Brewster's Millions (1985)
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A baseball player must spend a massive fortune in a month to inherit a much larger fortune from his late relative.
The story
Montgomery Brewster, a Minor League Baseball pitcher, and his friend Spike Nolan are arrested after a bar fight. They are offered a deal: to be released, they must go to New York City. There, Brewster learns that his recently deceased great-uncle has left him a $300 million fortune, but only if he can spend $30 million of it within 30 days under strict rules. Brewster chooses the challenge and is assigned a paralegal, Angela Drake, to monitor his spending. He must navigate a series of complex conditions to qualify for the inheritance while keeping the situation a secret from his friends and the public.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Montgomery Brewster, a Minor League Baseball pitcher, is offered a choice: take $1 million immediately or attempt to spend $30 million in 30 days to inherit $300 million from his late great-uncle. He chooses the latter, accompanied by a paralegal, Angela Drake. To meet the requirements, he must spend the money without owning assets, getting value for services, or giving it away. Brewster spends lavishly on a suite at the Plaza Hotel, high salaries for staff, and bad gambling bets. His friend Spike, unaware of the rules, makes successful investments, complicating the goal. Brewster eventually runs for mayor of New York City to spend money on a campaign. He even hires the New York Yankees for an exhibition game and buys a rare stamp. On the final day, he discovers a plot by lawyers to ensure he fails by giving him money he thought was already spent. Angela reveals the plot, and Brewster pays her as a retainer, successfully spending the final amount and securing his inheritance.
- First release year
- 1985
- Runtime (minutes)
- 101
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Walter Hill
- Writers
- Timothy Harris · writer; Herschel Weingrod · writer
- Cast and characters
- Richard Pryor · Montgomery Brewster; John Candy · Spike Nolan; Lonette McKee · Angela Drake; Stephen Collins; Hume Cronyn
- Genres
- comedy; sports comedy; spy comedy
- Themes
- wealth; inheritance; greed
- Tone and mood
- comedy; screwball
- Premise and plot tags
- sports; lawyers; politics
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1902 novel by George Barr McCutcheon
- Franchise connections
- Brewster's Millions
- Reception
- The film was met with negative reviews and was described as a 'missed opportunity' and a 'screwball comedy minus the screws'.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 38% · scale: percentage · review count: 24; Metacritic · score: 37 · scale: score · review count: 13
- Production trivia
- The film was the first production under Frank Price's guidance at Universal.; Princess Anne visited the set during filming.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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