Les héritiers affamés

This is an important film for the whole family to see. Not because it's a work of art, because it isn't. However, the warning that this film is trying to give is that greed can be all consuming (In this case, trying to get Kirk Douglas's money). It shows how even the best of people can slowly be perverted into doing things that they normally would not. Not all at once but in stages, creeping up on them before they fully realise it. This is obviously most noticeable in Michael J Fox's character, being the central one but it's important to look at the others. Phil Hartman's is the most purely after the money from the start but the others range in increasing degrees with the amount of doubt about their motives and show some conscience before it is overriden by their stronger desire for money, even to the point of not following decent human behaviour that they normally wouldn't otherwise. Worth watching because there are many lessons to be learned and a couple of nice twists. Keeps you wrong-footed (quite literally) until the very end.

Greedy is a film you may have passed on Showtime, or glanced at in the TV Guide and thought, "never heard of it". To be honest, I can't recall its stint in the theaters either. However, on the recommendation of my father, I gave it a chance.

The interaction between all of the characters is terrific. Phil Hartman gives comic brilliance, mixed with wit and sarcasm in his usual way.

This movie has a lot of laugh out loud moments for people who are into clever comedy with a slightly twisted mind. It is cemented in my comedy top 5 with Stripes, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Ferris Buellers Day Off, and Ridgemont. Highly recommended! 9/10

Well, I have to say I'm going to be a little biased. I have to appreciate the effort that Michael J. Fox went through to sell the bowling part of this role. No, he wasn't about to make a name on the tour or anything, but working the great Johnny Petraglia, he did turn into an above average bowler by the time he got done. A buck 75 bowler was a pretty good average in 1994 and not too shabby today.

I have always liked Kirk Douglas and I think he played all the little different levels of deception about as well as you could want. Phil Hartman is Phil Hartman...I do miss his humor. Davis and D'Abo are definitely enjoyable to watch, Ed Begley had his moments and who doesn't like a Jimmy Durante impersonation?

All in all, I think it succeeded as an above average comedy, but I can understand why the morality lesson doesn't appeal to everyone and probably even less today than it did in 1994.

Give it a chance...you never know when you might get a lucky strike.

I suppose saying that the end of this movie is great gives something away. Then again you don't know what that is so maybe not.

The plot of this film has Kirk Douglas dying as all of his relatives try to curry favor and get left his fortune. When every trick in the book fails they call in Michael J Fox as his long lost favorite nephew. Fox is now a down on his luck pro-bowler desperate for the cash the family promises him.

Some of what follows is sit-com material, some is highly inspired. The good part of it is that almost all of it is funny.

Certainly the film as a whole is not the best thing down the pike, but it has its moments, all of which make this film worth seeing.

Greedy has taken some of the plot situations in the Paramount classic If I Had A Million and carried them to incredible heights. It has a whole string of good performances topped off by one of the last performances by Kirk Douglas before he had his stroke.

Kirk plays the Richard Bennett part here, the millionaire who doesn't like almost all of his relatives, but gets a certain sadistic joy in seeing them perform like trained seals, trying to stay in his good graces. The only honest one of them is one of Ed Begley Jr.'s young sons who is just like that kid in If I Had a Million who started playing that record of I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You.

Unlike Bennett, Douglas does not decide to drop parts of his fortune on eight random strangers. He just keeps putting his family through their paces until they decide to dig up Michael J. Fox, a nephew he actually liked when he was a kid.

Fox is a second string professional bowler who's got a TV producer he's involved with, Nancy Travis. The two of them invade Douglas's three ring circus of relatives and get put through their paces also. All the family is against Douglas's 'nurse' Olivia D'Abo who the family is afraid will get the whole inheritance.

Greedy is a nicely paced amusing comedy which I think most of us can identify with. I know I've had a relative or two I can't stand either, but am forced to be nice to for a variety of reasons. The relatives are all greedy, but Douglas is one sadistic creep as well. I'd catch it the next time it's on the tube.