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"Show
Me the 'Money'"
by Scott Mantz
"Where the Money Is"
Paul Newman, Linda Fiorentino
Directed by Marek Kanievska
There's this
ridiculous notion that you're supposed to know what you want to
do with the rest of your life by the time you turn 17. Upon graduation
from high school, the next decision you make, whether it's going
to college or just getting a job, could be the most important decision
of your life. It requires a lot of contemplation, but what's to
contemplate when you're only 17? It's not like you've had a chance
to see the world!
More often than
not, people wind up settling down with their high school sweethearts
and taking the first job that comes along, while never venturing
beyond 20 miles from where they grew up. After marrying her prom
king from the small town where she was born, Linda Fiorentino yearns
to add some spice to her life in "Where the Money Is", an average
comedy that's only saving grace is a stellar performance from Paul
Newman.
Carol (Linda
Fiorentino) can't help but feel like she's wasting away. She's spent
her whole life in the Pacific Northwest with her high school sweetheart
(Dermot Mulroney), and she hates her job at the local nursing home.
Help arrives in the form of Henry (Paul Newman), an ace bank robber
who's now paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair from a stroke.
Carol suspects that he is faking it, and when she is proven right,
she hustles Henry into showing her a thing or two about pulling
off the perfect robbery.
Henry could
almost be seen as a distant cousin to both Butch Cassidy and "Fast"
Eddie Felson, both played by Newman. He's a cocky and confident
hustler, but he has an added sensibility that those characters clearly
lacked. He may be in the twilight of his life, but don't count him
out just yet. Just because the times have changed, the rules of
the game have not. People are still full of the same gullible weaknesses,
and Henry is more than ready to take advantage of them--without
ever breaking a sweat.
Paul Newman's
screen presence is so strong that you just can't take your eyes
off of him, even while he's trapped in his wheelchair. He makes
it look all too easy, but this time he's met his match. Had it not
been for Fiorentino pulling the wool over his eyes, he never would
have thought about taking her along for the ride. Their relationship
is not unlike that of Newman and Tom Cruise in "The Color of Money".
He's the teacher, and she's the student. What makes her extra special
is how easily she flaunts her sexuality (just like she did in "The
Last Seduction"). However, it is her added toughness and independence
that allows her to hold her own against Newman. Dermot Mulroney
plays Fiorentino's well-meaning and underachieving husband who is
threatened by what Newman represents, but his good intentions only
serve to get them all into big trouble.
"Where the Money
Is" ends up being a simple little movie (and short too--it's only
90 minutes) with a very big star. Newman's performance alone makes
it all worthwhile, but it does ask some very interesting questions.
Are you living to work, or are you working to live? Maybe you're
doing both, but if you are unhappy with your life, then it's not
too late to make some changes. Get out there. Live a little. Have
some fun. Just keep it legal, and leave the money where it is.
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