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Where the Money Is (2000)

Starring Paul Newman, Linda Fiorentino, Dermot Mulroney, and Susan Barnes.  Cinematography by Thomas Burstyn.  Editing by Garth Craven, Samuel Craven, and Dan Lebental. Produced by Ridley Scott, Chris Dorr, Charles Weinstock, and Chris Zarpas. Written by E. Max Frye, Topper Lilien, and Carroll Cartwright.  Directed by Marek Kanievska.

The years have severely cooled off the romance between Carol and Wayne MacKay (played by Linda Fiorentino and Dermot Mulroney). The former prom queen is now a nurse at an old folk’s home and she barely sees her husband since he started working the night shift.  Carol’s lackluster life is suddenly given a shot of adrenaline with the arrival of Henry Manning (played by Paul Newman). Manning was a career criminal until he was caught and put in prison.

He has since become catatonic after suffering a stroke and has been sent to Carol’s nursing home for care.  But Carol’s not buying the story. She tries to catch him off guard with loud noises and provocative lap dances, but he stays in character… that is until she rolls him into a river. Henry’s deception has been revealed, but Carol’s not interested in putting him back behind bars.  She’d rather use his expertise to pull off a heist of her own and add a little spice to her boring life.

Over the last thirty some odd years Ridley Scott has earned a well deserved spot on the list of filmmaking’s upper echelon. In 1995, along with his brother Tony Scott, he purchased the historic Shepperton Studios in Middlesex, England.  Shepperton merged with Pinewood Studios in 2001 to become Pinewood-Shepperton which is now the largest film and TV studio in Europe.

Scott also was a co-chairman of Mill Film which was one of the largest post-production facilities in London. Mill Film was responsible for the visual effects on such films as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Laura Croft: Tomb Raider, and of course Scott’s own Gladiator for which they won an Academy Award (unfortunately Mill Film closed it’s doors in 2002). In 1995 the Scott brothers also formed their own production company, Scott Free Productions, which was how they became one of the many financial backers on Where the Money Is.

If you look closely behind the scenes, Where the Money Is wreaks of a self-conscious and doubt filled production.  First of all, E. Max Frye is given a story and screenplay credit, but the writing team of Topper Lilien and Carroll Cartwright are also listed; likely indicating some degree of rewriting. The film then credits over a dozen producers, executive producers, co-producers, line producers, and associate producers. That seems like a lot of cooks in the kitchen for a film with a budget under twenty million dollars.

Also, a little research told me that the film was shelved in post-production for more than a year before its release. All of that adds up to what looks like a production team pretty unconfident in their product.  But Where the Money Is really is a decent little film and certainly worth watching at least once.  It is undoubtedly blessed with the presence of acting legend Paul Newman, whose stellar performance will ultimately save it from eventually fading into complete obscurity.  It’s no The Sting or The Hustler, but it’ll do in a pinch.

Budget: $18,000,000

Total US Gross: $5,658,940

Genre: Crime

Runtime: 89 Minutes

US Release Date: 4/14/00

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Awards: none

Tagline: Another Con. Another Sting. Another Day.

Quote: “Honey, I am playing brain dead, not brain damaged.”