VividSimon Simply Perfect

GazerRise Fantastic!

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

buddyboy28 Greedy tells the simple story of a family who desperately crave their Uncle's (Kirk Douglas) massive fortune.From that simple premise,the script writers and the actors deliver one of the funniest comedies I've ever seen.The Mcteague family,which includes the late Phil Hartman,Ed Begley'JR and Bob Balaban,are one of the most believable families ever committed to celluloid.Let's face it a lot of us hate our families.We hate having family get together's,we sometimes get jealous of each other and try to outdo each other,well that's the kind of family we're talking about.The scenes where the relatives trade insults with each other are hysterical.Michael J.Fox plays another nephew of Joe and gives a typically naturally funny performance.He and Douglas don't share the screen until about half an hour into it,but when they do get together,their sparky banter is consistently funny.I wish they would make more comedies like this nowadays.Most mainstream comedies now seem to be filled with stupid,over the top characters with beyond ridiculous situations.Most of the comedy in this is in the dialogue,although there are some hilarious physical moments but they're never stupid,just laugh out loud funny.The premise is slightly believable because I believe that we all have what it takes to become very greedy individuals,even if we might not like to admit it.Hell,we might not even notice it.Greedy easily ranks as one of my favourite comedies and is a laugh riot from start to finish.And has their ever been a sexier woman on screen than Olivia D,Abo in this movie?

bkoganbing Greedy has taken some of the plot situations in the Paramount classic If I Had A Million and carried them to incredible heights. It has a whole string of good performances topped off by one of the last performances by Kirk Douglas before he had his stroke.Kirk plays the Richard Bennett part here, the millionaire who doesn't like almost all of his relatives, but gets a certain sadistic joy in seeing them perform like trained seals, trying to stay in his good graces. The only honest one of them is one of Ed Begley Jr.'s young sons who is just like that kid in If I Had a Million who started playing that record of I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You.Unlike Bennett, Douglas does not decide to drop parts of his fortune on eight random strangers. He just keeps putting his family through their paces until they decide to dig up Michael J. Fox, a nephew he actually liked when he was a kid.Fox is a second string professional bowler who's got a TV producer he's involved with, Nancy Travis. The two of them invade Douglas's three ring circus of relatives and get put through their paces also. All the family is against Douglas's 'nurse' Olivia D'Abo who the family is afraid will get the whole inheritance.Greedy is a nicely paced amusing comedy which I think most of us can identify with. I know I've had a relative or two I can't stand either, but am forced to be nice to for a variety of reasons. The relatives are all greedy, but Douglas is one sadistic creep as well. I'd catch it the next time it's on the tube.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews I have a (fairly) vast collection of VHS tapes. I rarely get rid of anything, especially movies. Given that, there are a few among them that I don't care all that much for... some, I've even forgotten. There are even two or three that I've only watched once, and never really felt like watching again... each time it came up as I searched through my collection of films for something to watch, I would cringe at the thought of sitting through it even one more time. This is one such film. I'm not entirely sure what compelled me to give it another chance... I read a quote or two, half-remembered how they were said, and recognized some names on the cast... Phil Hartman, Ed Begley Jr. and Jere Burns(in order of how talented and funny I'd rate them), all three of which I've seen elsewhere and grown to appreciate the talents of(Douglas and Fox were the only two actors I knew the first time I watched this), and I think those were the main contributors, the last of the two reasons being the most important(in fact, Hartman is one of the people on a short mental list of people that I want to watch all of(well, at least as far as the watchable ones go) the work of). As the opening credits come on, I nearly regretted this decision... but that went away fairly quickly after the film itself began. The plot is pretty good. The actors all fit their roles and perform quite well. The cinematography does its job fine, as well as the editing, even if they are a little weird at times(speaking as a film aficionado(and someone who enjoys using words from foreign languages in everyday life) as well as someone who's enjoyed the pleasure and the privilege of trying his hands at both, it seems like there were many situations(be it in the production or post-production phase; shooting or editing) where they couldn't quite think of a good solution how to get all the elements or properly frame the shots, so they just went with the best they could think of(which leaves a bit to be desired, at times). It isn't that huge a deal, though). All those elements are fine, if not downright good. The real problem here is the humor... in spite of some wit and some black comedy that is among the darkest I have seen, there just seems to be too little of the film's humor that works. The timing is occasionally off, and a lot of potential(not to mention comical talent) is wasted. For a comedy, this just doesn't provide enough laughs to keep you watching for almost two hours. What made it truly worth it for me, and the main reason I urge anyone who decides to give this film a chance is the moral... the message of the film(it alone lifted my rating above the average of a 5). It gives such a clear perspective on greed, one that I don't believe I've ever seen presented before(and certainly not so skillfully). I recommend this to any fan of comedies who is willing to accept a lesser comedy to get to the great message of it(which is neither preachy nor heavy-handed, as some the moral of some message-movies is). Maybe the biggest fans of the actors should avoid, though... you may hate for the sole reason of how little the biggest talents in the film get to do. 6/10

GLRworshipper Greedy is a film you may have passed on Showtime, or glanced at in the TV Guide and thought, "never heard of it". To be honest, I can't recall its stint in the theaters either. However, on the recommendation of my father, I gave it a chance.The interaction between all of the characters is terrific. Phil Hartman gives comic brilliance, mixed with wit and sarcasm in his usual way. This movie has a lot of laugh out loud moments for people who are into clever comedy with a slightly twisted mind. It is cemented in my comedy top 5 with Stripes, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Ferris Buellers Day Off, and Ridgemont. Highly recommended! 9/10