a lot of fun watching him unravel in his harried state. That barking seal laugh he does after the bathtub plummets had me dying. His best is still "A League of Their Own", but this is a close second.

It's nice that there's a happy ending to this, what with the relationship drama. But we all came here to see the house try to kill itself from within, and I say mission accomplished.

A Funny Movie With a Ridiculous Beginning

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 6 October 2003]

Walter Fielding Jr. is a broken manager, paying the debts of his crooked father (Douglass Watson), who escaped from USA and is living in Brazil. Walter and Anna (Shelley Long, with wonderful legs) live together in the apartment of her former husband, The Maestro, who is in Europe. However, The Maestro comes back unexpectedly. They have to move to a new place, and a friend of Walter advises him to tell a US$ 1,000,000 house in a bargain of US$ 200,000 from an old lady, who needs the money due to an extradition problem with her husband Carlos. They borrow the money and when they start living in their new home, they find out that the house is not exactly what they expected for. Although having a ridiculous beginning, this movie is really funny. The marriage of Walter Fielding Sr. in Rio de Janeiro in a `macumba' may be funny for foreigners. However, this type of marriage indeed does not exist. `Macumba' is a kind of religion for some persons, but it does not have marriage as showed in the movie. Anyway, the rest of the story is so funny, that it is a worthwhile entertainment. My vote is seven.

Worth seeing before buying a house as a couple

[KineticSeoul · 7/10 · 31 October 2012]

I got a chance to watch this movie during a real estate class. And I am kinda glad the professor decided to show it. Cause although this movie was made in the 80's it still sorta holds up today. Tom Hanks is young in this and him and his fiancé decides to buy a house...Without doing any inspections on the house. And that is when there dream house ends up being a nightmare cause all the appliance and stuff in the house are so worn out it turns out to be a major hazard. So there is a bit of some comedic elements in this movie besides it have some romantic comedy aspect to it. But the romantic comedy is just a small portion of this movie. And it educates you what not to do when buying a house while it have some funny moments than and there. This isn't one of the best comedies I seen but it's pretty good. And is worth seeing, especially before buying a house as a couple.

7/10

Good Memories

[browall80 · 9/10 · 20 April 2006]

I loved this movie. Granted, I was a teen when I first saw it, but even so, I laughed often and that is my standard of judgment. Shelley Long is as good as she was in Cheers (which is gooood). Tom Hanks shows off the early "Bosom Buddies" hopes of physical comedy genius here in a way that he never did again. The bee-attack scene to the flight of the Bumblebee violin solo is fabulous. the whole "We're Sitting on a Dream" sequence with the stairs and doorbell and raccoon and the bathtub is hilarious but PEOPLE. Come on. The entire collapsing stairs bit is the best, capped off by Hanks sweet little blown kiss at the end ... slayed me. My brother and I still reference it whenever everything is more crap than bearable, and we always will. I think this is an overlooked gem and will always have it in my video catalogue. Finally, a quote: Paint. Don't tickle. Alexander Gudonow will be missed.

"Buddy, did you really buy this house"?

[lost-in-limbo · 7/10 · 4 August 2012]

Get out the hammer and nails. For a couple buying a house this should be a dream come true, however for Tom Hanks and Shelley Long they find the home of their dreams is anything but. Being somewhat in already debt, this house only plunges them deeper with only their love holding them together. But that connection is also tested, as one minor disaster leads onto another mishap and again another seeing everything including the kitchen sink succumbs to the money pit. Like Hanks mutters "I'm sinking into the money pit".

After being evicted from their Manhattan apartment, Walter and Anna need to find somewhere to live and they come across an old house in the country. The house looks perfect, but they seem unsure to why it's selling so cheap. "Why would someone sell a million dollar house for 200 thousand"? Without any hesitation they purchase it and as soon as they move in they realise that the house is virtually falling apart. In the process of trying to repair the shambles it starts to cause a strain on their relationship.

Produced by Steven Spielberg. Richard Benjamin was chosen to direct and populates this flavoursome loud, accident prone romantic comedy with madcap visual gags with the combination of Hanks and Long being charmingly projected. The script is bright and snappy (loved the on- going missile quips "You testing missiles here or what?") with an old- fashion story that's symbolic in its depiction of love and commitment within an elaborate death-trap. What starts of with a narrative becomes a series of problematically creative sketches (sinking carpet) with amusing side-characters. Alexander Godunov is good fun as Anne's pushy European ex-boyfriend and there's fitting small roles for Joe Mantegna, Maureen Stapleton, Philip Bosco and Josh Mostel. Plus the motley crew of workers in what feels like a circus parade have some familiar faces in Mike Starr, Frankie Faison, Nestor Serrano and Jake Steinfeld.

