NORMAN JEWISON, OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY (1991) 1HR 41 (LD/WS)

Note: This film guide is part of a collection of film guides on history, politics, and war.

Adapted from play by Jerry Sterner.

CAST

• Danny DeVito - Larry the Liquidator
• Gregory Peck - Geordy
• Penelope Ann Miller -
• Piper Laurie -
• Dean Jones -

THINGS TO NOTE

1. It is great to see in Larry the Liquidator a very positive image of the "greedy" capitalist - he is a lover of good food, a "lover" of sex as a game between equals, he is learning to play classical music, he loves opera, he is full of joie de vivre. Why aren't there more like him on the screen?

2. What is the solution given in Ruehl's speech to his shareholders about the future improvement in the company's fortunes? He predicts an increase in state expenditure of taxpayers' money to rebuild the (state-owned, monopoly) infrastructure of America. This is no long-term solution at all.

3. In Larry the Liquidator's speech to shareholders he reminds them that they have lost out in the last 10 years compared to workers' wages, rises in council rates and costs. What role to government charges play in forcing companies into bankruptcy or uncompetitiveness?

4. Tend of film is a cop out for the hard-core liberal economic solution of the optimal allocation of resources, viz breaking up the company and selling it off. Why do they pull their punches?

5. Is it true when LL states that "I'm the only friend you have" to the stockholders? Does one have to like the person one has business dealings with on the market? The market provides impersonal means of achieving common goals. The "dollar" is colour blind.