The Brass Teapot

Alice (Juno Temple) and John Macy (Michael Angarano) is a young couple that is facing economical difficulties. John is a loser that has been working as salesman in a lousy job in order that Alice concludes the college. However, the ambitious Alice aims a top position and cannot find a job. When John is fired from his job, he has a car accident with Alice on the road in front of an antique house. Alice sees a brass teapot and steals it. Soon she discovers that the teapot is magic and makes money whenever they hurt themselves. The couple is visited by Dr. Ling (Stephen Park) that tells that they should give up of the teapot; otherwise they will be destroyed by the evil power. But the greedy Alice does not want to stop and reaches a next level of meanness.

"The Brass Teapot" is a dark comedy of one joke, a young ordinary couple in love with each other that hurts each other to make money. The story has funny moments, the sexy Juno Tempo shows off most of the time but the plot could have a message against greed and how far a person would go for money. Anyway this movie entertains in a Sunday afternoon. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Loucos por Dinheiro" ("Crazy for Money")

Alice (Juno Temple) married John (Michael Angarano) despite the fact that he is not a success at business. John works as a telemarketer while Alice sends out her resume again and again without landing a job. Former classmates sneer. But, Alice loves John and visa versa and they enjoy each other's company despite scrambling to pay the rent. Yet, one fateful day, Alice and John get in a minor car wreck near an antique shop. There, while waiting for tows, Alice spies a brass teapot and is strangely, strongly drawn to it. When the owner is not looking, Alice grabs the pot and runs. The couple arrives home and, the next day, Alice accidentally burns herself with a curling iron. All of a sudden, the teapot starts spewing out paper bills, some very large. Guessing the secret, she and John start to mildly beat, pinch, and stumble themselves until they have quite a large fortune. A strange Asian man comes to the house to warn them the teapot is "no good" and they should get rid of it. Not listening, the couple buys a mansion in an exclusive neighborhood and dines at posh places. In time, thieves rob their safe and hurting themselves no longer works except for a few bucks. But, Alice soons finds another way to make the teapot give up the cash. Nevertheless, Alice has developed a dark nature that scares her husband. Can John convince her to let them give the pot away? This is a clever and amusing film but its not for all. There are some risqué concepts and scenes some won't enjoy. Nevertheless, the beautiful Temple and mildly cute Angarano are very funny while the scenery, costumes, and direction are definite assets. If you loved I Dream of Jeannie or a fan of Temple's, The Brass Teapot will reward you with an evening's enjoyment.

How far would a person go to earn easy money?

The idea of being able to earn money from pain is not only a masochist's wet dream, but it provides the potential for a film with a lot of moral complexity and moral questioning. I was fine with the director trying to get a few laughs from it, but I don't quite understand why they didn't further explore the darker side of this concept, as it would have really set this film apart from the rest.

There was one point near the end of the film that made me cry, as it showed the vulnerability of humans and how easily they can be corrupted, but even that quickly subsided and turned out to be a red herring, the film continuing down its cliché and comedic path instead.

I'd love to see a different director attempt this film again, but take it more seriously. I honestly think it has potential. The film as it currently exists is worth a watch, but pretty forgettable and you won't be thinking much about it afterwards.

read a review on here about this 'losing steam'...?!?!

too bad that reviewer quit paying attention, because the thing that made this stand out to me, was the fact that it kept getting better, that it kept 'pushing the envelope' with the story.

"The Brass Teapot" is a low-budget comedy from 2012 that I neither noticed nor watched until last week when I was fiddling through Netflix to find something to pass the time.

The film, while not rocket-science nor packed with amazing performances or drama, actually backed-into my top 25 for 2012. Sitting at #18 one spot above "Jack Reacher" and one spot below that years blockbuster comedy "21 Jump Street".

It really does gain steam though... that's why I brought-up that other review.. because for me it's the opening credits which seem pretty hokey, and the films' opening 20-25 minutes(in which nothing significant happens) that is my biggest gripe with the film.

The moral of the story, and the extreme/building to a crescendo nature of the plot, really come together nicely at the end of the film. A really basic idea is done a great service by the writer, the director, and the cast.

This reminds me a bit of last years' "Cheap Thrills", and is similarly good given it also had little to work with.. This is actually a touch better because it builds and builds, and the moral hits home a bit truer here.

FANTASTIC date movie. Everything you'd look for. Light-hearted, but not too-light-hearted, well-written, entertaining, funny...

Smart, under-rated, worth seeking out as a nice sleeper date- nt/spouses-nt-in treat.

72/100

You might like this if you liked:Seeking A Friend For the End of the World(about even), Mr. Destiny(close, maybe a touch better), Mystery Date(even), Honeymoon in Vegas(not as good), and Let it Ride(a little better). All fine company though.

Solid recommendation. Instantly gets added to my "B-Movie-Marathon" lists.. and while I watch about 3-4 films a week, it seems like months between deserved additions to those lists.

My first review on IMDb. I wanted to write this, because the current reviews, i felt, were too positive. NOT because this is a bad movie, but just because it's an indie movie, shot on a low budget, doesn't make it a good movie. The movie is well written, the acting is very decent, but for me, it just didn't do it. From before the first scene in the movie, you can predict what is going to happen. The title says it all. They get the teapot, and all is well, then they get in trouble, but it all turns out for the best. blablabla same'ol same'ol. The only original thing about the movie is the teapot, but again, the title says it all. But if you're home on a Sunday afternoon and have nothing to do, this is definitely something to watch, also not a bad idea for a first date. It has a couple of laughs, partial nudity, a lot of intimate moments, and you don't really have to pay attention. Oh, and i did like the soundtrack/score. For that I gave it 6 stars