I was looking for a good comedy to watch and my mom recommended Easy Money which she had on VHS. I wasn't sure since I'm not a big fan of Rodney Dangerfield, but she mentioned that Joe Pesci and Jeffrey Jones, so I figured I would give it a shot. Now even though I'm not a fan of Rodney Dangerfield, I have to admit that he and the rest of the cast made this film extremely enjoyable. I really miss comedies like this, where the comedy was just so simple and had jokes that were a sure hit with most. Despite it being predictable and like a sit com, this was a great comedy.

Monty is a rude, over weight alcoholic with a gambling problem, he has friends who have the same problem, but a family that still loves him. His daughter is about to get married to a gang member that he doesn't approve of. But when his mother in law dies, they inherit 10 million dollars, but there is an exception to when he gets the money, for a whole year, Monty has to behave and get clean and sober. With encouragement from his family and friends, Monty does the best he can to get that money.

I just loved Joe Pesci, he's like that little kid who took on the big bully's and actually won the fight, he's just such a funny character, I love Joe! We also have the "unknown" actors of the time, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey Jones, among others. I loved the ending, it's definitely a classic and so funny. I would recommend this movie to anyone, it's all in good fun and a great comedy, we need more films like this today.

8/10

It's a shame that the character that Rodney Dangerfield plays here is only a shell of what he would be in better films like "Caddyshack" and "Back to School". It appears that they tried to clean up his image a bit as Mr Wisecracker, no respect, and there certainly is a potential there for great humor as he has to deal with a hateful mother-in-law, the legendary Geraldine Fitzgerald of "Dark Victory" and "Wuthering Heights", more recently at the time remembered for "Arthur". When news of her death in a plane crash is revealed, she leaves everything to his wife on the demand that he change his ways. Greedy relatives Jeffrey Jones sets out to sabotage him, and Dangerfield and pal Joe Pesci do what they can to make sure nothing stands in their way.

It's a great premise, but outside of the Fitzgerald, Pesci and Taylor Negron as Dangerfield's latin lothario son-in-law, the supporting cast is rather dull. This is not what you expect from a Rodney Dangerfield movie, and as good as he is, he's better when he's being bad. Unfortunately his character's wife (Candice Azzara) isn't very exciting, and his daughter, married at the beginning of the film, is rather boring as well, running home when she can't consummate her wedding night with Negron. The lack of laughs in this film is a shocker, with only a few genuinely strong last (one involving a wedding cake and a toilet),and Dangerfield doesn't get any lapse out of a wedding reception musical number that is just awkward. Trying to tame Dangerfield is like taking the roar out of a lion. Neither makes sense, and neither are much fun.

I am not a huge fan of this film, but I've got to admit that it will most likely make you laugh. It's extremely low-brow and has a lot of cheap laughs, but sometimes a movie like this is exactly what you might need. In other words, nothing deep or requiring your full attention--just a silly movie. To me, this movie is nearly as funny as Dangerfield's follow-up film, BACK TO SCHOOL and both are fun time-passers.

The plot, such as it is, is really just an excuse to watch Rodney tell a lot of dopey jokes and get in stupid situations. He is ably assisted by a pre-mafia days Joe Pesci--an amiable friend who tries to keep Rodney from losing the money left to him by his battleaxe mother-in-law in her will--provided he STOP drinking, gambling and lose weight. The end is particularly satisfying and it's a fun romp.