Blank Check (1994)
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A young boy finds himself in a high-stakes game of identity theft after receiving a signed blank check from an escaped convict.
The story
Eleven-year-old Preston Waters feels overshadowed by his entrepreneurial older brothers and his cheap father. On his birthday, Preston receives a blank check from his grandmother, but after a bike accident involving an escaped convict named Carl Quigley, he is handed a signed check for $1,000,000. Preston cashes the check and assumes the identity of a mysterious employer named 'Macintosh.' He begins a massive spending spree, purchasing a mansion and luxury items. However, his sudden wealth attracts the attention of the bank president, the convict, and an undercover FBI agent who begins investigating the suspicious flow of cash.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Preston Waters, a boy who feels poor compared to his brothers, receives a blank check from his grandmother. After a bike accident, he receives a signed check for $1,000,000 from an escaped convict, Carl Quigley. Preston cashes the check at a bank where the president, Edward Biderman, mistakes him for an associate named 'Juice.' Preston begins spending the money on a mansion, a limousine, and toys, creating a fake persona called 'Mr. Macintosh' to conduct business. An undercover FBI agent, Shay Stanley, begins investigating the money trail. Preston eventually throws a lavish party but realizes he has nearly spent all the money. Quigley, Biderman, and Juice arrive to reclaim the cash, leading to a chase through the mansion. Preston manages to fend them off using his purchases until the FBI arrives to save him. Quigley claims to be Macintosh to start a new life, but the FBI arrests him, Biderman, and Juice. Preston learns that money cannot buy happiness and returns to his family.
- Original title
- Blank Cheque
- First release year
- 1994
- Runtime (minutes)
- 93
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Rupert Wainwright
- Writers
- Colby Carr · writer; Blake Snyder · writer
- Cast and characters
- Brian Bonsall · Preston Waters / Mr. Macintosh; Karen Duffy · Shay Stanley; Miguel Ferrer · Carl Quigley; James Rebhorn · Fred Waters; Tone Lōc · Juice; Jayne Atkinson · Sandra Waters; Michael Lerner · Edward Biderman; Rick Ducommun · Henry
- Genres
- comedy; children's
- Themes
- Identity theft; Family values; Materialism vs. Happiness
- Tone and mood
- Kid-wish-fulfillment; Comedy
- Premise and plot tags
- Kid-wish-fulfillment; Identity theft; Comedy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Spec script by Blake Snyder and Colby Carr
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews and has become a 1990s cult classic due to its kid-wish-fulfillment premise. It received a Metacritic score of 42 and an average CinemaScore of A-.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 42 · scale: 100 · review count: 9
- Production trivia
- The castle house was filmed at the Pemberton Castle in Austin, Texas.; The theme park featured in the beginning was Six Flags Fiesta Texas.; The bank in the movie is in the historic Alamo National Bank Building.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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