"The Money Pit" is a strangely transfixing mid-80s comedy that simply brings down the house.

"Ah, home crap home".

Mr. Hanks builds his dream (make that "nightmare") house

[lee_eisenberg · 8/10 · 12 August 2006]

I know, the critics ripped at "The Money Pit" when it got released. They apparently didn't realize that it wasn't pretending to be a masterpiece; it was a big excuse to be funny, and they succeed. Some of the gags her seem to forecast the equally funny "Mousehunt". Personally, I think that Tom Hanks needs to act in some more comedies, and Shelley Long needs to get more roles in movies. My favorite scene? Well, I get the giggles whenever I think of the whole chain reaction. Just the kinds of things about which anyone should worry when moving into a new house (although my family didn't have such experiences when we moved into our house).

All in all, it shows that Richard Benjamin is as great a director as he is an actor. My generation ought to give him the recognition that my parents' generation gave him. Also starring Alexander Godunov (one of the Amish guys in "Witness"), Maureen Stapleton, Joe Mantegna and Josh Mostel.

Charming and fun Richard Benjamin comedy in which Tom Hanks gives a sympathetic performance

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 15 November 2021]

This Steven Spilelberg production deals with a young yuppie couple (Tom Hanks , Shelley Long) decide to move to live in the countryside . After the couple sees an ad for new homes , they decide to move to a great mansion. They plan to fix up an old home, and end up purchasing to a suspicious real house vendor (Maureen Stapleton) . Then sundry problems emerge when they attempt to renovate their new purchase , seemingly self-destructive home . Unfortunately, the construction is plagued by unforeseen setbacks and troubles , delaying the couple's moving-in date and causing even more stress for Hanks . Things go wrong and wreak havoc as they hire a botcher architect to design and supervise the construction . However , the collapse of their home leads directly to the collapse of their relationship as well . For everyone who's ever been deeply in Love or deeply in debt.

This is a gimmicky , contrived Richard Benjamin film , but being entertaining and fun enough . Concerning a funny couple in love , when these lovebirds buy a fixer-upper , they encounter all sorts of troubles , destruction and disasters . Somewhat modeled after ¨Mr. Blandings build his Dream House¨(1948) by H. C. Potter with Cary Grant , Myrna Loy , Melvyn Douglas . Tom Hanks and Shelley Long are very amusing and attractive , though the many sight gags are on the predictable side . Tom Hanks gives a likable acting as a rock'n´ roll lawyer who falls in love for musician Shelley Long while her ex-hubby is after her too . They're well accompanied by a good support cast , such as : Alexander Godunov as her first husband, Maureen Stapleton, Joe Mantegna, Philip Bosco , Carmine Caridi, Josh Mostel , among others.

Being well written and produced by Steven Spielberg's usual team at the time : David Giler , Kathleen Kennedy , Art Levinson , Frank Marshall . Packing a colorful cinematography by prestigious cameraman Gordon Willis , as well as lively musical score by Michel Colombier. The picture was professionally directed by Richard Benjamin . Richard is a good actor and filmmaker , specially in the comedy genre . After extensive work in theatre as actor and director, and his participation in the cult TV series He and She (1967), in which he co-starred with his wife Paula Prentiss, he won the starring role in the screen adaptation of Philip Roth's best-seller, Goodbye Columbus (1969). That was followed by attractive roles in The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971) and another Roth adaptation, Portnoy's Complaint (1972), The last of Sheila , West World .... But his forte was comedy and he won a Golden Globe when he repeated his stage role in the film version of Neil Simon's The odd couple (1975). Although he still performs, Benjamin turned to direction since the 80s with the highly acclaimed comedy My favorite year (1982) , and other comedies as Racing with the Moon , Milk Money , My Stepmother Is an Alien , Made in America , Downtown, Mermaids , The Shrink Is In . And this The Monet Pit , rating 6.5/10 . Well worth watching . The pic will appeal to Tom Hanks fans . In spite of some flaws and predictability , it is still highly watchable and entertaining.

a real waste of talent

[dbogosian-1 · 2/10 · 19 April 2007]

It's amazing that two such talented actors as Shelley Long and Tom Hanks can produce something that--at its best moments--rises to mediocrity, but spends most of its time lurking in sheer awfulness.

