Overrated and overhyped

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

A fun and feel good kind of film, a trip back to a childhood film, pulled off greatly by the comedy great Richard Pryor.

It's a good while away the time movie, when there's nothing better to watch. There's no great comedic points, just a humorous feel good ending film. Neither must see or avoid.

Brewster has an unknown distant, but wealthy relative who has just passed on. In order to test if Brewster knows the value of money, he is given the task of disposing of $30m in 30 days. Brewster isn't allowed to have any assets to show for the $30m or waste the money in any way. If successful, Brewster gets to inherit $300m. The biggest problem of all however, is that Brewster can't tell anyone what he's doing, so everyone thinks he's crazy. But I'd Brewster fails, two scheming trustees will get their hands on the money, so Brewster's task is not an easy one......It's the old story isn't it, little man overcoming the bigwigs. Everyone likes a long-shot, the poor man outsmarts the rich, its Robin Hood for the fat cats, and we have the profanity free Richard Pryor in the drivers seat.It's the most predictable type if comedy you can imagine. He's starts doing well, he silly but good spirited friend messes it up a bit, he gets back on track, the villains of the film mess it up big time for him, and just at the last minute, something wonderful happens.It's been done literally hundreds of times in these sort of family comedies, and in can understand that its a winning formula, but oh to see something different just for once, to see the hero of the piece fail, it would be so refreshing, but seeing that this is almost thirty years old, you can forgive its laziness.Pryor is as good as he always is, and Candy offers wonderful support, but one cannot help but think that if Trading Places wasn't such a hit two years 'Pryor' (he he), would this have been made?Worth watching...

The down-on-luck baseball player Brewster (Richard Pryor) is about to have his life drastically changed after being the sole heir of a big fortune. But in order to get the millions of dollars he's forced to spend U$30 million in the period of a month without getting having any properties or certain things to himself or wasting money away, those are the rules given to him. AND he can't say to anybody what's he doing."Brewster's Millions" is all about showing how difficult is Pryor's mission. So what does he do? He hires people of any kind paying them with a lot of money, buys an iceberg and the most expensive stamp of all, run as a mayor, among other things. He's closely followed by his best friend (John Candy), an accountant (Lonette McKee) from the bank, and also a colleague of her whose mission is to make Brewster lose this "game" and let the money stay in the bank.Despite the great premise, the problem is that "Brewster's Millions" is never so much funny like it could have been. Constantly talky, very noisy but with a great pace, the film's weakest attribute (but it can be viewed as its best, in a way) is making the small characters to have the funniest parts of the show while the comic giants are only allowed to exceed themselves, or to have just a bunch of punchlines. Examples: Rick Moranis, playing the greatest impersonator of all and Joe Grifasi, playing Brewster's "personal photographer", they both offer such an enjoyable good time for us, more rewarding than all the fuzzy events with Pryor's character. Treated like an Frank Capra's comedy, or even the humor of the Marx Brothers classic or dynamic as "Trading Places" (released on the same decade as this one) this could be far more impressive. "Brewster's Millions" deals with ethics, moral, the money's importance in people's lives and manages to be a little funny. The greatest thing is that it touched some poignant themes but it never got too serious or tacky (sure, Brewster understands even under contradictory circumstances, that even with all that money he gets he doesn't necessary feel better about it), it simply stick to the cheerful comedy with plenty of humor. New territory for action director Walter Hill ("Warriors", "Streets of Fire"), exploring humored situations rather than explosions and fights, he stayed firm the rhythm presented in his works, very fast and well-constructed, with no time to waste. One moment changes to another without making us lose interest. Above anything it's a pleasant film for any moment. Low your expectations without finding the same Richard Pryor of classics like "Stir Crazy" or Silver Streak" and you'll be greatly rewarded. At least, this is one of his good moments. 7/10