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4.9/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 4.9/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. In the Money remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, it depends on how much you love 1930s-style chaos. If you have a soft spot for movies where everyone talks way too fast and gets hit with stuff, you'll probably get a kick out of it. If you need a movie with, you know, a logical plot or people who act like real human beings, you’re going to hate every second.
Professor Higgingbottom is the guy we’re following. He’s supposed to be a smart academic, but the moment someone mentions a gold mine, his brain just turns off. It’s a bit sad, really.
The whole thing feels like it was put together on a lunch break. There’s a specific scene where the Professor is trying to handle the $5,000, and the way he holds the bag is just… odd. It looks like he’s terrified of it. Maybe he’s just worried about the prop budget.
It definitely lacks the polished charm of something like The Small Town Girl. Sometimes it feels like they were making the script up as they went along.
It’s not trying to be a deep dive into the human condition, thank god. It’s just a movie about a guy who is bad with money. We’ve all been there, right? Maybe not with gold mines, but definitely with impulse buys. 💸
I caught myself looking at the wallpaper in the background during one of the longer monologues. It’s patterned, very beige. It’s more interesting than the dialogue in that specific stretch.
If you enjoy the frantic energy of Alice in Wonderland, this has a little bit of that same manic, "why is everyone yelling?" quality. It doesn't quite stick the landing, but you don't really expect it to, either.
Just don't go in expecting a masterpiece. It's a B-movie through and through, and sometimes that's exactly what you need on a Tuesday night when your brain is fried. It’s light, it’s fluffy, and it disappears from your memory about ten minutes after the credits roll. 🍿