If you liked Diane Chambers (on Cheers), you will not like this heroine. She is neither intelligent, nor caring, nor committed, in short there is nothing likable about her. We never have a sense of why she hooked up with Tom in the first place, or why she sticks it out through the long ordeal of the re-construction.

There are a number of minor sub-plots, none of which amount to anything and leave you scratching your head at the end, thinking "why was that there?" The transvestites, for instance, what did that contribute? Or Tom's father? Why was he even in this story? On the positive side, there are a few pratfalls and slapstick scenes that will make you chuckle here and there. But it's lost amid the morass of bad writing and predictability.

A compelling good-mood film with a young Tom Hanks

[Shadowboy_25cm · 7/10 · 9 August 2021]

Richard Benjamin, actor (Westworld, 1973) goes director, directed this entertaining film fun about a down-on-his-luck couple desperately fighting for the survival of their relationship while the roof over their heads - and their bank account - slip into an increasingly precarious predicament.

With Tom Hanks and Shelley Long prominently cast, both have convincing chemistry in this classic piece reminiscent of comedies of the '50s and '60s.

The humor comes more with slapstick interludes and is very physical. The film is very entertaining and diverting.

A compelling good-mood film with a young Tom Hanks.

"The House of Eternal Hunger"

[Kamurai25 · 7/10 · 14 August 2020]

Good watch, would watch again, and can recommend.

Despite this movie releasing in 1986, this movie actually dates really well. With the focus being much more on the horror of real estate and property maintenance, things like smart phones aren't relevant to the story. This could easily be rebooted beat for beat as all the points are still relevant today and the script is well written.

I'm not sure who the equivalent actors to Tom Hanks and Shelley Long are today, but they would have to be quality expressionists to make the movie work. While some of the jokes are baked into the script with situational destruction around the house, it really is the actor performances that sell the emotion and charm of the movie.

Well worth the watch, and the trip in the way back machine.

How? Why? Insane?

[PredragReviews · 7/10 · 10 May 2016]

"The Money Pit" is an underrated, romantic, slapstick comedy. A young couple Tom Hanks and Shelley Long are very much in love with each other and want to buy the home of their dreams. They finally find a large house going cheap and move in; but it's not long before one hilarious disaster after another happens. The house is falling apart along with their bank account and they get deeper and deeper into debt and their relationship starts to fall apart. There are some really great, very colorful characters interspersed throughout, resulting in some great comedy. There's also a lot of slap-stick which even if it's not your usual cup-of-tea would be hard not to enjoy.

In this movie, the script writer and set technicians are king. These professionals ought to have a showcase for their talents to be spotlighted from time to time, and they sure made the most of the opportunity with this one. The calamitous frailty of this ostensibly beautiful house renders so many brilliantly done scenes that this movie still makes me laugh out loud after seeing it several times. A joke loses all its power to amuse after the surprise of the punch-line is lost, but these sight-gags are so funny I can break out laughing while driving down a lonely highway just thinking about them. Some movies lose their effectiveness because the makers get confused and try to do too may things - the message gets muddled. The best movies exhibit no such confusion and tell their story with minimal distraction. This movie is about this house, and what these artists do with this prop is brilliantly and enduringly funny.

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Why wasn't this a hit?

[Analog_Devotee · 7/10 · 25 May 2020]

The physical comedy in this film is hilarious. Just when you think they're about to slow down, the hits keep on coming. Though, it must be said, this film is pretty much carried on Tom Hanks' back. The other performances are fairly forgettable.

It's also a little cliche in some areas, but a lackluster story is almost expected with some of these comedies--after all, we're here to laugh, not to be blown away with an intricate plot.

Give this little unknown 80's comedy a shot. It's worth your time.

Feels flat

[eminkl · 6/10 · 18 April 2020]

Every new homeowner's worst nightmare, as experienced by a pair of almost-average mid '80s DINKs. They sink a fortune into this place, a secluded estate that looks too good to be true and, of course, falls apart around them mere moments after key touches palm. Mid-lifers will find it easy to relate with this couple, played by Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, as they seem familiar and good-natured if a bit naive. Their ability to procure huge sums of money at the drop of a hat is a red flag, though, and the soapy complications of their personal lives actually serve to distance them from the audience. Hanks is a riot, especially when he descends into madness at the height of his misery, but Long may as well have been a wooden set piece. Try as he might, our leading man just can't draw a performance out of her and the duo's serious lack of chemistry is a problem. Funny in a Seinfeldian car crash, looking-through-our-fingers kind of way, the plot skips over the moment where its players' fates shift from disaster to redemption and the payoff, as a result, feels flat.

