Milk Money

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.

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.

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.

Very conservative people might not like the plot of this film (kid tries to get his widowed dad and an ex-hooker to fall in love with each other), but actually everything is quite harmless and fun.

The story gets sometimes a bit silly (especially when the boy takes Melanie Griffith to school as part of his "science project"), but the acting and the comedy is good. There was always a smile on my lips as I watched the misunderstandings between Harris and Griffith, when the dad believes that she is a math tutor and the hooker believes he knows her true job.

Ed Harris does a good job as the shy father, and Melanie Griffith is believable as the golden hearted hooker. But it's the kid (Michael Patrick Carter) the one who steals the show, with his winning smile and his mixture of innocence and curiosity.

Melanie Griffith,(V) played a woman of the streets who meets up with three boys who want to see what a girl looks like in the nude. Of course, if they really wanted to do it the correct way, they could ask their dad's and possibly their mothers. However, this is a Hollywood film and it made the entire story quite funny, especially when they have a sex education class and decided to use a rather non-kosher way of presenting the facts. Ed Harris,(Tom Wheeler) plays the father to Michael Patrick Carter,(Frank Wheeler) who gets to be good friends with Melanie Griffith and introduces her to his father. This is a very entertaining film and you can find fault with this film whether you are on the left or right side in life, but comedy and laughs are good for everyone and I recommend this film for great viewing.