About four years earlier, Gordon Gecko became the most hated man in America, the epitome of greed and corruption. Danny DeVito, that diminutive tyrant from Taxi, manages to give us a fresh perspective on the successful, honest Wall Street investment type. Lawrence lives well, a posh NYC townhouse, a valet/cook/chauffeur, and a corner office in his own firm on Wall Street. This is a side of DeVito unseen up to this film, and it shows you just how versatile he can be. He is the romantic leading man in this delightful study of human interaction, and he carries it off beautifully. Penelope Ann Miller, that ravishing redhead with the lithe body and delicate bone structure, plays the modern, independent woman who has battled her way to the top and knows how to play the game. She is forceful with just the right amount of submissiveness, prideful with just the right balance of humility, and classically beautiful in a very subtle, yet Venus de Milo way. Gregory Peck delivers a stunning performance as the aging, stubborn, factory manager who refuses to accept the advice of others, sort of a mortal Yoda with no ability to see into the future. Dean Jones departs from his ever bubbly Disney persona to deliver a serious role of the president of a company with an uncertain future. Piper Laurie, well, there is a very short list of desirable women in the world, but she is definitely on it. She comes across as the ever present cheerleader, the woman behind the man. Overall, the plot is fast paced and entertaining, with plenty of DeVito personality to make this one of the finest romantic comedies to ever hit the screen. Rated R for language and sex-related dialog, I hardly think the teens in your household will be offended or negatively impacted by this delightful film. Definitely a collectible for you connoisseurs of fine romantic comedy, and fans of DeVito.

It's been a few years since I saw Other People's Money, but I just watched Time Changer last night, and it brought this movie to mind. If you've seen both or read descriptions of both you might think they have nothing in common, but I think they share this: They are probably the two most "serious" movies I have ever seen, in the sense that both seriously present complex philosophical issues.Other People's Money has a plot and a story, of course. But at heart, it is a discussion about a serious social question: How should we as a society deal with changing technology and economic circumstances? The movie sets up two opposing characters: Gregory Peck's character takes the position that society must be compassionate. Just because a business is no longer efficient or is producing an obsolete product doesn't justify putting them out of business and putting all the employees out of work. At one point he makes a moving speech for giving people a chance to adapt and find solutions to get the company back on its feet. Danny DeVito's character says that real compassion is to get everybody out of a losing enterprise and working someplace that is actually productive. In my opinion, both sides are given a fair hearing in the movie. This is one of the few movies that fairly presents both sides of a controversial issue.From a dramatic, story-telling point of view, DeVito's character is great. MINOR SPOILER HERE: When we first see him he comes across as a crude, greedy jerk. But then gradually we see that this is just an act that he puts on. Watch especially for the scene in the Japanese restaurant: it sums up the paradoxes of his character.

This rather entertaining feel-good movie about a "corporate takeover shark" attacking a mom-and-pop business is ruined by some of its star lineup delivering mediocre at best performance. DeVito, of course, is brilliant as ever, and some minor roles are delivered quite well. But Peck's performance feels half hearted and mechanical, and Penelope Ann Miller acts on par with an average high school production.Multi-layered interplay between DeVito's takeover artist and Miller's yuppie star lawyer is supposed to be the backbone of the movie. However, Miller wooden acting fails to bring any subtlety to it, and as the result I had difficulty believing DeVito's side, as well.Gregory Peck was relying on clichés of his decades of acting, but failed to deliver convincing angst of a man losing the centerpiece of his life.So, watch, but don'r expect brilliant performances.

When I'm in the mood for a movie, I usually go to IMDb to check out it's rating. I try to avoid seeing movies below a rating of 7. Who's got time to lose listening to a bad movie, right? Then, as I surf IMDb, I sometimes wander around checking other user's impressions of movies I've seen, I'm curious that way. And as I do that, I can also get a feel of the credibility I can give the rating system.After seeing the score this movie got on IMDb, I've lost a lot of faith in the value of using the rating system as a bearing for movies I'll want to see. My advice: don't be fooled. See this movie and judge for yourself.