Title: Brewster’s Millions (1985)
Rated: PG
Directed by: Walter Hill
Written by: Herschel Weingrod and Timothy Harris (screenplay)
George Barr McCutcheon (novel)
Starring: Richard Pryor as Montgomery Brewster
John Candy as Spike Nolan
Tagline: You don’t have to be crazy to blow 30 million in 30 days. But it helps.
By El-Ron
Pre-screening memories: There’s a bit that Eddie Murphy does in his film ‘Raw,‘ in which he recounts the times he crept into his basement to listen to old Richard Pryor albums. It was a scenario that was often duplicated in my own household.
When not under the watchful eye of my grandmother, I used to revel in Pryor’s profane musings. Of course, when it came to seeing him on the big screen, there was absolutely no way in hell my grandmother would allow me into one of his R-rated films, such as Stir Crazy, Bustin’ Loose or Some Kind of Hero.
My prayers of seeing him in the theater were answered in 1985, when he appeared alongside John Candy in the comedy Brewster’s Millions. It was not the same man I remember spewing obscenities into my impressionable eardrums late at night, but, to me, he was every bit as funny. It was also an opportunity to see my hero on the big screen and not just hear him on a scratchy recording.
It was a film that brought laughter to both my grandmother and me. From Pryor’s wild ramblings to John Candy’s exuberance, I will always remember just how light and good-natured the film seemed to be.
New memories: One of the best parts about revisiting this film is that I got a chance to watch this again with the same woman with whom I watched this more than 20 years ago — my grandmom. Did we find it as funny with this much distance? I guess you’ll just have to listen to the podcast to find out…
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Episode XLVI: Brewster’s Millions with writer Herschel Weingrod
Listen to the podcast by dowloading the link above, or click the player below…
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Our featured guest: Writer Herschel Weingrod has penned and produced some of the most memorable films of the 80s and 90s: Trading Places, Twins, Kindergarten Cop, Falling Down, and the featured film of this podcast, Brewster’s Millions.
That means, his words have been spoken by Eddie Murphy, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Danny DeVito, Bugs Bunny, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Michael Douglas and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not too shabby.
The Wisconsin native has spend more than a quarter century in the business and had many a fond memory of Brewster’s and its star Richard Pryor. He also operates the site Scriptmaven.com, for all of you aspiring filmmakers out there. Through this site, he helps evaluate and lends his expertise to those who seek to submit a screenplay.
A big thanks to Herschel for lending us his expertise to us for our little podcast!
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