Brewster's Millions started life as a 1902 novel by George Barr McCutcheon. It was re-published in 1943. In 1906 a stage adaptation was presented at the New Amsterdam in New York and ran up an excellent 163 performances. Fatty Arbuckle starred in a silent version in 1921. In 1935, Jack Buchanan starred in a British movie version. In 1945, the project slipped back to Hollywood as a vehicle for Dennis O'Keefe and June Havoc. In 1961, another British version (entitled Three on a Spree) surfaced as a vehicle for Jack Watling and Carol Lesley. However, very little of the original scenario is used in the Richard Pryor re-make, just the basic idea. The characters have all been changed and so has much of the plot – but that's all for the better in this delightfully expansive and expensive version. Superb performances all around are a feature of this entry, especially from Prior himself, of course, as well as John Candy, Lonette McKee and Stephen Collins.

I think this is just a regular boring movie, however the main idea promises so much fun that it makes this film really bad.The movie is based on a very catching idea. Such situation captures imagination at the first glance. However that's all. This film fails terribly to make any use of this great situation. Nothing really happens in this film. Our hero tries to spend the money, that's it. No adventures, no catches. There are two twist in the plot. One is when some investment returns actual money making the things worse. Unfortunately that's just a moment, no implication is present at any later point in the movie. (To be honest, nothing really has an implication in the plot. Random events lead to no consequences, that's the guiding idea behind.) The other twist is one of the most cliché you could imagine. Someone hired by those who would like to see Brewster fail to acquire the 300 millions tricks him to still have money before the deadline to spend everything. The clock is dinging and there comes a quick solution. Whoa...If you try to imagine what would you do for just a minute with such opportunity, you'll certainly have hundreds of better and more exciting ideas than those in this movie. The plot is simply boring.Regardless of the performance of the actors, the characters are boring too. There is no interaction between the main characters and it is annoying how unrealistic their reaction to the events is. Everyone is in total apathy except for Brewster.If you can imagine what would you do in Brewster's shoes, keep it at that level, don't ruin it by watching this empty story.

One of the many adaptations of the famous novel and perhaps the best. Monty Brewster, played superbly by Richard Pryor, gets into a fight after pitching in a little league baseball game. When in court a man bails him out and takes him to a firm of accountants where he finds out a very rich relative has died. However, in order to inherit 300 million dollars he has to spend 30 million dollars in 30 days and have nothing to show for it. This is of course far more difficult than it looks. The fun really starts as he tries to spend it and finds it to be a lot harder than it sounds. The partners at the Accounting firm want him to fail so they can get their hands on the money and set a trap for him. I won't ruin the end but I always watch this when it is on and always laugh. Excellent entertainment.

While Brewster's Millions is not a perfect movie by all means, but it is a bright and breezy film that does have its heart in the right place. Also, as far as comedies go it is not one of the most defining films of the genre, but to be a good movie Brewster's Millions didn't need to be that.As I have said already, Brewster's Millions is not a perfect film. The plot is on the predictable and simple side and I can understand why one might find it bizarre too with its concept and all though I did find it refreshing in a sense on the other side of the argument. The ending feels rather abrupt and could have been rounded off better, and also while others may be divided on whether to perceive this as a flaw, Brewster's Millions does have a theme that is firmly rooted in the 80s which may date it slightly.However, it is nicely filmed, with striking locations and nice cinematography and editing, while the soundtrack is nicely 80s without dating the film. The film does work in its humour, the script is funny without the need to be too sophisticated and smart, while the odd situation also made me chuckle. The direction is good enough, the film is paced well and it is a good length. And although the story is quite simple, there is enough material to engage throughout, and a lot of it is to do with the fun chemistry between Richard Pryor and John Candy. Pryor I can find loud and unfunny at times, and other times where he is a lot of fun, his performance here is the latter and it does help that his character and most of the characters here are likable, while Candy really does shine. There is also a hilarious cameo from Rick Moranis and Jerry Orbach is always good value.All in all, Brewster's Millions is a fun film with heart even if there are parts/aspects that could have done with more work. 7/10 Bethany Cox