Taschengeld

I've loved this movie ever since I was a kid, and after about a dozen viewings (damn, I've been having too much time) there's one question that still bothers me: who's this movie aimed at? On the surface it definitely looks like a family movie. You have your Disney-like music under almost every scene, you have your tired, clichéd story about kids wanting to make sugary sweet adults fall in love, you have your character that gets his heart cut out wait what? You have your hapless but likable kids who pull all kinds of school shenanigans, you have...Malcolm McDowall as a crazed pimp who pulls out his gun at a school dance? This movie just bounces all over the place, but it's fascinating rather than bothersome. Furthermore, even after so many times this is still a pretty effective little tearjerker. You know this stuff is probably going to end well (with someone getting his heart cut out?), but getting there is quite touching. You know she'll stay in the end, but still, don't leave. Ed Harris and Melanie Griffith also have near-perfect chemistry, it always helps if the protagonists of your romantic comedy look like they actually want to be there. "Milk Money" has its shortcomings because it's essentially an off-brand "Pretty Woman", but it's a childhood memory that I kinda cherish to this day.

I saw "Milk Money" when I was eleven; much of what happens in the movie is the sort of stuff that would make any eleven-year-old boy think "Whoa...cool!" Looking back on it, I still think that it was pretty funny, but was it the most mature movie? No, and it doesn't pretend to be. I read somewhere that this movie was sexist; I wouldn't know one way or the other. All that I interpreted was that the movie was a nice, horny excuse to have fun. Richard Benjamin has proved himself to be quite capable as a director, and this adds to that.

I know, the prostitute-with-a-heart-of-gold context is a cliché, but this is a comedy, so it passes. And believe you me, this V (Melanie Griffith) is definitely a V for vendetta! Also starring Ed Harris, Malcolm McDowell, Casey Siemaszko, and a very young Anne Heche. Really entertaining, especially the report on the female reproductive system.

Bad direction, a weak script and a career-low performance by Ed Harris sideline 'Milk Money', a movie which could've been excellent, but wasn't.

Onetime-respected-actor-now-reduced-to-B-movie-star Malcolm McDowell delivers a hilarious performance with help from Melanie Griffith and talented newcomer Michael Patrick Carter, but they alone do little to rescue the film.

The first half hour or so is perfectly on tune, then everything seems to change gears and 'Milk Money' is pushed from a comedy to a sappy drama with an awful dance sequence, and an ending that's even worse. To complicate matters even more, Harris is completely miscast, and future star Anne Heche is seriously underused.

I'm sure this film is no longer considered politically correct since it involves a scene where a prostitute shows pre-teen boys her breasts, but it has a lot of cute moments and Melanie Griffith and Ed Harris have great chemistry. It made me smile more than I'd like to admit and I suppose that counts for something.

In some cases I'd say this is better then Pretty Woman. I say "some" with weight because Pretty Woman is a classic. But Milk Money fills that "hole" you had watching pretty woman. Ed Harris's character is sincere and attentive which matches Melanie's softness (which at the best of times can spoil her on screen performances) perfectly. It's a classic boy meets girl movie with that dash of "damsel in distress but is now hardened and tough due to life being so rough and who now finally meets a man who breaks through it all and understands and loves her for who she is" - as far as romantic comedies go- it was better then I thought it would be and even gets the heart strings welling when Ed Harris tells her "this could hurt"...The story itself can be at times almost childish, but in the end that's part of it's charm.