Where's the funny?

[busy-boy · 2/10 · 16 February 2010]

I looked over all the reviews here and so many people just LOVED this film, it was so FUNNY! What could possibly tie these reviewers together. Surely the film is too old to have the studio bribe them. They can't ALL be the writers of this whimsical farce, can they? What could it be? Then I saw it! They were all kids when The Money Pit was released. They remember their hand-clapping joy at watching a bathtub fall through several floors or seeing a staircase collapse. They were kids and kids love slapstick. Adults used to love slapstick, back when film was young and Buster Keaton was a genius.

This contrived Hollyweird potboiler is a throwback to the studio contract player days when they had to regularly crank out formulaic drivel for the masses. You know, like TV. What a piece of unwatchable crap. What a star-studded lineup of talent (look at the credits) gone to waste. What a chance to do something better with your time, like scoop out the litter box and wash the kitchen trash pail; something you can actually enjoy doing.

i love this movie

[montana19boy · 10/10 · 31 March 2004]

i have seen this movie so many times and it is still hilarious. regardless of what others have said i think this movie is great. the plot is not that well written but who cares this movie wants to make u laugh and it succeeds admirably. I think that this movie is great and is one of my favorite all time movies. It is absolutely hilarious. Many think that Tom Hanks is a dramatic actor, but his roots are in comedy. This movie proves that, he is absolutely perfect and hillarious. Shelley Long although not great, is the best she has ever been in a movie. Her timing and emotions are well fit for this movie. You will laugh and be touched, please vote afterwards and make this rating go up.

Completely ridiculous and very funny

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 20 November 2016]

Some people call this Tom Hanks' worst film. Nope, it was just completely ridiculous to the point that the viewer is supposed to know this kind of thing could never happen on this scale and just laugh, because we've all had these kinds of things happen on a much smaller scale.

Tom Hanks and Shelley Long play a couple who have recently fallen in love and have been living in her ex-husband's New York City apartment and not thinking ahead. But then one day the ex-husband, Max (Alexander Godunov), returns and they have to leave.

In a hurry to find a place to live, they buy a house for a song that looks beautiful through a disreputable agent. Although they looked at the house - never had an actual inspection mind you - and everything looked okay, things begin to fall apart the day that they move in. The front door and its entire frame fall off its hinges, the bad step on the staircase ends up with the entire stairway crashing to the floor, the bathtub falls through the floor just by filling it with water, and so on. The problems and their cost mount to the point of being way past ridiculous, and as goes the house so goes the relationship between Hanks and Long. To make matters worse, Max really wants his ex-wife back and is taking advantage of her vulnerability and deteriorating mental state.

The fact is, nobody in this film but Hanks and Long play remotely likable characters. Everybody else is at best selfish and vain or incompetent, at worse dishonest, including Hanks' dad who ran off and left with his law firm's money so he could marry a girl about one third his age, leaving Hanks' character holding the bag.

How will this all work out? Watch and find out. This was the only pairing of Shelley Long with Tom Hanks, and it is rather bittersweet in a kind of "A Star is Born" way, looking back. Tom Hanks had not been able to break out of farce like comedy roles such as this yet will end up getting back to back Best Actor Oscars. Long thought that this role was a stepping stone to better things after she decided to leave Cheers the following year, but she never got anything that really rose above this kind of role and was pretty much out of the movies by 1992.

Highlights of the film for me - Gudonov's monologue to Hanks on the perks of being shallow and self-centered, a mouse-trap like chain reaction joke of physical comedy involving Hanks that has to be seen to be believed, and Philip Bosco as the genial and useless supervisor of the construction crew who is all smiles and has only one answer to how long it will take to fix the house - "two weeks".

Bravely stretching the definition of Film

[Carlo893 · 1/10 · 19 January 2010]

I thought this was a rather good effort at making the worst romantic comedy ever. Even being used to films treating me like an idiot, I was mildly surprised by The Money Pit ('Spielberg Presents').

The 'film' presents a beautifully symmetric structure. It is framed by a ludicrous prelude and a preposterous postlude. At the centre stands one- long gag, repeated over and over. Lacking any kind of plot or character development this lovely mindless RomCom is brutally brought to a brutally lovely end by the most painful of narrative clichés.

