The Money Pit

USA, 1986. Directed by Richard Benjamin. Tom Hanks, Shelley Long, Alexander Godunov, Maureen Stapleton, Joe Mantegna.

"Reminiscent of Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House" says the publicity, along with the line "an hilarious comedy". Well, Steven Spielberg may have been the Executive Producer and comic actor Richard Benjamin may have directed it, but I'm afraid The Money Pit is a complete misfire. As others have noted, it's one joke (couple buy their dream house only to discover too late that it's falling apart) stretched out over an hour and a half. Lots of sight gags which initially raise a smile but soon wear out their welcome when they're endlessly repeated with only slight variations. The script fails to build up sympathy for the two leads and the actors struggle to make any of it credible or interesting. Give me Mr Blandings any day.