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When I saw this film in the theatre the entire audience was alive with laughter. There's more story here than most contemporary comedies, which may make for some head scratching by younger folks seeing this film, but the gags hold for anybody who's had to scrimp and save to make ends meat.

This is a timeless film for anyone (woman particularly) who've fallen on hard times. It was a hit when it was first released, and still gets laughs today.

Jane Curtin is paranoid, Susan St. James is harried, and Jessica Lange is beautiful and married to dork Richard Benjamin. This light-hearted yup flick is fairly ridiculous, but the charms of these wonderful actresses makes it worthwhile. I give it a 6 out of 10 with the best performance by Jane Curtin.

It's nice to see Jessica Lange in an early role when her youth and attractiveness hide the fact that she will become one of our best actresses while Ms. Curtin and Ms. St. James (who I also love since THE NAME OF THE GAME on TV) had careers that faltered (beside the TV show they did together - Kate and Allie). The men in this movie are mostly idiots, but this plays like a decent sit-com; fairly lame, but harmless fun.

After about 25 years, I managed to once again watch this movie on the THIS channel. Unfortunately, some of the lines that I thought were funny were removed like a shoe employee asking "Did you see his sister's boobs?" in answer to his fellow co-worker mentioning someone's foot being smaller than the other. Good thing they didn't remove Elaine's "Suck" punchline when she figured out how to take the money out of that big ball at the mall. As that character, Jane Curtin has the best lines and also plays on her SNL persona well whether stripping in reference to inflation of upcoming years ("Wanna see 1985 or should we skip to 1990?") or talking to her TV show co-star Garrett Morris as an electrician on the phone in trying to convince him to get her power back on. Jessica Lange and Susan Saint James don't have as many moments as Ms. Curtin but they both have some moments. What's interesting here is knowing that not only will Ms. Curtin and Ms. Saint James reteam for "Kate and Allie" in a few years but also Ms. Lange with reunite with Dabney Coleman on Tootsie even sooner before that. Coleman himself is in a role very unlike his more famous role as the chauvinistic boss on Nine to Five later in the year though even here he provides some funny moments. The same can be said for Richard Benjamin as Lange's horny husband, Eddie Albert as Ms. Saint James' father, and Morris but Fred Willard, perhaps best known for his offbeat roles in many Christopher Guest/Eugene Levy films, seems wasted here as Ms. Saint James' fiancée. Overall, How to Beat the High Co$t of Living was quite funny if not completely hilarious. P.S. Garrett Morris is a native of New Orleans which is a two-hour drive from my current hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Does anybody remember this movie which is rather dated now? I actually saw it in the theatres. It wasn't really to bad, a bunch of women who are having money problems decide to pull a heist by taking a large ball full of money in a shopping mall. It isn't a hilarious movie but it DID have it's moments. It's a fun movie to see if you like chick flicks AND heist movies-this combines the two and comes up with something, if not great, at least watchable.

My main problem with this is how it doesn't really stick in your mind once you've seen it. It is sometimes funny but never really hilarious. The movie is watchable but never really great. It doesn't come close to being a great movie but is, all in all, a decent one that's good for a few laughs.

This 1980 comedy is slight but entertaining, with a terrific cast headed up by former "Saturday Night Live" star Jane Curtin. Fittingly, Curtin would later become half of the 1980s classic sitcom duo "Kate and Allie", sharing TV laughs with co-star Susan Saint James. Here, the two women share the bill with a pre-"Tootsie" Jessica Lange, who was then underrated as an actress and better known for bombing in Dino De Laurentis' version of "King Kong".

Curtin plays Elaine, a sophisticated missus whose husband has run out, leaving her with a tasteful hillside home, and a pile of bills she can barely pay off. Meanwhile, divorcée Jane (Saint James) struggles to raise two kids, and can't afford to marry her fiancé, hardware store owner Robert (Fred Willard) – forcing them to spend intimate moments in the back of a car. Louise (Lange) is also battling differences with husband Albert (Richard Benjamin), a dentist who underestimates his wife's desire to have an income of her own – and who leads the IRS to classify his wife's antique store as a "hobby".

Of course, the ladies decide the easiest problem-solver is to steal a ball full of floating dollars at the local shopping mall.

It's a slight premise, but the performances are enjoyable, not only from the leads, but also from supporting characters. While our sympathy is with the screwball ladies, it's also fun watching Benjamin squirm as a selfish oaf, in a scene with dental hygienist (and future B-queen) Sybil Danning. Also entertaining are Dabney Coleman as a cop romancing Elaine, and Eddie Albert as Max, a now-daffy ex-Marine and father to Jane. One of the best scenes involves Curtin and former SNL costar Garrett Morris, playing a utility representative.

The pretty Oregon town of Eugene, home to the University of Oregon, also lends its character to the scenes, with on-location shoots adding to its realism. Not only that – counter-cultural Eugene *is* the sort of town where well-meaning citizens would put on a play at the local shopping mall. It's a fun trip back in time for anyone who even slightly remembers the inflationary 1970s and early 1980s.