--- NO MUCH TO SPOIL SPOILER ---

So, here are a little more details if you are curious about Hanks's worst film but have wisely decided not to watch it. If it's surreal fun what you're after, you might be better off going back to Lynch.

The central part of the film is one long gag about a house literally - oh yes so very delightfully literally - falling apart. Hanks's character keeps injuring his spinal cord and getting electrocuted but, alas, he does not die. Eheh, that's funny.

Then, 20 minutes to the end, when I was almost getting used to the total lack of narrative drive, and was learning how to sink deep into my sofa to enjoy the film as mere abstract visual pleasure, something started to happen. It was like - the film-makers suddenly realising that this was meant to be a romantic comedy. So yes, they come up with the twist: She has dinner with her ex-husband and wakes up in her bed! Ah! Her husband tells her they had sex! Ah! She does not remember but believes him! Ah! OBSTACLE to the ROMANCE! Just now that Hanks had learnt how not to get electrocuted. Oh dear. Hanks is hurt, the two split up. But then, 5 minutes to the end... oh well I am not going to spoil this for you... but you're up for a big surprise!

You may die of STOMACH FAILURE!!!

[PeachHamBeach · 28 August 2003]

You will laugh so hard!!! The scene in which the bathtub falls through the rotting floor and shatters is the funniest scene in a ton of funny scenes!!! I remember this in the theatre when I was 15 and I almost peed my pants during that tub scene!!!

Tom Hanks is the greatest!!!

You know what they say: when life hands you lemons...

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 13 September 2016]

Top comedy stars Tom Hanks and Shelley Long play Walter and Anna, a music industry lawyer and classical musician respectively, who are due to be kicked out of the apartment they've been using. It belongs to her ex-husband Max (Alexander Godunov), an egocentric orchestra conductor. Now they are in desperate need of lodging, and think they've found their solution when Walters' friend Jack (Josh Mostel) tells them about a mansion that the owner (Maureen Stapleton) is willing to unload cheaply. They soon find out the obvious answer: it's because this house is in TERRIBLE shape, and Walter & Anna have a number of slapstick misadventures trying to repair and remodel the house.

"The Money Pit" benefits from very engaging lead characters & performances; Hanks and a radiant Long have good chemistry and therefore make a believable couple. It also has great supporting characters & performances, too, from a sleazy carpenter (Joe Mantegna, who walks away with his one big scene), a bratty young pop star (Billy Lombardo), Max (the late Godunov is extremely amusing), and a can-do contractor named Curly (Philip Bosco). Hanks figures in the most gut busting moments, and he does one of the most priceless insane laughs that this viewer has ever heard.

The movie itself, written by co-executive producer David Giler, and directed by actor Richard Benjamin, does manage to be very funny for a while (with a memorable image of Hanks slowly sinking into the floor), until it all gets a little over the top. Predictably, there is a major bump in the road for the Walter / Anna relationship, giving the story a little bit of humanity.

You've already gotten a taste of the character actor talent in this review, but I'll refrain from listing all of the familiar faces in supporting parts and bits so you can discover them for yourself.

Impressive stunts and sight gags help to make this a decent diversion.

Seven out of 10.

Not perfect, but hysterical

[Jose E · 7/10 · 5 January 2002]

The Money Pit may not deserve to be on top of everybody's list, but sure as hell it's one of the most hilarious films I've ever seen. For all of you who claim it's flawed, I get it, but please forget about that and enjoy the string of accidents that happen in that house. Do not tell me they're not funny.

I like both Tom Hanks and Shelley Long's performances, although his is funnier, as the hapless guy who can't find reliable workers for his new-bought house. Anyway, I have always liked Shelley Long since I first saw her in Cheers. She's always been very cute.

Perhaps The Money Pit is not a must have, but certainly a MUST SEE.

7/10.

Good physical comedy but Long too unlikeable

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 4 November 2013]

Walter Fielding (Tom Hanks) and Anna Crowley (Shelley Long) are a New York couple who has to search for a new place after her wild ex-husband the Maestro Max Beissart comes home. They find a grand mansion at a very low price. The lonely old woman at the house con them with a wild story that force them to buy blindly. Only when they move in, things fall apart.

This was probably the height of Shelley Long's popularity. Tom Hanks is as lovable as ever. There are great pratfalls and great physical humor. It should be so much better than it actually is.

Both her character and her acting don't lend itself to be likable. The role needs to be more sweet and cute. She's neither of those things. Their constant bickering and her constant complaining really makes it hard to root for these guys. The good part is the funny physical stuff. Those hold up great after all these years.